First build - PRS-1H

[DarkMark]

I was considering the same approach. Let’s us know how it feels when you’re finished.
Thanks.

[kuanjb]

I was considering the same approach. Let’s us know how it feels when you’re finished.
Thanks.

I think the feel of a neck is very subjective and depends a lot on the climate you live in and your skin type, whether you get sweaty palms easily and if you have acidic skin oils.

I have a number of guitars and have never really had a problem with any of their finishes. The guitar I play the most, a Gibson SG, has a gloss finish. I also have an Ibanez RG which has a satin finish. It feels great, but I prefer playing the Gibson.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

[kuanjb]

First coat of poly dried. The back looks great. In the front there were a few drip marks where it had run but otherwise looked ok. A bit dark maybe?

Instructions on the can said to lightly sand with 240 grit between coats, so that's what I start doing. This scuffed the finish quite a lot and particularly on the binding took it back to white on the edges. Changed to using steel wool instead which seems to be a bit gentler.

Really hard to tell whether the scuff marks on the front are going back to wood or just the top coat is scratched. Particularly in the areas where the drip marks are which I tried to sand out but had to stop as I was afraid I'd sand too much.

Either way, the black had come off some of the binding so I figured I'd try doing some touch up stain and see how I go with another coat of poly. Figured that would tell me whether I'm going through to wood or just scratching the surface. There was a bit of colour on the sand paper and steel wool so must have gone through in places.

And I'm glad to say it looks like I was mostly just scratching the surface. There were a couple of lighter patches where I might have gone a bit deeper. Problem is I followed the instructions with the veneer and didn't sand it (mostly) so in places it's not as smooth and level as I'd like.

Will have to see how it looks after it dries.
Just did the front and the headstock this time.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

[kuanjb]

I've just finished a third coat of wipe on poly. But I have a problem as I think it's too dark. Before I put on the PU it looked ok but now it almost looks black unless it's lit up by a bright light.

So what should I do? Sand all the PU off, or maybe just in the centre, so I can remove a bit of colour and lighten it? Really not sure though because of the veneer and the PU seemed to soak in quite a bit on the first coat.

I'm kind of stuck as I don't know whether I can remedy the situation or should just accept the colour as is and keep adding more coats.

Photos are with and without flash.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

[Sonic Mountain]

It'll look a lot better after buffing, it will have a lot more depth. I think it might end up pretty cool.

[wazkelly]

Blue/black tones usually look good with lots of bright hardware. Maybe chrome pickup mounting rings would help lift it a bit together with all the other chrome bits.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Bakersdozen]

Looking great mate. Good progress!
What did you do inside the f holes with? Was it hard to get down in there and work?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[kuanjb]

Looking great mate. Good progress!
What did you do inside the f holes with? Was it hard to get down in there and work?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Thanks.

I used the same black spirit based stain I used for the rest of the body. Used a 2cm wide foam brush. Couldn't do everything from the hole so actually put the whole brush inside and then moved it around with pointy nose pliers. Didn't cover everywhere inside, just the bits which could be easily seen.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

[Bakersdozen]

Thanks.

I used the same black spirit based stain I used for the rest of the body. Used a 2cm wide foam brush. Couldn't do everything from the hole so actually put the whole brush inside and then moved it around with pointy nose pliers. Didn't cover everywhere inside, just the bits which could be easily seen.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

Magic! Thanks mate

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[kuanjb]

So I thought I'd see how I go with lightening the centre by gradually sanding back with a bit of steel wool. The problem with the PU coat though is that it scratches and dulls pretty easily so it's really hard to tell how much you've knocked off.

So I decided to just live with the colour and not sand back. So after finishing off going over the rest of the body with the steel wool I added another coat of the PU.

Still looks really dark but I had a bit more of a look in the light and it does have quite a bit of colour. I'm really hoping that after buffing that will show up some more once I have a more even and glossy finish.

Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk