Corona-Backer - new build

Hi everyone in guitar builder land.
I thought I'd jump on this forum early as I know i'll be looking for lots of advice.
With the impending lockdown and hopefully lots of time on my hands I'm looking for something to do in between endless rounds of XBox golf.
I have an RC-1 kit which I got as a gift last year and only now getting around to it (i built an SG with my son last year which was great fun, but i have to admit it plays a lot better than it looks).

I'm going to go for a classic Rickenbacker tobacco-burst finish, or midnight blue. My decision will partly hinge on the eases of getting a killer finish - if anyone has any opinion on this, and recommended materials for getting the colour/ stain down, I would love to hear them.

*Note my poll should read 'Tobacco Burst', not Post. Can't figure out how to edit it.

Also my first question - how do i deal with the binding when staining or varnishing the body. Do i need to mask it, or can i just stain over it and clean it afterwards> I assume my top coat of varnish or lacquer goes straight over the binding>

Looking forward to hearing everyone's opinions,

Thanks in advance

Sam

I think that there is already enough people who have sunburst guitars, it would be great to see more blue.
I’ll be watching this build closely, but I’m not experienced enough to give good advice, for now.
Good luck, and hope you have fun with it!

As I was told when I proposed doing a burst type finish on my ATL-1SW, "if staining it is really difficult to do, best done using spray".
Guess what, they were right haha.
Tobacco sounds cool but the blue will be nicer methinks.
As to binding, I found it easier to mask off rather than scrape off.
I also used artists latex masking fluid on the difficult curved bits of binding to good effect.
You can spray over the binding on the final clear coats but some lacquers can cause white to yellow.
Hope this helps, FB

Thanks for everyone who has shown interest - I have opted for blue, I've ordered some leather dye in 'Sapphire' which I'm excited about.

This morning i've shaped the headstock - a bit disappointed to realise the tuner holes on the stock Pitbull neck aren't offset the way they should be on a Rickenbacker, but quite happy with the way the shape has turned out.

But..... I have purchased the upgraded bone nut. I took off the black plastic one that comes with, I know find the bone nut is MUCH smaller than the plastic one (pics attached). It's both lower, and narrower (not shorter across the neck, but 'thinner' if you know what I mean).

I assume the answer is to build some sort of shim to mount it on, but before I start whittling away I wondered if anyone out there had any tips on the easiest way to address this. Thanks in advance......

Have you fitted a tuner and stretched a string (or fishing Line over it to make sure it clears the frets? Doesn't matter if it's narrower, height is the only issue. My Rick has a pretty low action.