Day 44 AM

Sanded 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 500

Masked off the rosewood and cocobolo. 

Used a folded paper towel and wiped on 2lb cut sanding sealer to seal the oily woods.  Removed the tape. 

Sanded shellac that got on the mahogany and maple. 

Gonna let dry and scuff the shellacked areas with 500. 

Day 43 New Finishing System

Well I wasnt happy with the top finish. After talking to the guy from sixgunguitars I decided to strip sand and use a new easier finishing method. Stay tuned. 

Here it is after 2 hours of sanding with 120 grit. Wiped down with mineral spirits. 

Day 42

Wet sanded with 1000 grit. Just till it felt baby smooth. Use 2000 grit on edges. 

Wiped clean and applied first coat of Tru oil. 

Day 41

2nd coat of 1 lb shellac

I noticed some dried splotchy shellac in a couple areas, so I hit everything with gray scotchbrite to smooth it out.  I'm going to scuff after every 2nd coat from now on. 

Then a 3rd and 4th coat of shellac.

Day 40 PM (part 2)

Mixed Zinsser Bullseye Sealcoat Shellac with Denatured Alcohol. 50/50. 

This makes a one lb cut. Sprayed the TRC and PG. 

Day 40 PM (part1)

I really wasn't digging the final finish. Looked like plastic wrap. It didn't have the depth that is common with Tru-oil. So I scuffed everything with gray scotchbrite. 

Lightly polished with Birchwood Casey Sheen and Conditioner. Pics show half of top and back done. Big difference. It brings out the luster without making it too shiny. I like it. 

Waiting for Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax to be delivered. I'll finish it off with that. 

Day 40 AM

Cut the pick guard to match the FB end and sanded the transitions. 

Traced the pickup pocket on the PG and cut to match. This step doesn't have to be perfect. 

Made the .075" sub plates. Used the 3/4" holes in PG to transfer the center to the next plate and repeated with 5/8" holes for final plate. 

Glued them all together using the white plastic pins to keep the holes concentric. 

Sanded the 15 deg angle on the TRC. 

Quick mockup.