Hi all,

Just ordered the kit for my first build ever.
It's one of the discontinued kits, a single cutaway guitar with mahogany neck and body, plus a flame maple veneer.

I have some initial finishing ideas in mind based on what I have read here, but would love your input. Please tell me if I'm doing something dumb. I am a big fan of the dyed/stained see-through look in general. On the other hand, I already have an ash 2-tone sunburst (54 reissue) Strat which is brownish/yellow, so I want something considerably different.

I'm thinking of a dyed/stained reddish look for the top. Planning on dyeing it with a really diluted black ubeaut water based dye to accentuate the flame, then going for the red.

Still unsure about the back/sides and neck. Again, I really like the transparent look and accentuating the wood grain, so my current plan is to fill the grain with ebony timbermate, sand it back, then either go for a lighter more natural (brownish?) look to contrast the top, or a mahogany/reddish stain so it's sort of closer to the top?

I am a bit lost on the choices of sanding sealer and top coats since there is a lot of conflicting info, so would greatly appreciate it if someone pointed me in a direction.

Will post an update as soon as the kit arrives.

Cheers