I was applying the 3rd coat of blonde shellac to the neck when I carelessly let a drop of pure meth-spirits fall onto the back of the body. By the time I removed it, the spirits had liquefied and removed all the previous layers in one tiny patch back to bare wood. I now have to match the colour shellac in that area, and re-build the 8+ layers in that one area....sigh....shellac is very very sensitive to it's nemesis...alcohol.
Nevertheless, I have 20 coats on the front of the body, and once I have a similar quantity on the back and neck I will let it all sit for a week before wet-sanding with mineral oil and then polish it with various compounds.
Whenever I regret not just spraying the guitar with lacquer I look at the shellac/polished surface, it is quite a distinctive gloss, very deep, but with an 'aged'/traditional look.
Shopping for pickups now, I'd love to splash out on the best money could buy, but I'm brought back to reality when I consider the pickups could easily exceed the cost of the entire kit. Perhaps the "Toneriders" that I see on the market instead of the Seymour Duncans that I want.
I never started this project aiming for perfection, I like the little 'maker-marks' that come with something you've built yourself, but I'm hopelessly-competitive, and discovering that the group votes for 'build-of-the-month" has caused me many sleepless nights.
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