DIY Celluloid Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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repoman
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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by repoman » Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:49 pm

Care to share what brand of epoxy resin you use? I've made a bunch of guards similar to this over the past year but the resin I have (pro marine supplies) never dries hard enough to sand for leveling and polishing and its super viscous.

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glennleaguesny
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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Thu Aug 04, 2022 4:51 am

Hey guys! I’ve been trying this, doing test pours every night for the past week just playing around to see what I can get. I started getting a couple promising pours, but I’m a bit stumped on order. In my mind, doing the yellow last makes sense. But it comes out sort of weird looking that way. I was hoping someone could point me in the order that they pour for the typical red, brown, yellow tort pattern?

My process has been, pour red. Then add some brown to the red and pour that. And then add even more brown to the red and dab that in. And then go over in yellow. The yellow seems to look not quite right and booming like the early examples you guys have. Also, is there waiting involved? After mixing I have been going straight to pouring and swirling. Are you guys waiting for the resin to cure for a little while before swirling?

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Thank you!
Glenn
Last edited by glennleaguesny on Thu Aug 04, 2022 5:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Thu Aug 04, 2022 5:00 am

repoman wrote:
Mon Jul 11, 2022 6:49 pm
Care to share what brand of epoxy resin you use? I've made a bunch of guards similar to this over the past year but the resin I have (pro marine supplies) never dries hard enough to sand for leveling and polishing and its super viscous.
I'm still new at this, but I've been using Craft Resin Epoxy. They make smaller containers on Amazon and it's fairly cheap. It comes with the hardener. I've had no issues with it hardening up and no issues with bubbles as well.

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:52 am

Glennleaguesny, those all look amazing!!! That second one especially!!!!
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:23 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:52 am
Glennleaguesny, those all look amazing!!! That second one especially!!!!
Thank you! They definitely aren't quite right, but it's been fun experimenting. Hoping to gather all the knowledge I can from you fine folks.

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:12 am

glennleaguesny wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:23 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:52 am
Glennleaguesny, those all look amazing!!! That second one especially!!!!
Thank you! They definitely aren't quite right, but it's been fun experimenting. Hoping to gather all the knowledge I can from you fine folks.
I think they look awesome in any case, but I guess my opinion comes from a place like this: while I may be inspired by what's been done before, I long to do something new with my builds. If you were selling tort sheets that looked like those you've already done, I would happily put something that looks like that on a project of mine :) I totally get that you're wanting to replicate something that's been done before, but hasn't been done the same way in a very long time though.
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Sat Aug 06, 2022 3:44 am

Graduated from doing test pours to saying “fuck it” and trying on an extra mint guard I had laying around.

After watching epoxy artists and different techniques they used I decided to pour 3 different cups and mix red, dark red, and brown. From there I poured layers of each color into one big cup and poured that onto the existing pickguard (scuffed the existing guard with 600 sandpaper).

I’m overall not super happy with this first attempt. I think it looks okay, but doesn’t look super 3D. I also really wanted to add yellow but the yellow in every test pour I did made it look worse, so I opted not to add it to this guard. I actually blew the resin around with a straw once it was on the guard which added a cool effect. I’m not in love with this guard, really hoping others that have tried this method before will comment their techniques that they used. I’m a bit confused on how to the layer the resin and colors appropriately. I also noticed that the “wet” guard seemed to have some more noticeable/darker swirls. Once it dried it seemed like this became less apparent, the resin probably kept melting into each other as it dried. I wonder if waiting until the resin cures a bit before pouring might be helpful.

This is a throw-away guard so I’m going to experiment with how to clean up the bevel and screw holes. Also going to experiment with the sanding and buffing and probably try to spray some nitro amber clear on top. Stay tuned!

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by DeathJag » Sat Aug 06, 2022 12:50 pm

Whoa I think that is beautiful. Dang.

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by Futuron » Sun Aug 07, 2022 3:42 am

Sick Jag anyway, those anniversary models look amazing!

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:22 am

Futuron wrote:
Sun Aug 07, 2022 3:42 am
Sick Jag anyway, those anniversary models look amazing!
Thank you! I actually prefer the original guard on this one haha. But yeah, Fender did a great job with the 60th jag. I was so up in the air about Dakota Red or that Lake Placid Blue but over time I think I made the right color decision. At least it’s what I tell myself haha

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:25 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:12 am
glennleaguesny wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:23 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:52 am
Glennleaguesny, those all look amazing!!! That second one especially!!!!
Thank you! They definitely aren't quite right, but it's been fun experimenting. Hoping to gather all the knowledge I can from you fine folks.
I think they look awesome in any case, but I guess my opinion comes from a place like this: while I may be inspired by what's been done before, I long to do something new with my builds. If you were selling tort sheets that looked like those you've already done, I would happily put something that looks like that on a project of mine :) I totally get that you're wanting to replicate something that's been done before, but hasn't been done the same way in a very long time though.
Keep in touch! I would happily make you a sheet for no cost at all. It would just give me more practice. Let me keep experimenting and doing test pours and when I’m comfortable that it would look semi decent I will make you one, no problem!

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:31 pm

glennleaguesny wrote:
Sun Aug 07, 2022 4:25 am
Keep in touch! I would happily make you a sheet for no cost at all. It would just give me more practice. Let me keep experimenting and doing test pours and when I’m comfortable that it would look semi decent I will make you one, no problem!
That would be amazing. I've always wanted a charcoal frost metallic guitar with a single-layer tort guard like Toots has done a few times, like this Uptone Wisent
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http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=104282&p=1438384#p1438384

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Tue Aug 23, 2022 3:50 pm

Tried some new material at the suggestion of another member here. I ended up going to Michaels and buying a thick foam board and cut that into 6”x6” squares. Before that I was practicing pouring onto a pickguard material and then waiting for it to dry before prying it off, so I had a clean surface to practice on. These 6” 6” squares allow me to just throw the practice pours away and keep practicing without waiting on dry time.

I also picked up some supplies from Amazon. I was wasting a ton of wooden tools practicing swirling, dabbing, etc. I ended up picking up silicon brushes in different sizes, as well as a silicon mat to protect my desk from spills.

The pours below I’m semi happy with. I am still having a lot of trouble figuring out the right order of colors, and how to tint them the best. The amber particularly has been tough to get right. It’s also very tough to have a perfectly level table to practice on, no matter how hard I try the resin does seem to run to a side. I’m also having a lot of trouble getting the kind of “booming cloudy” look that Spitfire achieves. It’s definitely a head scratcher. I will say, a little breakthrough I’ve had through practicing has been the addition of pouring some clear resin into the colored pour. Meaning, first do your colors, and then put drops of clear on top of that. It seems to add a small 3D effect and also helps bring out the base color.

I’ve noticed some colored torts are a bit easier to get then others. The classic red and brown tort seems the easiest to dial in color wise. I’ve had pretty much no luck with a more orange centered tort. I also have had no luck achieving the big splotch look that’s on some Spitfire guards. It’s all still a headsratcher. If anyone has done this, please, please, please share any knowledge you have!

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by DeathJag » Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:22 pm

You know what? I say the following:

Your tort is so unique and cool that it's not even proper tort, it's its own thing. So brand it and then people will be trying to imitate you!

Dude I freakin LOVE every experiment you've done. Nothing looks like those. And they're soooooo awesome. I super want one even though all my guitars have ended up with parchment or mint.

I'm excited to hear what you call them! Here are some ideas:

Leaky Brains
Spilled Milk
Molten River
Swirling Beauties
Zen Patterns

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Re: DIY Celluloid Spitfire Tortoise Knowledge Dump / Discussion

Post by glennleaguesny » Wed Aug 24, 2022 3:10 am

DeathJag wrote:
Tue Aug 23, 2022 6:22 pm
You know what? I say the following:

Your tort is so unique and cool that it's not even proper tort, it's its own thing. So brand it and then people will be trying to imitate you!

Dude I freakin LOVE every experiment you've done. Nothing looks like those. And they're soooooo awesome. I super want one even though all my guitars have ended up with parchment or mint.

I'm excited to hear what you call them! Here are some ideas:

Leaky Brains
Spilled Milk
Molten River
Swirling Beauties
Zen Patterns
Dude that’s so refreshing to hear! Thank you! I guess I didn’t think people would think that style was cool since it’s not something I’ve typically seen on anyone’s guitars. But maybe that’s just because no one is making stuff that looks like that. I’m still going to keep experimenting getting closer to the classic tort look, since that’s mostly what I’m into. But you’re right, maybe someone would something a bit more wild looking.

I’d be happy to make you a sheet if you ever want something looking like that on your guitar!

I love the name suggestions! Especially Spilled Milk. Thank you for your input and kind words!

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