Day 36

Started the pick guard.  1/8" maple.  Chipped out on the router. Found the piece and I reglued it. 

Day 35

Scuffed with gray and then white scotchbrite.  Then wet sanded with 2000 wet/dry sandpaper. 

Diluted the Tru-oil with mineral spirits. 50/50. Wiped on 10th glaze coat. Found it better to wipe off with lint free paper towels. (Got less streaking)

Let dry about 5 hours and did another glaze coat. That would be 11 total coats. Wiped off with lint free paper towels. 

Now to let it cure (1-2 weeks). Then try to remove and streaks or scratches. Maybe try burlap first, or Finesse-It II Polish. 

Day 34 PM

Created pick guard and truss rod cover templates.  

Day 34 AM

9th coat of Tru-oil

Day 33

Discovered a long drip from the 7th coat I applied yesterday. Had to sand the hard drip off. Got down pretty deep and hit the stain. So I dabbed a little blue stain on the area and went over it with more Tru-oil. That spot isn't as glossy as the rest of the guitar. But it is what it is. 

Here are pics of the 8th coat of Tru-oil right after it was applied. Looks like most of the pores are filled now. 

Day 32 PM

Seventh coat of Tru-oil. 

Day 32 AM

Gray scotchbrite. Then white scotchbrite. Then wet sanded with 1500 grit. Wiped clean with moist towel. 

Day 31

Sixth coat of Tru-oil. No pics. Letting it dry overnight. I'll scuff and wet sand with 1500 grit tomorrow. 

Day 30

Fifth coat of Tru-oil. 

The pores are still there, so I tried something different. 

Applied more Tru-oil and sanded with 1000 grit. Small circles. It made a slurry and filled the pores, but it made way too much dirt. Total mess when it dried. I had to rescuff it hard to get most of the dust and crud out. I will not be doing that ever again.  I'll just keep adding coats til it fills the pores or maybe a quick grain filler session in certain areas. 

Day 29 PM

Applied fourth coat of Tru-oil. Didn't need nearly as much as first couple coats. Same procedure. Buff immediately with coffee filters and work in small sections. 

Pic shows left half with 4th coat.

Day 29 AM

Used gray scotchbrite to dull all surfaces. Then went over with white scotchbrite. 

Still kind of rough to the touch. So I got some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper, soaked it in a cup of water and very lightly sanded all the surfaces until they were smooth to the touch. 

Wipe off immediately. 

Some of the sanded slurry got down in the joint area. Dipped a fresh cloth in the water and wiped it out. 

Then went over all surfaces with damp cloth to remove and milky residue left over from sanding. 

Day 28 PM

Third coat of Tru-oil. Going to let it dry overnight and scuff back tomorrow. 

Day 28 AM

Did the 2nd coat of Tru-oil on entire instrument. I'm still putting a few drops on and moving it around with my fingers. Especially across the grain. Really hoping it completely fill the pores.  You can tell in the pics it's not completely smooth.

Day 27

I let the instrument dry overnight. 

Knocked the shine down with gray scotchbrite, wiped it with a clean cloth and then went over it with white scotchbrite. Wiped it again. Now I'm ready for the fun part. Tru-oil ! 

Applied a liberal amount of Tru oil. Rubbed against grain to fill any remaining pores. Then buffed with grain with coffee filters. Complete whole instrument and  let dry overnight. 

Day 26 PM

Scuffed all surfaces with gray scotchbrite. Really tried to make the filled surface colors look even. Then went over everything with damp cloth. 

Sprayed two coats of shellac to seal the grain filler. Waited one hour between coats. Then leave overnight to dry.