Yet another Sale item is coming my way.

[Rabbit]

I think I will do about 3 coats of Tru Oil. Three of spray gloss polyurethane and then seal and level with CA glue. It should then be just hand compound, hand buff and hand wax up well. .

I'm a bit confused. If you are using Tru Oil, why poly as well, and if you are using poly, why bother with Tru Oil?

[ozzbike]

I'm a bit confused. If you are using Tru Oil, why poly as well, and if you are using poly, why bother with Tru Oil?

Firstly a personal choice based on the result I have achieved from previous builds. Secondly I really like the effect the Tru-Oil has on the grain and figure in wood. I have had more than one build where flame has been hidden and only comes to view upon the application of Tru Oil.

I really am not one of the multiple layers of Tru-Oil fraternity. But the effect is too easy to achieve. I will leave it hang for about a week after the last Tru-Oil coat.

I have been having great results with the Cabots Red Label (Marine) Polyurethane in aerosol cans. It is dearer than the other one the big green shed has of the Cabots....which is interior use only.

I am really liking the finish I get with this stuff, and really quickly too. I can spray 3 coats 10 minutes apart, 2 days later light sand and repeat. Then so on until I get to wet-sand at 1500 to 2000.

The alternate finish I use is the Fine Buffing Oil from Feast Watson. It is applied with 0000 steel wool only. I do about 7 coats of that stuff. Then 4 coats of the Gillys Cabinetmaker Wax to seal up the finish and provide a little protection. This is the combination I use on my natural oiled finishes.

For gloss finishes and to cover and help bursts and heavy stain work I like Polyurethane as it is so easy to finish.....cut with compound, wax and buff.

The Tru oil gives great depth to the finish and detail in the wood. But it does provide only limited robust protection to the finished guitar. Poly gives me a great finish that is tough....but it is just like covering the surface in plastic, in that it does nothing at all to develop the grain. So, I have found that a combination of the two gives me both. Develop the grain with tru oil, and protect and gloss and shine with the Polyurethane.

EDIT:- The CA glue was recommended by a couple of people on here, and I tried it in my previous headless bass build. The Bass was also a customer return and came with a zebra wood veneer. The CA glue helps keep the veneer in one piece and definitely does fill the pores.

Maybe I should do as others have done and just finish the CA glue with compound and wax. But again, I find that it too falls short. It is just like clear plastic and scratches easily. I find the Poly is very forgiving, and using oil base poly allows me to apply it over Tru Oil and over CA Glue.

[DarkMark]

👍 that’s a great staining job!

[ozzbike]

👍 that’s a great staining job!

Thank you Mark...I am most humble. It was easy with the leather dyes and a good video to follow.

[ozzbike]

I look at the colours on this build...and I don't know. But this is the first coat of spray Cabots Exterior Gloss polyurethane.

The top is showing some pits in the veneer...absolutely no pore filling undertaken...and only light sanding up through the grits...then scared shaking sanding to drop the colour depth.

I do think that a guitar of this shape needs to say LOUD. I think this is loud...even though it is little removed from the more natural colours I do.

Let us see how it dries and shines....Another spray of poly in a few days and then sand lightly to even the bumps at 600 grit. Then at least two wiped coats of CA glue and see how that levels things.

[ozzbike]

Sadly,

This is a close to the original tortoise shell binding I can find....I have ordered and received three different lots. So I have decided to not hack the headstock up and try and fit the binding.

Today I have roughly shaped and fitted the new nut...made from a slab of TUSQ material. I think it will be quite high and will need a reshape and smooth after the strings etc are fitted.

I have laid one strip of binding across the end of the nut. The Truss rod cover is six strips of binding cut to shape and glued to a three ply veneer wooden back plate.

The wood will allow me to undercut the truss rod cover to butt up hard against the strip behind the nut.

I will leave this to dry over night and attack with files and sandpaper tomorrow.

I have 12 paua 6mm dots. I think I will lay out the dots across the strip behind the nut and in some pattern along the truss rod cover.

My hand is wobbly, but I am tempted to try and etch some design into the Truss Rod Cover with my BGS Dremel look-a-like hand tool. But, I think the dots will do the job for me.

[ozzbike]

One more piccie.....

[ozzbike]

I have one query.....does anybody know how I am going to smooth and seal this stuff up????

I can sand and file the blob into the black and white paper template shape quite easily. But, it will have gaps, rises and lows. Is there anyway to try and even this out.....or am I just going to have to put up with the fact that I made this from binding and not pickguard material?

[ozzbike]

I shaped and sanded this and completely finished it....it looks like crap....bin.

I have taken the kit truss rod cover and drilled two 6mm holes and mounted 2 pieces of the paua dots in those holes.

The line of binding across the back of the nut also has two dots...but is a little more messy and will need some more work.

[ozzbike]

The truss rod cover has been scrapped it looked like junk. I have used the kit TRC with two Paua dots inlaid. I have got the body and the neck together now. Fitted the bigsby down the centre line of the maple veneer and it lines up pretty well.

Adjust the wildly high nut...my handywork....and put a set of strings on and I will love to hear how she plays.

Partial setup has been done on the neck...smooth level frets with nice ends. (Bridge height, intonation and string height at first fret to go.)