I'm very happy with how the neck looks and feels now. That 600 grit and final coat made all the difference.
Just gave the headstock the lightest of sands, and a 5th coat of poly. I'm guessing that's enough, but might repeat that in the morning just to be sure. It's looking good, but will need flat sanding / grits / polish.
Looks great. Every time I see it I wish that I had coloured the headstock. I am going for a textured finish on the body of my guitar so I am torn as to how to finish the neck. I have used wipe on poly gloss front and back. I have sanded both with 2000 grit. I think I will leave the back and polish the front of the headstock and see what happens.
Juz, I wish I had some experience to help. My success so far has been 20% vision, 30% forum study, 30% specific advice received, and 20% luck. I was concerned how a dark headstock front would go with a clear neck, but I think it looks good. Proof will be when I get the neck onto the body - that's when I'm hoping everything makes sense.
I did take a lot of inspiration from how you made the body of your guitar look. I think yours looks amazing.
Lots of luck helps. So many things I do I know I will not do again. I have teenagers who keep me grounded, “Did you really expect the first guitar you built would be perfect Dad?” The forums are fantastic but I love just getting in and trying things.
Wet sand done. Was terrified about sanding through clear coat, but as it turned out, I was fine. Micro Mesh pads were so easy to use! It's not perfect, but I'm happy with it. I've polished it with Maguires Ultimate Compound, and I can still see a few fine scratches from the wet sanding. But I'll get some Scratch X into it after lunch and see how it comes out.
I have some Dunlop 65 Guitar Polish and Cleaner. Is this suitable to put over the top? Or is there another polish I should use to finish after Scratch X?
The Dunlop cleaner will be OK to put on, but it’s really meant for cleaning dirty guitars and yours isn’t dirty. I’d have another go with the Ultimate Compound as it’s coarser than the Scratch X so will remove scratch marks faster. Repeat as necessary then use the Scratch X to add a higher level of shine.
If the scratches are quite deep rather than very light and on the surface, then you may need to go back and wet sand again. Sometimes it’s the only way. Double check that the scratches are on the surface of the finish and not in the wood beneath it. If they are in the wood, then you won’t fix it without sanding the finish off completely. I’ve had to do that before.
If you need to wet sand again I’d start with something quite fine, say P800. If that’s not doing much after a good sand then try P600. You shouldn’t need to go below P400.
It’s important to clean and dry off the surface after each grit. You don’t want to push those coarser finish particles around with the finer grit paper and you need to be able to check for obvious scratches. There’s no point going finer if there are still coarser scratches around. Sand until you’ve removed all the scratches left by the previous grit paper.
Loving the way the purple around the pickguard looks. It looks like a neon glow around the pickguard and compliments the purple in the guitar body. Really happy with the way this is all coming together now.
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