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Ricky, yes, I think the water-based poly was the beginning of the downhill on this one! I'm now a bit concerned that the finish is going to react with my other guitar rack (where this will live) but I have only one way of finding out!
McCreed, yep, your assumption is correct but the colouring was driven by what heatshrink I had available in appropriate sizes rather than any particular logic. :)
So, as I can't currently put it on a rack, I left it lying on its back last night on a cotton t-shirt, as I have many times so far in this build. The same T-shirt that has proven an effective bed even when applying a fair bit of sand-and-polish pressure to the front.
And as I lifted it up this morning, up came the t-shirt as well.
Head. Desk. Interface.
https://i.imgur.com/0xk4DHE.jpg
I don't know if it's the heat or what but I think I'm just going to pop the neck off again and leave it hanging for a month.
I can build up the solder divot and the polish through, and the stand marks, in the meantime but I'm not going to let it touch ANYTHING until the end of September!
Even though I have very little experience compared to all of you guys, I can only second the comment about water based finishes (poly, varnish, lacquer...) - tried it, not good.
But my experiences with oil based poly were very good. I started with Rustin's polyurethan varnish (which is great but too amber for my taste), I am now happy with MinWax fast drying polyurethan. This stuff is easy to work with (just thin and wipe on), dries fast and very durable. I think Tru Oil itself is boiled linseed oil with a good shot of poly mixed in.
Edit: A SHIRT shouldn't be a problem to cured poly! How come it doesn't feel sticky if it is still that soft? No wonder you polished through, that's not poor technique, that's poor poly. What kind of poly was this, if I'm allowed to ask?
Just wondering, because water based poly's do dry much faster than oil based poly's, and with the current weather, I can wipe on a coat and it dries in front of my eyes so I can touch it 10 minutes later... Can't imagine this happen to poly that's older than an hour..?
I'm sure you posted this info earlier, but I didn't know you were using water based poly.
My question is: did you use actual "wipe-on" water based poly or a water based poly that you thinned (presumably with water) to wipe on?
I only ask because with the latter, TTBOMK they don't recommend thinning, and if you do, it shouldn't be thinned more than 10%.
Just for the record I used a few coats of water based wipe on poly for the travel guitar. Goodness knows how old it was as it was already in the house I moved into. It turned out quite acceptable with no issues. Having said that I would use oil based poly every time.... I only used the water based poly as it was the thrifty option and I hadn’t invested much in the guitar emotionally or financially. Oil based feels better to me.
Hopefully it cures nice and hard 😬
The water-based stuff was thinned but only about 10% (probably a bit less actually).
I have pretty much concluded, at this point, that Loki is taking a vacation in York...
Well, Tom Hiddleston may be staying local to you for a holiday as he can't easily go abroad.
His influence is still being felt. Went through the whole process again on the patch between the bridge and pick-up. Unfortunately that process also included tearing a huge strip out on the first pass with the polish.
Think I'm basically down to two options now: finish putting it together and just live with it, or remove the whole top-coat on the front and start again.
As frustrating as it may be, I think the option of refinishing will leave you feeling better with the project in the end.
With my most recent finish debacle, my attitude turned around immediately once I made the decision to redo and got the new primer on.
Was hoping to spray the new base coat tomorrow, but I think Mother Nature may conspire against me. Will see what morning brings...
You could always put the body in the post to me and I can swear at it instead.