Hi from a Newbie on the Sunshine Coast Qld
Hello from a Newbie on the Sunshine Coast Qld taking on EX-5 as a first guitar build project.
Box of goodies arrived a couple of weeks ago and have been reading many of the forum threads seeking knowledge and inspiration before getting stuck into it.
Straight out of the box the kit looked good and everything fitted how it should however the body did show a few glue lines, marks and small dings that required plenty of sanding to remove. Just hope I have not sanded things too hard as I have read that Basswood can develop a sanding polish that becomes resistant to staining. With an Explorer body being a weird shape the end grain took a lot, and I mean a lot of sanding to smooth out those rough edges from the factory machine cuts. After reading about the wet rag technique last night I will give that a go on the weekend to see where things are at. Have mostly used 180 & 240 grit on the body and hardly touched the maple neck which already feels awesome.
Ordered DT Outback Sunset with the kit but the more I think about it I am leaning towards replicating the classic Korina finish and may need to consider blending some DT Coolangatta Gold perhaps? Any feedback on this would be really appreciated.
Hope to start the build diary and upload some photos in the next few days.
Not in a hurry and most comments I have read suggest slow and steady is the best way to go. No doubt there will be plenty of questions to be answered as when the kit arrived it did stipulate it was not from IKEA! Thankfully what I have seen and read on these forums has been both enlightening and encouraging and I am feeling more confident about the challenges that await.
