The Clueless German got herself a GR-1SF kit

[ThatCluelessGerman]

Ha. I've been trying to polish the front a bit further to get rid of the deeper scratches, when the polishing pad somehow caught a bit of poly near one of the f-holes and ripped a nice chunk out of it. Just F that DARN guitar!

[blinddrew]

I'm familiar with the scenario and the emotion.
:¬\

[McCreed]

I have no words.


(except for the "f" one)

[Ricky]

Do not lose faith!
All of these little problems can be fixed.
If you still have the chunk ripped off, it may be possible to superglue it back in place and then apply a little poly with a toothpick or similar.
Failing that, just apply a little coat of poly to the damaged area and repeat as often as required to bring it up to the same level as the rest of the finish. Days, I know but it will work.

I think this is a lesson not to use power polishers as this is the risk.
I always use manual power to polish. That way I can control the amount I take off and can also concentrate on the spots that need the most work. Just my view and my method.

As for the milky areas, as already said, it could be a small amount of delamination.
I had this on my scratch build when the pickup screw caught the lacquer and lifted it slightly. I took the screw out, countersunk the hole slightly and 'wicked' a bit of cyano into it. In your case it could be a little difficult as it is in the middle of a panel so in this case it may well be blushing.
If it is still noticeable then wait a month or two and apply a warm household iron over a tea towel to the area. This is what you do do cup rings on dining tables etc. Works a treat usually.
Right now your poly will be too soft to try that though.
Stay strong!

Cheers
Ricky

[ThatCluelessGerman]

Have spent the last few days slowly building up the spots where the poly was damaged.



Also, while I was at it, I sanded down the complete face again and added a few more coats of poly. I hoped to get rid of the deep scratches, which actually worked, but I have still about a million fine scratches that won't budge.



Not sure which step I am doing wrong. But I currently suspect it's the polishing phase.
It's true that I'm using an attachment for my drill, as I just haven't been able to get any decent results by hand polishing. It's either because I'm a weakling or because my technique is poor. Or probably both. But I have been researching a bit and I'm giving it another try.
I have bravely used the "Autosol" metal polish on the guitar as it's the strongest stuff I have, and still the guitar has millions of fine scratches. So as the Autosol is very abrasive (made for restoring old metal), and it barely polishes the guitar, I'm using either the wrong pads, or doing it otherwise wrong. Will need to make a few tests maybe.



The headstock is now finished. I... don't know.... It's an E for effort, I guess. It looks better from a few feet away, but it's too rough to be pretty. Not sure yet how I can get better results next time. The shell is very brittle and not a pleasure to cut. Also, it's way too hard for my vinyl cutter which I first hoped to use. The knife just barely scratches the surface even at max pressure. So maybe only use edgy and geometrical shapes from now on

I changed my mind about the tuners and used some Grover(?) ones that can be screwed in, as the other ones I had need to be hammered in and the insets were too small for 10mm holes. My husband thinks they look dumb but I like these more than the kit tuners. Haven't drilled any holes yet but I think these also go well with the MOP "design".



On a side note, the milky areas were neither delamination nor blushing. I had blushing on the headstock poly when the weather suddenly changed from hot and dry to cold and wet. However, it completely cleared by itself (I lightly sanded the top layer to help evaporation).
The milky areas didn't change, neither on the front nor on the back. So I sanded them and added new poly. This *seems* to have fixed it, but I let's wait a few days if it comes back.



Drying outside aka waiting for some bird poop.

[BigDaddy]

That guitar is looking good, mate. Don't worry about the small scratches. I've found it difficult to get a flawless finish by wet sanding and hand or power polishing too. There is always some little flaw or blemish with these sorts of finishes. In the end, I set them up as players to my liking. What it sounds and feels like in my hands is more important than a few scratches or a tiny chip here and there. Set it up and get playing it - It's a good feeling when you find yourself totally immersed in the instrument and the sounds it conjures.....only to be brought back to reality as the drool drips from your lip. We've all been there!

[McCreed]

Glad to see you're persevering.

Re: headstock ornamentation - FWIW I recently used "inlay" stickers for the first time on my Les Tele build and was quite happy with the result. I would certainly use them again. I have neither the skill or tooling (or patience) to do real inlay. I am envious of those that can.

They are available in some pretty intricate designs (one or two I could see matching your theme). I went with a rather plain bold design as it suited my guitar best. They're quite thin, but still require a fair bit of bedding-in (even spraying).

Here'e a close up of mine:



IRL it has a definite MOP look, but it didn't photograph very well.
Also note, if you zoom in, the little white specs are just dust particles on the surface I didn't blow off. They're not in the finish.
It's not perfect but overall looks pretty good to me.

[fender3x]

Have spent the last few days slowly building up the spots where the poly was damaged.

I realize that I am "a day late and a dollar short with this" but I just discovered a useful trick. I did the same thing on a maple fingerboard near a fret. I built up the finish with Aqua coat clear. It dries MUCH quicker than the water based poly that I finished with. Sanded and polished nicely.

[ThatCluelessGerman]

That flipping piece of $§%$%§$%§$ of a guitar!

The bridge bushings won't get in, won't get out! Fffffff

I tried it gently, I tried it with wax, I tried it with blunt force, and now these little f*ckers are stuck half ways in.



This thing is really killing me, I can't remember enjoying even one minute of this build.
I ordered a tool to pull windshield wipers, hope it will work with the bushings. If not, this thing is going go be an eternal wall hanger, because I'm really angry right now and not willing to get any gray hair over it. It would be intensely satisfying to just smash it to pieces...... It better sounds freaking awesome because I'm really contemplating

[JimC]

It won't be too hard to make a puller for the bushings. Just a bit of nuisance. The main thing is to ensure that it doesn't damage the finish, but plenty of padding will help with this. Cork floor tile might be good.

Here's how I'd do it.
You need to find a long bolt that will thread into the bushes, hopefully its standard metric, a matching nut, and a very large washer - much bigger than the post. If no washer any bit of metal with the right size hole will do.

Firstly just try using the bolt and washer to pull the post out, you never know, it might work!

If it doesn't then time to make a puller. Get a piece of wood, about say 100mm square and deeper than the post is long, and drill a hole through it that is generously wider than the post. Put a couple of layers of cork floor tile on the bottom as padding. Remove the pickup, and locate the piece of wood with the hole round the post.
Thread the nut onto the bolt, all the way up, then the washer, and then thread the bolt into the post, (through the hole in the bit of wood). Wind it all the way down into the post, but just by hand, no reason to use force. Now wind the nut down so that the washer is hand tight against the wood block. Now its time to be very sensitive and listen and check. With a spanner wind the nut down very slowly, but don't let the bolt turn. This should gently pull the post up and out. Just be very careful to listen for ominous creaking noises (other than the post coming out) and check that nothing is marring the finish. Note you will be putting load on the surface, so I would wait a couple of weeks at least for all paint to really cure thoroughly because any trace of softness in the finish means it will mark.