Quote Originally Posted by Darryn View Post
I used acrylic spray paint for my first build and am pretty happy overall. I added some acrylic flakes in a bottle from a craft shop which proved to be really time consuming (lots of waiting for paint to dry and sanding) but gave a pretty cool finish. I used automotive acrylic spray cans from a car shop and found the primer to be excellent in terms of being self levelling and filling any imperfections in the wood. It sanded down to a nice smooth finish for the paint. Clear coat over the top was recommended to me - I put on about 12 thin coats and sanded with steel wool. I am in North Queensland and it is pretty humid, but don't go less than 24 hours between coats - I got greedy and tried to apply 2 coats in a day and had to sand right back because they didn't adhere properly - cost me another can of paint and a lot of time.

Same for the tru-oil, min. 24 hours between coats before sanding up here. I wanted a really glossy finish - took 30 coats each side of the fretboard sanded with 000 steel wool each time to get the finish I wanted. All the time is in sanding, took about half an hour each time to sand, putting a coat on only takes a few minutes. Don't put too much on your fingers or you get imperfections and watch for runs. Lots of thin coats seems to work much better. I also tried using a rag, but just using your finger seems to work much better, you get a lot more marks in the finish even with a very fine cotton rag.
Very helpful Darryn. I am kicking around either using stain then poly rub-on satin finish or the rattle can acrylic method. So far as painting rattle can acrylic, I guess I could use rub-on poly to finish assuming the poly satin finish and acrylic paint work together. As already noted, the TrueOil might upset the bright opaque color that I'm thinking of... Everyone's input is really giving me a better idea of what I'm up against. After my TL-1 kit, I want to take on the ES-5V hollow body kit in maple. That I would want a dark stain and finish in rub-on poly satin. It's amazing considering all the possibilities. My thanks to you and all contributors!