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Manton Customs

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Everything posted by Manton Customs

  1. Car paints are often acrylic, so acetone will most likely work. Just apply using a rag and it should rub off easily.
  2. What did you spray it with? If it was Nitro Acetone will remove it easily and leave the original Poly intact.
  3. [quote name='Nathan1709' timestamp='1475181133' post='3143894'] The tip about starting with the 2000 grain paper and increasing the coarseness as required is a really good idea. I'm planning on totally stripping the guitar down to its constituent parts so I'll have an unadorned body to work with. Do you think I'd be better with a really fine grain wire wool rather than wet and dry paper? I really appreciate all the help! [/quote] Either will work fine As you've got it I'd use the 2000. Just make sure you use a block to keep it flat on the top and back, you can use Steelwool on a block (and wet) also. It'll take very little effort to uniformly dull it.
  4. For the finish you don't need to work through the grades. We do that to level the finish and yours will already be perfectly level. So start at the grade of paper you anticipate finishing on, 2000 may well work, but if that's not dull enough you can always go down a grade after testing it. Sand wet but don't get water in any open holes, or the wood will swell and you'll crack the finish. Quite a few people like 0000 steel wool for this deglossing job, but make sure you've removed the pickups and placed them a long way away if you go that route! Whatever you do go nowhere near any finish with the 240 grit you mentioned, that will most likely scratch it beyond repair. Speaking of "scratch it" have you tried them for the pick guard? Good luck .
  5. No, adjusting the truss rod will not change the tension of the strings....neither will raising the action actually, as the two fixed points are still in the same place and the mass of the string still the same. The only way is different strings, stiffer feeling ones, or higher gauge. Edit, that was in response to post 12
  6. As mentioned in your other thread, it's Alder. It's also no where near needing a refret, those frets could be levelling and crowned a few more times yet and this is not an expensive job.
  7. What a hideous job he did! I'd be glad to help, but you can probably find someone closer, as posting a neck through bass is no fun. It's not a difficult or lengthy job for anyone with any experience.
  8. [quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1473907407' post='3134041'] Excuse my ignorance, but not being from around these parts, What is "white spirit"? Is it like a mineral spirits, etc.? [/quote] Yes mineral spirits
  9. A single action rod as used on most Fender basses will not put any real stress on a skunk stripe. So I wouldn't be too concerned. If it was in any danger of popping out it'd be mid way down the neck at the thinnest point of the skunk stripe (the truss rod rout is curved). It looks just like the wood moving a bit as mentioned earlier. It can be fixed, but it'd require a refinish to look 100%. Careful touch ups could get it looking decent enough though. A double action truss rod can put stress on the back of a neck though. These are the type of rods used by luthiers and home builders. Typically they will not be used in conjunction with skunk stripes.
  10. How much by...Can you post a pic? It's most likely just where the different species of wood have swelled and contracted at different rates.
  11. [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473255386' post='3128382'] Many thanks for the information. I've been getting some really good results using Halfords car paint and Halfords lacquer. More recently, due to folk asking me to finish things in nitro, I've been using nitro lacquer. I'd thought it seemed thinner and needed more coats to get, what I thought, an acceptable finish thickness. I'm guessing Halfords paint is almost certainly acrylic. In my post I have to confess I wasn't taking on board that paint in some countries may not be to the standard of UK marketed paint. I still doubt that any rattle can guitar paint sold in any country will be any better than rattle can car paint sols in that same country. It's far more likely that it all comes from the same factories, but with different labels. Specifications and ingredients may change, so some will be more resilient to damage than others. So which type would you go for for a tougher finish? [/quote] No problem . Yes, if you're comparing like for like, i.e Nitro car paint against Nitro guitar paint, there won't be much (if any) difference. Though some companies will use more solids in their Nitro. However, if not comparing like with like, acrylic will behave and perform quite differently to Nitro. If I had a choice between Nitro and Acrylic I'd go for Nitro, purely for the fact it's what people want most of the time for refinishes. But that's not to say I particularly like Nitro... I don't like it's toxicity, it's temperamental nature to moisture and sanding dust, fisheyes, or the way it seems to suck any dust in the surrounding counties towards it when spraying! All of these can be overcome of course and they are only really issues to the guy spraying it. For my builds I use a water based lacquer (through pro spray gear) which does not have any of those drawbacks, or they are at least minimised while still looking just as good....eg: [url="http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/Manton-Customs/media/Manton%20Customs%20True%20Temperament%20Echo%20MKII/Manton%20Customs%20Echo%20MK%20II%20True%20Temperament%201%20Main.jpg.html"][/url]
  12. [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473231631' post='3128108'] Thanks. I appreciate that. I wonder, though, if the reason the original finish is cracked is because of it being nitro and un-able to handle some of the environmental conditions the bass has been exposed to? Fender's quality isn't great. But it's not usually THAT bad. [/quote] It wont be nitro (if it were neither of us should be suggesting mechanical stripping!). Fender haven't used Nitro since the 60s except on a few special models and even these will not check/crack like the old nitro finishes. This is for two reasons- fenders modern nitro is sprayed over a poly base coat which really reduces the chance of checking. And two, the modern nitro they now use is full of plasticisers to prevent this. Regarding why Nitro over car lacquer, the main reason is tradition! A lot of people (not including myself here) will also believe a thinner finish is superior and a Nitro finish is one of the thinnest you can get due to the fact it will shrink back for years. There is also a hell of a lot of bad quality car aerosols out there! The burn in factor is definitely nice too, especially for repairs, but if you know what your doing you won't get witness lines from Poly either. But the car lacquer you've been using could well be acrylic?
  13. [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1473168984' post='3127607'] Getting it converted wouldn't be much cheaper than just getting a new neck. With a new neck you are not harming resale value and you also have the option of switching back again! Sims start at £285 for a maple neck, I assume that includes frets so a fretless should be a fair whack cheaper! [url="http://www.simscustom.com/html/00pricing.htm"]http://www.simscusto...l/00pricing.htm[/url] [/quote] Yep definitely the best option to go with a new neck . It's perfectly possible to replace a fingerboard, I've done it numerous times but they were occasions where it was the only option. But in this case a new neck would be the best approach. The Sims prices aren't quite as cheap as £285 (unless I'm misunderstanding them). I understood it as £235 for the machining, £50 for the neck blank and this doesn't seem to include a fingerboard! Which is another £35. I also don't believe it includes finish, which is a necessity on a Maple board and looks like that would be another £135. So £455. Long story short...I'm cheaper . Get in touch if you'd like a quote.
  14. Glad to help . The price to a basschatter would be approx £200.
  15. It'll be basswood or Alder and neither require grain filling so you'd be fine to prime, spray colour coats then clear. You could even skip primer, but you'll most likely use more colour getting the depth, primer will also fill any small pores better. So I'd spray primer first.
  16. [quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1472318048' post='3120349'] I can't believe this conversation is happening... Use pretty much anything as a shim, credit card, vaneer, whatever... it makes zero difference to tone or anything like that - that's all a myth. If the screws are tight enough, the job is done. And a shim is a common practice utilised by many luthiers, including those that are considered "world class",I would certainly argue that it is not a failing in it's manufacture. [/quote] Why, what's wrong with discussing preferences and offering advice based on experience? Nobody is debating anything or dictating how it should be done . I also think you're misunderstanding a bit, or at least jumping to conclusions: I don't believe anyone here has mentioned tone and I'd agree with you, it's not going to alter the sound of the bass . However certain materials will hold up better over time (card will compress for example). I believe you're last paragraph is referring to my post earlier. I stand by that fully. There is nothing wrong with using a shim to resolve an issue. However no professional luthier is going to use a shim on a new build, if they did then they miscalculated. There is no good reason to rely on a shim if you're starting from scratch, the angle should be milled into the neck pocket or the neck itself. Or in the case of Fender style instruments no angle but the pocket cut to the correct depth.
  17. [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1472302657' post='3120180'] Wouldn't you need a full neck pocket shim if the neck angle is correct but the saddles are bottoming out? This won't happen with a hand-built bass but if quality control isn't all it could be in a factory it could happen with a production line instrument (I know you've already stated this). The instrument I had to put the full pocket shim in has a Luthite body which has a rather unusual profile (Luthite is a moulded composite material, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luthite for info) - the bridge is set at an unusual angle in a pre-formed receptacle. It would be difficult to machine the body to lower the bridge. The neck is wood with an Ebonol fingerboard and no doubt the ideal solution would be to get a replacement neck that has a thicker heel. My solution, which cost me nothing, was to add the thin plastic shim. [/quote] Well I wouldn't call the neck angle correct if the saddles are bottoming out personally . Anyway, no you wouldn't necessarily need to shim the whole pocket, but there's nothing wrong with that approach (whole shim). There are quite a few different fixes for the issue and the simplest and my preferred quick fix would be to shim the heel end. This would tilt the neck back an imperceptible amount. I'm familiar with the curbow and they are built to a decent standard, however I've seen a lot of problems with the Luthite bodies, such as the pocket warping (even though it's not wood!). Which sounds like what's happened to you. Just so I'm clear- I was in no way criticising you for using a full pocket shim, just saying I prefer the alternative .
  18. [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1472285978' post='3120011'] @Manton Customs - if the neck angle is correct without any shims wouldn't a partial shim at either the front or back of the neck pocket introduce a tilt in the neck? [/quote] I'm not sure I understand the question....if the neck angle was correct why would you add a shim? If any of the saddles are bottoming out before the strings rest on the frets (or are very close to doing so), then the neck angle is not correct for the bass in its current state. Over time the neck pocket itself can shift due to the constant pull of the strings and changes within the wood. So the purpose of the shim is to give the bass back the required angle. The thickness of the typical shim required is pretty inconsequential as far as the playing/feel of the bass goes.
  19. I prefer a shim (when one is absolutely necessary) to be at one end to gain maximum effectiveness from minimum material. It's also completely invisible whereas a full pocket shim may be seen. To clarify, I don't mean really small but from the heel end to the first mounting screws and shaped to fit the corners of the pocket. There are no real concerns about a shim causing a ski jump, these typically develop a little lower down the neck. The heel itself is too shorter distance, too supported and also too thick (typically around 1") for bowing to be a real concern.
  20. [quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1472178650' post='3119191'] Won't the previously oiled finish prevent the dye from being drawn into the wood? I would have thought that it would be very difficult to remove all traces of the old oiled finish? [/quote] It's not particularly difficult as long as you make sure you've removed it all before progressing. Oil finishes are amongst the easiest to remove and the idea that they penetrate deep into the wood is a myth.
  21. No problem! You should be able to find a few YouTube videos and tutorials regarding finishing on Google. It's relatively straightforward and easy to get good results if you're going for a low gloss to satin finish. This one is Ash, dyed black. I can appreciate the body shape won't be to everyone's liking though! [attachment=226406:Manton Customs Immortal Seymour Duncan Nazgul.jpg] Figured Maple in green. [URL=http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/Manton-Customs/media/TheTitan.png.html][IMG]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/Manton-Customs/TheTitan.png[/IMG][/URL]
  22. Basically yes. But it depends on the effect your going for, for example an oil finish won't work very well over an opaque painted surface, but dyeing/staining the bass black would be easily achievable and work well under oil. This would be a translucent black, rather than a painted opaque black look. As with all finishing, it's the prep that is the key .
  23. Over the top of an oil finish? No, it'd need stripping, but it's quite easy to strip an oil finish, add the colour then replace the oil finish.
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