Guys, thanks for the comments. Here's to hoping the whole package looks good in the end.

Quote Originally Posted by Simon Barden View Post
All looking good and kudos for persevering with the inlay. No, it's not perfect, but it's pretty good. The real test will be what it looks like with the paint on.

If you are going to foil screen the cavities, there's not a lot of point painting them. Could just save a bit of time. Or else use a graphite screening paint for the black. Or just go straight for a gloss black and do it matt + clear in one go!

Sand through is never normally logical. Somehow the finish is thinner there, or the wood surface just a bit more raised than the surrounding area, despite you putting the same amount of finish on or sanding the body flat. Both my GST-1 and Harley Benton JB builds have been plagued by sand-throughs, which along with a poor UK summer with lots of rain, has really slowed my builds down.
I don't know why I blanked on shielding the cavities, but yeah, that needs to be done. I'll almost definitely be painting with graphite rather than using foil. I could buy some, but I've seen some videos about making your own... and I think you guys might have enough of an idea about how I like to do things...

Yeah, that sand through gave me the absolute sh*ts, I'd been so careful. I'm just happy it will be hidden. Anywhere else on the body and I'd have scraped the finish off and started again. Also it still kind of matches the aesthetic, so eeeeeeh.

Glad I'm not the only one though, definitely something to watch out for next time.

Quote Originally Posted by McCreed View Post
Your logo may not be perfect now, but I reckon you'll get it near there if you keep going the way you're going! Good work!

14-21 days is generally long enough with polyurethane, but there are always variables like coat thickness and environmental conditions to consider. The "sniff test" is a good standard.

IME, with hand-applied poly, you might be able to start with 1000 or 1200. You don't get orange peel like you can with spraying so it may not require much levelling to get a nice gloss.

As for the corners and edges, I recommend either just lightly touching them or not touching them at all (unless there is a significant defect that needs addressing).
It's the larger flat areas that reflect the the most light (ie: gloss) and when you do the final polishing and buffing, it should be enough to shine up the small radiused areas.
Those same areas always seem to have the thinnest layer of finish on them and are notorious for sand-through. When I spray my finishes, I always make passes with a focus on my edges and they can still be problematic.

Good point from Simon there, and one I was also going to comment on. I would add that regardless of the shielding method, it wouldn't hurt to seal the cavities with a few coats of shellac or poly before wet sanding. It just prevents any absorption of water and potential swelling of the wood. There shouldn't copious amounts of water getting in the cavities, but better safe than sorry IMO.
I'll definitely leave it 21 days as a minimum, I've come this far, I don't want to ruin it now. Sniff test might work but I have issues with "sniff" due to some serious sinus and allergy issues. I'm sure poly that isn't cured will get through the blockade though.

I've got some bespoke orange peeling in a couple of spots around the inclusions, where I tried to push poly in to fill them better, plus some issues around the horn where I didn't realise I'd overshot the edge and forgot to wipe down the front last, so had a tiny amount run away from me. Yes, I somehow managed to make Wipe On Poly more problematic than I should have.

It also picked up a random ding in the front around 18-19 coats (I think the old guy accidentally hit it with something). So the very last coat will just be on the front and will have a tiny pool to fill whats left of that ding. So I'll need to scrape that back at least.

Sanding is gonna be interesting. Glad I didn't invest a lot (anything) into materials for the finish, but still aiming for the best results I can get.

Already planning the next one. Send help.