Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Mirotone has closed and I've been left to hang out and dry. I am a bit of an outlier I guess as I've used the Mirotone water base sealer and topcoat now for some 15 years or so.and have found both to be excellent products. I've finished and refinished many guitars using these wonderful substances. T...

Thanks Steve
dunno why I never thought of that
cheers

I need the services of a CNC router operator to cut a logo into a headstock plate. Can supply EPS file and material not including the inlay. Hoping to use faux white pearl or similar. The man I usually get to do this type of work for me is currently ignoring my calls and emails. Unsure why as I've a...

Used 3220 extensively and always found it painful to use - don't really get why it is so popular. I changed to mirotone WB8060 and it is a revelation. They have a great wb sealer available as well. I'll never go back to VOC lacquers. Downside is gun cleaning - I use acetone and you need to be right ...

Not often required here and in my old workshop had a strategically placed hook in the finishing shed. Not possible to drive a hook into the steel foam steel sandwich refrigeration panels my new workshop is built from. Wondering if any one has a tip on what I could go and buy readily to do this job. ...

I had a 150 grit one once and that was way too coarse for my liking. It left deep scratches in the wire that were a total PITA to remove. Good enough for me - i tried eyeballing and feeling what was left of the surface on the file and comparing that to corresponding sandpaper and I believe mine was...

I've done countless crowning jobs with this old file, it's finally getting tired and its time to replace it. I can't for the life of me recall what mine is. Kind of worn and not easy to tell. They come in 150 and 300 grit. Both would be nice but I've gotten by with one for years and they are not che...

Hard to make that sort of repair disappear. Getting a really tight fit before gluing is paramount. A decent set of good quality artist paints and a fine brush is another way to approach this job. Apply paints after initial sealing so you you can remove it if you make a mess. The idea is to paint in ...

Thanks Trevor I've never used that type of glue but sounds like a good alternative. The positioning dowels used by the last bloke were snagging up the join. Hed done a nice job especially with the spray work. I worked on the break for a while and managed to get it together pretty tight. I opted for ...

Have a tricky head stock repair on my bench atm. There will be some minor voids and this is a second repair on a new fracture line. The old glue line has held well but three dowels were put through it I assume as a positioning device. This has made the second repair a little more difficult. Two shea...

Boiled Linseed will eventually set hard - may take weeks Best plan is to mix BLO with polyurethane and turps - mix 1 unit of each together. 1/3 blo 1/3 turps 1/3 poly flood the surface and leave for 10 minutes then wipe off excess do this once every 24 hours 3 times allow a few days for the smell to...

Gday all
Have some 2 nice 1.2m 200 x 50's of KB I bought 10 years ago at Strahan - thought I might split some down for tops but before I do.
Will it load up the belt in a drum sander quick and lively?

No I haven't tried buffing it - sanded at 1200 grit and rubbed it out with 0000 steel wool which leaves a pretty fine semi satin finish with no need of further work. Cannot see why the 60% gloss would not come up pretty bright with buffing. Full gloss goes 70% - 90% so you'd be well on the way to th...

After chasing this for many years I have found a locally available precat water base finish that ticks all my boxes and more. It is made by Mirotone in Sydney whom I'm sure everyone is familiar with. The topcoat I have used on the last couple of projects is Mirotec WB 8060/10 which is the matt [low ...

Had a couple of neck stickiness complaints from people lately. Been using the 30% gloss for a few years now on my necks and it is generally well accepted. It tends to gloss up though to quite a decent gloss over a relatively short period of constant playing. You can buff it up with a paper towel to ...

Read this post groaning. I have a build under construction headed for America. My nearest counter to apply for an Export Clearance Number is Tullamarine 70 k's from here. I'd bet it will take at least two trips to tick all the boxes. The whole thing is completely mad. To make things worse my passpor...

thanks for that

Have a good deal of the 1260 thinners left over from summer and find now in Melbourne's autumn it is starting to stay wet too long. I'm using 3220 satin top coat 50/50 mix. Thinking using mirosol 1220 or 1222 to speed up drying a bit. Any advice using the faster stuff either straight or mixed with t...

Came in today for a setup - action pretty low, saddle pretty high out of the bridge and neck dead straight. Has a sticker under the sound hole "Instrument is Handcrafted in Queensland Australia QC" it has a small square on the sticker with a signature in it Nice work by somebody. http://www.carltong...

I go with Allan on this. I've sent quite a few overseas and Pack and Send are fast and efficient. Use the top service level and the best case you can buy.

It looks like I got this one beaten with the help of forum members and in particular DaveM who nailed it with the shellac suggestion. Initial test from the nut to the 4th fret is very encouraging with no pull back evident in the shellac. It is my standard mix. whatever cut that is, I use as a seal a...

Thanks for the replies on this one - never thought of using shellac - I have a nice fresh batch I made up a couple of weeks ago :) Also it could be likely silicone polish was used by the owner but I don't want the cat out of the bag just yet. Some of the problem areas seem to be along the frets and ...

Posting to myself here except for Trevors contribution - Thanks - This is informational for any one in the future having lacquer adhesion problems. I can say definitively that Tenacious Flowmask K750 is NOT the culprit in this case. Conducted an empirical test using the tape this morning. The smooth...

this is the tape https://www.directpaint.com.au/tenacious-tapes-k750-flowmask-yellow-tape.html The Blurb - Well defined edge with no bleed through on smooth surfaces Strips cleanly & easily without leaving a residue Ideal for two pack paints, automotive & marine applications 60 Days + Outdoors https...

How would silicone be successfully removed?