Candy Green Strat Refinish Process

Here are photos showing the process of refinishing a Fender Strat style guitar body with a
candy apple green nitrocellulose lacquer.

 Original black paint job on mahogany body

 Using paint stripper to remove old paint

Plugging old holes that will not be used

 Neck mounting holes were way off so the old ones get plugged and correct holes
can be drilled

 The old string through body holes are now plugged

 Routing out the side jack so it can be plugged with a block of mahogany.
A standard top mount jack plate will be used instead of the side jack.

 Plug of mahogany is fitted into the routed body

 The plug has been shaped and the old screw holes plugged with wood from old q-tips.

 The neck plate shape was not correct so a mahogany plug was inlaid
in order to get the shape corrected.

 The plug after it is shaped to the correct form

 The neck mounting plate now has enough wood beneath it under the lower left corner.
Prior to this correction the metal plate corner protruded out from the edge of the guitar body.

 The pocket for the Kahler tremolo assembly is routed out for a better fit.

 Initial wood removal for the top mount jack plate.

 Top mount jack plate hole is routed out using a pin router table.

Fit check of the components prior to applying the wood pore filler goop.

Initial application of the wood pore filler. Note the color of the filler has had aniline dye
mixed to match a color appropriate for the mahogany.

 Guitar body hung out to dry for a few hours prior to wiping off the excess pore filler.

Clear lacquer coats applied over the pore filled body.
See how the pore filled wood grain has a nice contrast against the mahogany.

Primer coat is sprayed over the body after the clear coats were sanded smooth.

 Final coats of primer eventually cover the mahogany well enough to move on to the next
step of applying the gold  metallic candy undercoat.

First coats of the gold candy metallic.

 This photo shows the gold color most accurately.

 A few coats of clear nitro lacquer are applied as a guard coat prior to applying the
green color coats.

 Initial coats of the green over the gold.

The final color is achieved after 5 coats of the candy green are sprayed.

After this the body gets a good number of clear lacquer coats applied over a couple of days.
The clear coats are lightly sanded between coats if needed to remove any dust or runs.

The guitar is now given a few weeks to allow the lacquer solvents to out gas prior to giving the
finish a wet sanding session using sandpaper from 800 grit all the way up to 2000 grit.

I use soapy water or mineral spirits when I wet sand to keep the paper from gumming up with lacquer particles.

Here are shots of the assembled guitar after the finish gets rubbed out using a few Meguiars
auto finish polishing products.

New Guitar Amplifers Completed

Two new custom guitar amplifiers now complete and ready for delivery.

The Quad 36 all tube guitar amplifier designed and built by Bristol Audio.

Mister Blue

A new rendering of one of my 3D creatures.
This type of art is what I like to call sculpting  in the digital realm.
The same method is used to create the digital film effects so ubiquitous since
the movie Jurassic Park introduced the technology to mainstream audiences.

This screen shot illustrates the initial basic sculpting of the character's shape which is similar to
 creating a form using chicken wire. It is an extremely time consuming process.

Voitlander Bessamatic Lens on Canon

Photos taken with a Canon 5D and Voigtlander 50mm lens with close up lens attached.

That is the lens our shutter bug father used from the 50's till his passing  for most of the photos

he shot of the family and more.

Hawaii Thanksgiving 2010

Waikiki Beach view of Diamond Head taken during Thanksgiving weekend 2010

Death of the Mimosa aka Albizia julibrissin

A severe Seattle wind storm on the eve of Nov 15 2010 takes down our 60 foot Japanese Silk tree aka Mimosa or more correctly the Albizia julibrissin. The count of the tree rings place the age of this tree to have been about 45 years old.

 Peering above our home's 2nd story, our Japanese Silk Tree, the Mimosa in full and last bloom before the wind uprooted it. Click on the image for a larger version of the photo. The late summer view of this magnificent tree in bloom from our living room was one of this home's eagerly awaited times of the year.

Worst Pedal Ever in the World

Another one of my original guitar effects pedal designs created in a 3D design and rendering application.

Nearly Dan + Tom Scott at Jazz Alley Seattle 10-06-2010

A session of photos I took of my friend's Steely Dan cover band featuring

special guest Grammy Award winning saxophonist Tom Scott.

I first met Tom Scott 3 decades ago while working on a Dolly Parton album.

At Jazz Alley Seattle
10-06-2010
Night Two

Pasadena California Huntington Library Visit Summer 2009

 
 Fire and smoke billows in the hills behind this fascinating glass greenhouse structure

of 

The Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science

A very hot summer day!

El Porto California's Sea View Inn Hotel.
I lived in El Porto in my twenties and early thirties.
 Great beach for board and body surfing and people watching.

Chairman Meow Effects Pedal 3D realm prototype

The Chairman Meow Effects Pedal
To each according to their color needs...

Madman and Mushrooms

Another original guitar effects pedal. An actual prototype of the Mad Man Overdrive effects pedal for electric guitar. Click on images for larger versions.

Fullerton Calif Rental House of Murder

When I was working for Roland Audio Development in the mid 90's I rented this house that a triple murder took place in. The elder of two sons killed his mom, dad, and brother in this house and then loaded their bodies into a car trunk and set the auto on fire after driving it a few miles away. He was arrested few days later. The new owner of the house installed the nice brick paver driveway in order to cover up the blood stains left on the old concrete driveway.

Link to LA Times Article on the triple murder

Rent was discounted a bit as few others besides me would dare to enter the house let alone live there.

update June2011; This house has been recently demolished down to the foundation and is for sale. The son was convicted of the triple murder in 1998 and now sits on California's death row.

Bro Andrew's Panda Puppy

Tacoma WA Auto Show June 2010

CNC Router - New Garage Tool

I plan to use this to do light metal machining and automated guitar part carving.