Build Diary: IB-4 (first build)

[fender3x]

I will probably do one more coat before applying the decal and then several coats of varnish.

I just noticed this about the decal. AquaCoat seems a lot like top coat and you'd probably be fine putting the decal directly over it. That said I have had best results with waterslide decals when I put them over a coat or two of dry top coat. I have never put one directly over Aquacoat (if you do I'll be curious about the results). My experiments with putting the decal over shellac or bare wood did not turn out too well. My best results have been when the surface is smooth and shiney under the decal.

BTW the body looks great. Really nice color and grain!

Sent from my CPH2655 using Tapatalk

[Pat Rodgers]

Thanks so much for the comments, advice and complements

Yes, I do plan to put the decal on top of the Aqua Coat. The decal is kind of sticky on the bottom, so hopefully I won't have too much trouble getting it lined up (as best as possible) and then make small adjustments.

I'm glad you mentioned the ability to apply Aqua Coat over the top coat if needed. I'll be using water based varnish (Saman). Using water based products is all new to me, but aside from a bit of struggle to get the stain to my liking, I'm pretty happy with it.

I plan to put on a total of 5 coats of Aqua Coat so that I have a good thickness before sanding it. It's touchy; I wasn't careful enough and accidentally sanded through the first two layers of a small spot and removed a noticeable bit of stain, but I was able to touch it up to where it looked good again, thankfully. I found that sanding takes a very light touch at this stage.