Building the Harley Benton Gibson Les Paul Kit Guitar With My Dad

I used to play guitar, back in high school. After a break of more than 15 years and a worldwide pandemic, I decided it was time to get myself a new guitar. At the same time my dad bought his first DIY guitar kit. He built a beautiful Les Paul ES-335 replica. That got me thinking..
So before I knew it, I ordered the Harley Benton SC Les Paul Guitar Kit and all the bits and pieces I needed. I really enjoyed the process and the time I spend with my dad in his garage. Now it's time to learn all those riffs.
If you have any questions about the build, let me know in the comments.
Products I used:
- Clou Powderstain (Colourcode 167)
- Motip Clear Varnish, 3 cans/14 coats
- 3M ScotchBrite sanding pads for sanding between clear coats
- 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000 sanding paper (wet)
- Commandant 5 (Scratch Remover)
- Universal Wax
- Harley Benton SC-style electric guitar (ordered at Thomann.de)

[@valley_robot]

I'm a guitar player been playing since 83 always wanted a guitar I could truly call my own. this Harley kit is the building blocks to make that come true ,mine will have pyrography on it from my wonderful girlfriend

[@antonakis79ohyes]

Pure art, both the guitar and the video... Everything seems to have been crafted with love... Be well my friend...

[@marthijndevries]

Thank you! 🙏🏻

[@wecrashgames]

This video was amazing

[@ewenmac3127]

Beautiful finish.

[@Xaltar_]

Beautiful finish, well done. I keep seeing people say things like "beginner guitar", "you get what you pay for" etc but the truth with any kit, provided there are no major issues like a warped/bad neck or damaged body, is that you get out of it what you put into it. The more work you put in the better the result. The HB kit can be turned into a stunning guitar, as you proved here. Playability can be set up to the same level during the build. Level and polish the frets, set truss rod and action etc. Pickups, wiring and hardware can be changed. The bones are what count, body/neck. I just ordered one myself and will be doing it as a set neck, it's nice to see a quality result from someone who put the work in to do it right!

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks! Couldn't agree more. Good luck with your project!

[@areareare9953]

Beautiful finish work. Wow.

[@michaeljanes7086]

Beautiful finish

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks!

[@etibkel]

great video, nice result!

[@marinbutkovic7117]

HB kits are great..this is my 4th and its a les paul..i made sg,jazzmaster and jazz bass and they are all very good quality..made a few other kits but i like HBs much more ..great job and very relaxing video.enjoyed watching

[@billychalmers212]

Awesome look on the body.

[@JohnSmith-ki2eq]

You guys did a great job.

[@barrywebber100]

Great job! Thanks for posting.

[@martinwinkel2390]

Nice job 👍

[@olielmineroguitarrista8851]

Saludos desde México 🤘, muy buen trabajo, me anima a seguir mejorando en los arreglos de mi guitarra, ya vi por qué no me quedo así de lustrada, gracias amigo un gusto tu video.

[@sausagepocket]

Excellent job 👌

[@annacraft]

Really nice result and liked the mood of your video - thanks! I ordered the same kit to have parts and additional references for a complete build of an instrument, but also would like to stain the body of the kit. I think I am going with the violet stain 😂🙋🏻‍♀️Anna

[@volkerfriedritz8149]

Brilliant job - I love the natural look of the guitar and envy you for all the patience you had finishing it. 😎 So... are you happy with your product yourself, also regarding sound and playability?

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks! Yeah. I later had to sand the fret nut a little bit. For the rest I'm really pleased how it sounds (side-note: I'm not a pro)

[@olielmineroguitarrista8851]

Realmente está increíble tu trabajo, presioso

[@TomGielen]

🔥

[@JulianoFagundes]

Amazing work. This inspired me to make one with the kids. What was the process with the coating? Coat, wait, wet sanding, repeat?

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks! It’s great fun to do. For the coating I sprayed a couple of layers, each with an hour apart. I only wet sanded the body 3 times between the 14 layers, mostly because those layers are really thin. After the 14 layers it’s a waiting game, don’t touch it for a couple of days before sanding/polishing. Good luck!

[@shluboto2741]

Georgous! What did you use to stain the body?

[@shluboto2741]

Nevermind, it‘s in the description 🙈

[@RJSevenum]

Hi Marthijn, thanks for the great video. It's a great inspiration for my LP kit 🙂 Question: did you sand and paint the sides/back as well?

[@marthijndevries]

Hi! I sure did. With the Harley Benton kit it’s one solid piece of wood.

[@willowherb8481]

Nice, how long did it take to finish the…”finish”?

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks! 😀. Took me a week to lay down all the clear coats. After that I waited a couple of days before wet sanding. Sanding and polishing took me +/- 5 hours.

[@StudioNalli]

hello, do you know what neck profile this guitar is I haven't been able to find any info on it

[@forkless]

I got mine some time ago which had a U-shape neck.

[@sergeikat01]

Amazing! Did you do anything to finish the neck and in particular the Fretboard?

[@marthijndevries]

Thanks! No. My dad had some ‘special’ oil to nurrish the fredboard. We applied that. The neck was bit of a f*ckup. It is really cheap wood, so sanding/stain wasn’t a option. I just spray painted it with black lacker and 10+ coats of clear.