Red Special Build - PT10 Neck Finishing

Part 01 - Blockboard Sandwich -    • Red Special build - PT01 - Blockboard...  
Part 02 - CNC Body -    • Red Special build - PT02 - CNC Body Cuts  
Part 03 - CNC Neck -    • Red Special build - PT03 - CNC Neck  
Part 04 - Body Glue Up -    • Red Special Build - PT04 - Body Glue Up  
Part 05 - Router Bearing Repair -    • Red Special Build - PT05 Repairs - Ro...  
Part 06 - Applying Veneers -    • Red Special Build - PT06 - Applying V...  
Part 07 - Binding and Staining -    • Red Special Build - PT07 - Binding an...  
Part 08 - Veneer Sand Through Repair -    • Red Special Build - PT08 Repair - Ven...  
Part 09 - Neck and Fingerboard -    • Red Special Build - PT09 Neck and fin...  
Part 10 - Neck finishing -    • Red Special Build - PT10 Neck Finishing  
Part 11 - Frets -    • Red Special Build - PT11 Frets  
Part 12 - Assembly -    • Red Special Build - PT12 Assembly  
Part 13 - Demo -    • Red Special Build - PT13 Demo  

: : : Neck Finishing : : :

In this episode, we blow through a number of large, time consuming steps rather quickly! I crammed a lot of progress and a lot of footage into one video so there wasn't an undue amount of time spent on preparing the neck. Even with that said, there is still another entire neck video to come!

When we last left off, the fret board, neck and accompanying hardware all finally came together. Now we dive right in to marking and drilling holes for the tuners. I went with the closest match for the tuners that were originally installed on the guitar when Brian and Harold first completed it. I landed on a set of 1960's Teisco open-back tuners, and I couldn't be happier with the look of them!

Once I was assured of their placement and fit, it was straight into filling the very open grain on the neck and fretboard. I went to my trusty Bob Ross Black Gesso to ensure a happy little neck, and while messy and time consuming, it worked like a charm. A couple coats were required in total.

One step I had trouble visualizing was how to mask the fret marker dots. My pal Doug Short set me up with some adhesive plastic dots that were the size of the pearl inlays. Once applied, they are very firmly affixed, and the spraying of lacquer and subsequent sanding passes were completed with no incident. I used a scalpel to carefully pry them up and peel them off. Big thanks to Doug for our seemingly unending collaboration on this build. Check out his build and lots more info here: dsgb.net

Following a tip from Jonathan David Griffin, I used a mix of Behlen's nitrocellulose Stringed Instrument Lacquer and Mixol black universal tint to paint my fingerboard fingerboard. I lost count how many coats I did, but between level sanding and the smooth round over edge, it seemed like it was never enough. Then on to staining the mahogany sections of the neck with the same 85:15 General Finishes Empire Red : Medium Brown mix. I then coated the entire neck with the same Behlen's lacquer. (minus the black tint) Again, many many MANY coats until everything was flat and flush. I polished using a series of Meguiar's car polishes on drill mounted sponges.

I also took another opportunity to add a few extra adornments to the side of the neck for a bit more character and authenticity.

Music: "Zero Circulation" by Smokescreen. (My old band)