Well I still have some work to do :-)
The neck is pretty much done now and has come up really well. I have completed the finish, levelled and polished the frets and fitted the locking tuners. It does look good and I am happy with the finish. I'm just waiting on a new bone nut to arrive to complete the job. The one I got from PBG was too narrow for the nut slot and I wasn't able to find a small piece of veneer to fill the gap. So a new nut in the right size was the better option.
The body is a different story. I think that as a beginner to this craft, Dingo Tone stains are probably not the best option. I have been having real trouble with it. The natural stain on the back of the body is nice but I have had all manners of grief with the blue stain on the flame maple veneer (some of that being attributed to glue residue). This stuff just does not cure, it stays tacky. I have no doubt a big part of the issue is user error but it is frustrating.
So I gave it a good sand all over with wet and dry sandpaper and this helped remove most of the top layer tackiness. It also took out a lot of colour and i probably went too hard around the edges. But it gave me chance to rethink the finish colour. So I have attempted to blend in a bit of a burst effect around the edges of the guitar with some black stain. I'm actually much happier with this look compared to the Bondi Blue colour which is kind of a light denim colour.
From here I am going to attempt to complete the finish with DT top coat using incredibly thin coats (and a lot of patience), before buffing and polishing. I am still considering whether I do that or just go and buy some tru-oil and use that instead.
Hopefully I am only a few weeks away from completing the build now
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