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Topic: Building my first Lapsteel! |
Tom Simpson
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 5:01 pm |
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Actually, not really building, as it's a Dynalap kit 
I've been wanting a Lap Steel for a long time. I've been really jonesing to play David Guilmour's songs with a steel like he did. I could never get them to sound right with a standard guitar and slide. So I bought a Dyalap after reading about them here. Here's some pics of after sanding (600 grit and 0000 steel wool), and after stain. I decided to use stain and oil to get a classic vintage/western look with the grain hitting you hard. Plus, I wanted the most wide open sound as possible with maximum sustain, and this type of finish shoud not hamper that.
After swapping Emails with Jerry Gleason, he guided and instructed me in the finishing process I'm using (Thanks a bunch Jerry  )
I used a mix of 50/50 alcohol and water for the stain base. I used 20 drops of red and 6 drops of amber of Transtint stain. It only took one ounce to finish the guitar (I was dipping out of a shot glass  ) I've already applied eight coats of Tru-oil on the back and sides (I think this is enough). I'll wait and post pics after I finish oiling and before hardware/elex installation.
Speaking of electronics, the Dyna's come with Jery Wallace single coil pups with a single volume and tone pot.
Anyway, I'll update pics as I go. Needless to say but I'm really enjoying myself
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 5:13 pm
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| Good taste in guitars and players, Tom! |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 9 Jul 2010 9:57 pm
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Looking forward to seeing her finished up  Those Wallace TT-8's sound great too.
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| I've already applied eight coats of Tru-oil on the back and sides (I think this is enough) |
That should be plenty for good protection. It usually takes about 4 - 5 coats to start getting a good build and everything after that is just for show. If you want, you can take Tru Oil to a mirror finish and still have a thin skin. Instead of using steel wool between coats I wet sand with a small hard block and some 1000 grit with a dash of mineral spirits for a lube. Its basically a process of building it up and blocking it down till its all level. Here are a couple shots that show the mirror effect.
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Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
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Tom Simpson
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2010 4:04 am
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| Wow! what a shine. So should I use wet sand 1000 grit after my last coat instead of buffing with polish? (since I already used 8 coats, so I'm finished my coats) Do I have to wait a couple weeks for cure before that? Thanks. Really great looking! |
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Brian Henry
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Posted 10 Jul 2010 4:49 am
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Is it possible to use a leather dye and then use true oil on top of it?
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LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN GEORGIA |
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Steve Atwood
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 10 Jul 2010 5:30 am
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That's going to look great, Tom! The maple Mark uses is beautiful, but I wanted to mute the grain on mine (my playing isn't as beautiful as the wood). And I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it, so I brushed on a coat of regular acrylic house paint and wiped it off, repeated the process with a second coat, then 3 coats of Polycrylic, sanding between coats with 220. It came out just the way I pictured it:
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Jonathan Lam
From:
Brooklyn, NY
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Posted 10 Jul 2010 6:01 am
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| You can get that shine with just true oil? |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Posted 11 Jul 2010 7:58 am
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| Tom Simpson wrote: |
... So should I use wet sand 1000 grit after my last coat instead of buffing with polish? ...
... Do I have to wait a couple weeks for cure before that? ... |
Its more than wet sanding the last coat, and depending on the project, it could take 30+ coats to get there.
Tru Oil is more like an old school varnish than a traditional drying oil and will build a film thickness. Unlike a solvent based lacquer, TO does not burn in to the previous coats of finish. What this means is that if you treated it like a lacquer based finish where all the wet sanding and polishing is done at the end you would end up with a bunch of "witness" lines on the surface. That is why I basically level as I go, build it up and block it down.
Here is a quick breakdown of my finish schedule.
Given normal temps and conditions, you can recoat TO in a couple hours. The "trick" is to not slop it on, full and even light coats works best.
For building body, I'll generally do 3 light coats a day wiped on with the direction of the grain. No need to over work it, I just lay it down with full long strokes and then give it a couple hours before the next light coat. Again, the key here is light coats, avoid the temptation to lay it on thick.
The next morning before any more coats, I take a small flat hard block and lightly wet sand with 1000 grit and a little spritz of mineral spirits for a lube.
For me, 1000 grit seems to be a good balance of grit at this stage as it cuts fast enough to work without being overly aggressive on the new finish. Once I get a good level film built, I move up to 1500 for a day, then 2000 for a day. After the 2000, I do one light / full / quick "glaze coat" or spray the last coat and let cure a week.
The final "glaze coat" as I call it is Tru Oil thinned about 50% with mineral spirits or naphtha. Thinning it lets you lay down a super thin continuous wet coat and minimizes wiping marks.
Thats just one way of doing it and certainly not the only way to get good results. It can take a lot of work and patience to take a Tru Oil finish this far and quite frankly, a traditional lacquer finish would be easier, but for me, the look and feel of a Tru Oil finish is hard to beat.
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Some misc pics of my hand crafted steels
Follow me on Facebook here |
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Tom Simpson
From:
Florida, USA
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Posted 12 Jul 2010 11:38 am
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Gotcha Tom. You sure get great results  . I think I'll polish mine in a couple weeks and see how she looks. I put about nine thin coats. Here's some pics after the oil while I wait for hardening
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