Quick update and question:

I've done about 5 coats of Tru Oil and the colour is coming out nicely. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but still pretty cool. I should have probably gone for a deeper red instead of the Cherry Red, but I noticed the wood grain (and type) also affects the colour. Basswood slurps up everything you put on it!!

Anyhoo - I am about to start the wet sanding process. I got 1500 and 2000 grit paper today (cause that is all you find in Nelspruit) and have watched a vid or two on the topic.

Question - I see some people 'dilute' the Tru oil (just a tad) with 'mineral' spirits (Turpentine??). Some wet sand with the spirits only. Apparently this makes the oil a bit thinner and the end result is a brighter, smoother, 'shine'. I dunno... seems risky.

Opinions??

wern101

Just a heads up, when working with Danish Oil (a tung oil blend), I found that "turpentine" and "white spirit" are not quite the same thing. Turpentine is quite a bit more sticky and greasier than white spirit. The white spirit is more volatile and evaporates quicker. It is not as volatile as lacquer thinners though. White spirit and turperntine have a similar smell, although the turpentine is a bit sweeter.

I sanded my final coats with white spirit which worked better than turpentine in my opinion, the turpentine was too grease and left a residue.

The only place I found that carries white spirit is Hardware Centre in Strijdom-Park. They also carry the superfine steel wools and very fine sanding sheets. Not a bad place to visit (Not sure if Nelspruit has a stockist).

But then I see that Tru-Oil is a linseed-based blend, so I'm not sure if any of this applies.

Not guitars, but two Danish oil finishes I've done in the last couple years.

Soooo, this weekend I did the Wet Sand using Tru Oil and, well.... had a mishap or two. Basically, the oil (behind my back) was dripping off the sides and made 4 or 5 nasty streaks on the sides of the guitar. (Hear me scream)

The actual finish came out very nice except for a few streak marks here and there. I dunno why that happened.

So I cleaned up the sides and covered with oil again and then went at the body with a dry sand.... yes... that's what I did. I did a very light sand with 1500 grit paper and then applied a very thin layer of Tru Oil on top of that and left it. The results are great! A nice smooth, shiny guitar!! The color's didn't quite pop like i hoped they would, but all in all, I am very chuffed. Pics will follow soon.

Now I can focus on the other bits and bobs. I am leaving the neck as is for now.

Still waiting on the pickguard - expecting it mid January... ?

Ok update time. In two parts...

Part one:
I took a bit of time to 'relic' the hardware on the guitar. Just a bit of sanding through the chrome plating and a lovely coppery color came out. I decided to go with it, sand marks and all. Some photos below, although the pics don't do em justice:

Currently busy with a copper 'wire mesh' back cover - work in progress... all will be revealed later ?

I also took the old control knobs and made em fit inside copper fittings. These will be the volume and tone knobs once done ?

End of part one.

Part two - Neewb alert!
I want to start with the wiring while I wait on the pick-guard to arrive. I am completely confused.
The idea is two humbuckers with 1 master volume and 1 master tone controls and a three way switch (LP Style). Simple. Right?
Found this diagram which I think is pretty clear:

HOWEVER - when looking at the Humbuckers I received, I see a problem:
Bridge pickup:

Neck and bridge pickups:

The wiring on the pickups is not the same as on the diagram! Am I being stupid? The 'neck' pickup has only two wires. White and Bare. The Bridge Pickup has, what appears to be, five wires - Black, green, bare, red and white. The green and bare are already soldered together and the white and red as well. Is this normal?

I can't seem to figure out how I am to do the wiring. Below are the contacts on the pots and switch:

Help?!

wern101 Am I being stupid?

Apparently I am. I just found this comment on Youtube that states:
"The "Hot" wire is the wire inside of the braided shield. If there are more than one wire, then that means the pickup has separate coils"

So in other words - the Neck pickup does not have separate coils but I can split the coils on the bridge pickup if I wanted to?

Am I still being an idiot? (Can you tell I have never done this before?)

Still haven't got around to the wiring. Waiting for the pickguard to arrive....

Meanwhile I added a 'mesh' cover to the back.

What do you think? Some feedback on the Whatsapp group suggests that it might hook on clothing when playing and there is an offer to have it 3D printed. Decisions decisions...

I personally do like the look, I would just hem bend some copper or alu around the edge just to prevent any snagging,

as to the 3-d printing, I really do think that could work too. maybe a grid with a your initials, or symbol, something personal, I had so Many Ideas last night, Even A laser cut design could work..

Update time!! Yeah, finally!

So first and foremost a HUGE shoutout to @Tuckstir for hooking me up with the scratchplate. This was a headache of note that he simply sorted out without any fuss. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I received the scratchplate via postnet and immediately set out to finally get the guitar wired and playable. I went with the same ‘weathered’ theme of the hardware and, after doing some testing, came up with this idea:

Next up was the wiring. I called in the help of my eldest to assist with the soldering – he loves tinkering with circuit boards and builds little radios etc, so he has WAY more experience in soldering than I do. He simply took it in his stride soldering all the bits of pieces while I tried to figure out the wiring diagram.

Everything works!! Tested the pickups on the amp (with a screwdriver) and they both emit sound and the 3 way switch works just fine. I will only get strings today or tomorrow, so that will be the REAL test.

SO......without further delay, here then is the completed guitar!

I shall from now on refer to it as the copperstrat…. Or coppercaster….. or Stratocopper…..or……

I am very satisfied with the end product. ? Opinons? Like? Dislike?

Thanks to everyone's advise, comments, ideas and opinions. This Forum Rocks!

Was tapping out a reply yesterday...then boom. Loadshedding ?

Loving that pickguard, especially the cutout of the logo showing the finish underneath, superbly pimp...I approve! ?

Dig how you highlighted the edges and (I'm guessing) where the body joins are. One distracting thing is that the rear cavity looks offcenter with those lines - but that's minor. The other is that you've not gone the full pimp to match pup covers with the rest...but that's W.I.P I'm sure ?

But impressively...you've finished! ?

Been holding my breath for a reply...phew... ?

V8 you've finished

Yes...this took way to long. But in reflection, this was due to blindly walking into the whole thing. Lessons learnt.

V8 One distracting thing is that the rear cavity looks offcenter with those lines - but that's minor. The other is that you've not gone the full pimp to match pup covers with the rest...but that's W.I.P I'm sure ?

The lines were actually done on purpose. The joins are not straight and where the two colours meet is actually right on the joins. So the whole off-centre things is, I suppose, a little Picasso? Who wants straight lines anyway. ? The pup covers most certainly is work in progress - just need to find the right colour.

V8 superbly pimp...I approve!

Thanks man. I guess it's not everyone's taste and, compared to the bling out there, it probably won't get a second look, but it reflects a lot of my own taste and I really am happy with it. Was looking at the before photo last night - that black and white was soo dull.

Putting strings on tonight! Sound clips to follow.

wern101 The pup covers most certainly is work in progress - just need to find the right colour.

I was thinking and thinking - It would a PITA to work with,. but modelling paint? Or Hammerrite? Gold pups maybe, but they'd need to be aged, shiny n bright gold would be a tad too pimp maybe?

V8 shiny n bright gold would be a tad too pimp maybe?

Yes agreed. I was even thinking a rusty bronze would do nicely, nothing too bright, just a little bit of shiny here and there.

Dude.. that looks excellent! Well done bud.. nice work indeed

guidothepimmp Thanks so much man! ? I am so happy its finally done. Phew. Plugged it in last night - love dem 'buckers!