#3rd Custom GR-1SF ‘Annylonation’.

[DarkMark]

Two coats of mahogany.

[blinddrew]

Is this a new body or did you steam it apart and sand it all back?

[DarkMark]

No, same old body. I hadn’t made a mess of that... yet. The neck had never been attached so I can continue with the body until the replacement neck arrives. Looking forward to getting some PU on top. Onwards and upwards.

[DarkMark]

I was scraping binding last night (The masking had done it’s job well) when I noticed the tide line? On the middle side of the right f hole. So I re-masked the binding, wiped the face with metho and re-stained this morning before work. Looks much more even. However, a lot more stain got onto the binding this time. The price I pay for not getting it right the first time.

[blinddrew]

Just call it 'vintage' and embrace it.
Not sure there's much that can be done about that really. Is it an oil or a water-based stain?

P.S. Glad it's not a whole new kit needed!

[DarkMark]

No Drew, I’m a patient man with a blade and a steady hand. It will be coming off. I think it’s oil based? Cleans up with methylated spirits.

[blinddrew]

Oil-based stains can penetrate into the tiny cracks in the binding more easily. But if it's cleaning up ok then I guess that's the job in hand.

[DarkMark]

I did a little experiment this time before I stained. I used a cotton bud to give the binding a coat of wipe on poly before I finished sanding. Apart from one little slip around an f hole I was able to keep it of the wood. I’ve still got stain in some larger binding cracks, but it doesn’t seem to of bleed into the smaller hairline cracks like I’ve seen before. Then again the binding might just be in better condition and I’m just kidding myself.

[blinddrew]

I'd claim the victory!
Seriously though, that's a really good idea.

[DarkMark]

After several hours the scraping is done.