First build ATL - Tommygun

[Sonic Mountain]

I never go higher than 2000. After that a good cutting compound, then polish.

[Simon Barden]

But higher grits won't do any harm either. I've been using wet Micromesh all the way up to 12000 and then polishing compounds. I'm happy with the results.

[TZK321]

I finished sanding the guitar up to 7,000 grit and got it looking great. The only thing left before installing hardware was to clean up the binding. It didn't occur to me to cover the binding hence it had 30-40 coats of Tru Oil on it. It was a lot harder to remove than I expected and in the process I got lots of particles stuck to the body of the guitar :-(.

So, after I finished cleaning up the binding I covered it with protective tape to prevent more oil from spilling onto it. Not it's back to work on the top.

I also did some work on the neck: I installed a walnut plug in the truss rod hole and installed the tuners.
Everything went smoothly with these things.

What do you think of the decal? Criticism is welcome.

[Simon Barden]

Looks fine to me.

I'd personally trim it as close to the lettering and the gun shape as I could, as there's no benefit in having excessive amounts of clear decal backing. Steel ruler and a scalpel (or other really sharp blade). Try and have round corners rather than angular ones, as the eye will notice those more under the finish.

And make sure that the decal doesn't go right up to the edges of the headstock as you'll catch it when sanding the finish over it, so I'd leave at least 1mm (but 2mm would be better).

[TZK321]

I got quite a bit done these past 2 weeks.
I got the black binding as clean as possible, taped it and then went back to sanding the top. Now both the top and binding look very nice. Next up was installing the tuners. The instructional video that Adam made was great help and I got the tuners aligned perfectly. Next up was installing the jack. This should've been easy but the part was too large. I sanded the hole by hand with 180 grit paper until I could push it in without too much effort. *Note to self: Make sure you cover all finished areas when doing any sanding. I messed up the finish a bit around the jack.
Last thing that I did was put on the water slide decal. I'm very happy with how it looks but it's not adhering to the Tru Oil finish. I need some advice on how to get it to stick.

[Simon Barden]

Did you print the decal yourself or have you got another one? I'd rub the area with maybe 1000 grit paper and try again.

There are decal fixing solutions you can get. I've got some, but never actually tried them yet, so can't say how well they work.

[TZK321]

Did you print the decal yourself or have you got another one? I'd rub the area with maybe 1000 grit paper and try again.

There are decal fixing solutions you can get. I've got some, but never actually tried them yet, so can't say how well they work.

Good news. I let the decal sit overnight and this morning it is set in place. It just needed more time - nothing more. Question: Do I need to cover the decal with something to protect it? FYI, Yes I did make this decal myself on a laser (not inkjet) printer. I would think that a laser decal would be colorfast.

[Sonic Mountain]

I would clear over it- I assume tru oil would work, I've never used it, but its basically poly AFAIK. Water slide decals are pretty delicate.

[TZK321]

I would clear over it- I assume tru oil would work, .....

Thanks for the tip. Would 1 coat be enough or are multiple coats needed?

[Simon Barden]

Definitely several coats. As Sonic says, decals are easily damaged and string-ends (just the process of removing old and fitting new strings) will scratch an unprotected decal to bits in no time.

Are you planning to sand and polish the TruOil (which is linseed oil based and not a poly finish at all)? If so, you'll need quite a few layers. Do it all over the headstock, not just over the decal, as then it builds up to be over the thickness of the decal itself. When you sand flat, then the finish is flat with no bumps. But you'll need quite a few layers.