Acrylic Pour Guitars for Charity: Daniel & Paul's Jurgs Cup Build
Acrylic Pour Guitars for Charity: Daniel & Paul's Jurgs Cup Build
Two well-known builders, four of our guitar kits and a finishing technique borrowed from the art world. Daniel from Devil & Sons Guitars and Paul Richards from Milehouse Studios gave four Guitar Fabrik kits a one-off acrylic pour finish. They are raffling the results for Leukaemia Care to celebrate this year's Jurgs Cup. This is the story of the build, how to win one, and the exact kits and finishing products they used.
The kits from the build
Who are Daniel and Paul?
Daniel Wallis runs Devil & Sons Guitars in Brighton, England (YouTube · Instagram). He is a luthier and YouTuber known for creative custom finishes.
As featured in Daniel's book: his book Customising Electric & Bass Guitars (The Crowood Press) uses Guitar Fabrik bodies in some of its projects. See the book at The Crowood Press.
Paul Richards is the maker behind Milehouse Studios, a workshop and YouTube channel with a big following among builders. He has raised money for charity with his builds before.
We have supported Daniel's channel for several years, so when he asked whether we would like to supply the guitars for a charity collaboration with Paul, we were happy to say yes.
The Jurgs Cup and Leukaemia Care
The Jurgs Cup is an annual, friendly international guitar building competition. It celebrates anyone who builds guitars, whether as a hobby or a profession, and is held in memory of Jurgen Zoller, a much-loved member of the guitar building community who died of leukaemia. Each year the competition encourages builders to raise money for leukaemia charities around the world.
Daniel and Paul are raffling their guitars for Leukaemia Care, a UK charity that supports people with leukaemia, MDS and MPNs, from diagnosis and beyond (registered charity number 1183890).
The four kits
For the project we sent Daniel four of our DIY guitar kits, each with a different body shape for a different look. Three are electric guitar kits, and one comes from our bass guitar kits:
- ST kit: the classic double-cut shape
- Tele kit: the classic single-cut shape
- Single Cut Junior kit: a slab single-cut with a P90 pickup
- RK bass kit: a 4-string bolt-on neck bass
Alongside the kits we sent a set of finishing products: sealer, clear coat, black grain filler, Metal Complex dyes and lemon oil for the fretboards. If you want everything in one box, our guitar finishing kit covers the same steps.
One thing I like about kits is that I can really focus on the creative side of finishing the guitars without having to build something from scratch first. With The Guitar Fabrik kits I know everything is going to fit together well and result in a great playable instrument. I can just get on and make it a work of art too.
Daniel Wallis, Devil & Sons Guitars
What is an acrylic pour finish?
Acrylic pouring is a technique more often seen on art canvases than on guitars. Fluid acrylic paints are mixed with a pouring medium and poured onto the surface. The colours flow into each other to create patterns and cells that are impossible to repeat, so every body comes out unique.
The challenge on a guitar is what comes next. The paint must dry fully before it can be clear coated and buffed to a smooth, playable finish. As Daniel found, that takes patience: the long drying times were one of the reasons the project took months rather than weeks.
How the build came together
- Prep in Brighton. The kits arrived at Daniel's workshop in May, where he prepared the bodies for paint.
- Two days at Milehouse Studios. In June, Daniel travelled to Paul's workshop. Together they poured the finishes on all four bodies and filmed the process.
- Clear coat and buff. Back in Brighton, Daniel clear coated and buffed the bodies once the paint had fully cured.
- Two builds, two kits. Paul built one guitar and Daniel built another. The other two stay as kits with their poured bodies, for the winners to assemble themselves.
Watch the series
Daniel and Paul filmed the whole journey, from prep and pouring to clear coat and assembly. The episodes premiere on Daniel's Devil & Sons channel through November, with one from Paul on Milehouse Studios.
- 5 November: Episode 1: We Are Building 4 Guitars for Charity
- 7 November: Episode 2: Sanding and filling guitars for Paul at Milehouse Studios
- 14 November: Episode 3: When Milehouse Studios has a messy visitor
- 16 November: Paul's video, on Milehouse Studios
- 19 November: Episode 4: The origin story of Milehouse Studios
- 20 November: Episode 5: The charity bass build
Win one: the raffle
The prizes are two finished guitars, built by Paul and Daniel, and two kits with their acrylic pour bodies, ready for you to build. The raffle runs on The Daily Guitar Draw, and all money raised goes to Leukaemia Care.
The raffle is open now and closes on Friday 27 November. The draw takes place live on The Daily Guitar Draw's stream that day at 4:20pm (UK time).
Shop the build
These are the products Daniel and Paul used, so you can try an art finish on your own build.
The 4 kits
The finishing products
Transparent Black Finishing Kit
Black Grain Filler 200g
Metal Complex Dye Kit
Lemon Cedar Fretboard Oil
Daniel earns a commission on purchases made through his links and donates it to Leukaemia Care.
