This is looking really good. I hope the lacquer turns out good for you. Looking forward to seeing this finished.

Thanks @Wayne_F , its got all the lacquer that its getting, so I'm working my way up to polishing now and should be finished soon.

@boo , I think I'm ready for some more of your expert guidance. I've had a tentative go at polishing the control cavity cover and it looks quite good to me, but obviously I'm aiming for better than just good. I've got a tube of Farcela G3 (from a friend that used to paint cars) what grade paper should I go to before I attack it with the G3.

I think I'm ready for some more of your expert guidance. I've had a tentative go at polishing the control cavity cover and it looks quite good to me, but obviously I'm aiming for better than just good. I've got a tube of Farcela G3 (from a friend that used to paint cars) what grade paper should I go to before I attack it with the G3.

@robin Yeah sure, I’m assuming you are polishing by hand? So, sanding the paint to a higher grade of wet and dry will help. The higher the grade, the easier it will be to polish it to a high gloss finish. So after spraying (and drying) I will typically start with P1200g and then go through higher grades, such as, P1500g, P2000g, P3000g, P5000g, P7000g, P9000g and P10000g. I know that sounds like a lot of work, and it is but, most of the flattening is done with the P1200g and each time you swap to a higher grade, the time spent sanding halves (in theory). For example, removing the sanding scratches created by the P2000g with P3000g paper will take much less work and effort than the previous paper (removing P1500g scratches with P2000g paper). So taking the time to go through the grades of paper will save your elbow grease when it come to polishing. You could polish it from P1500g or P2000g but it will take you longer and will not be as glossy than if you polished from P7000g or P9000g or P10000g paper etc. Whatever you decide, use your Farecla G3 to get the gloss up as much as you can, that’s where most of the polishing work is done, just like the lower grades of paper do in the sanding process. Then clean all of that G3 compound off thoroughly and then use a finer compound such as Farecla G10 or just move on to a machine glaze and hand wax. After G3, I use Gold Top machine glaze to remove that slight milky appearance left over from the G3. After that, I clean again and apply Wax Top by hand and remove by hand to leave in ultra waxy, high gloss finish. 
Doing this I am going through grades of compound and polish, just like I went through grades of wet and dry paper in the sanding stage. 
Go through the grades of papers and then through the grades of polish, that’s the secret. 
Hope this helps. 👍 

@robin You don’t have to use these exact ones, other brands are available. They do all work well together though, that’s what they were designed to do. 👍 Like with anything, whether it’s paint systems, sanding systems, polishing systems, I think it’s best to choose one brand (one system) and run with that. 👍

Go through the grades of papers and then through the grades of polish, that’s the secret. 

Thanks again @boo for your usual comprehensive advice, very much appreciated. I've ordered up some wet & dry, so I'll have from 1000 up to 7000.  Just one more question, what do you clean the G3 off with?

Just one more question, what do you clean the G3 off with?

@robin It’s water based so I just use a damp (not wet) rag, make sure the rag is soft and you have rung it out properly. Follow up with a dry rag and try not to get any water in any screw holes etc. 

 It’s water based so I just use a damp (not wet) rag, make sure the rag is soft and you have rung it out properly. Follow up with a dry rag and try not to get any water in any screw holes etc

Thanks @boo I'll get started on the finish soon.

That's my build #002 almost finished now, just needs a wee tweek of the truss rod and the string heights set. This one was a kit from @markbailey and built following his course and lots of advice on the lacquering and polishing from @boo .

Very well done @robin. I like how you have shaped the neck heel to the body. 

🎸🙏🎶🙂

I like how you have shaped the neck heel to the body

Thanks @russ   it didn't start off quite as close as that, but by the time I sanded out saw cuts and chisel marks thats where it ended up, so just a happy accident.

@robin Very nice work Robin, it looks great. I like its offset appearance and the colour blending is wonderful. I like your attention to detail with the truss rod cover and headstock decal, as well as get a super finish with the lacquer. Well done my friend, keep em coming. 

My father-in-law died a couple of weeks ago (very sad) and it was his funeral this Friday. That means we now have no ties to Blackpool any more so we are nearly ready for preparations to move up to Scotland, somewhere near you maybe. All we need to do is sell our house and buy one in Scotland, we will be cash buyers as our mortgage is paid off. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 
We are still keeping an open mind, anywhere from Oban down to Campbeltown or even more easterly such as Falkirk regions, we have friends their. 

When I get to wherever I’m going, wherever we end up, I’m going to build a spray booth for all my guitar painting needs and you will be welcome to visit. 

Well done with this guitar build Robin, keep going. 🎸👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Boo. 

@robin That looks really good! Well done. 🤩 🍾 

Thanks @boo   I can see small swirly scratches shining through the lacquer when I turn it in the sunhine, I don't know if these would polish out or not but I think I'm going to leave it as it is, I'm delighted with how it's turned out for a first attempt at lacquering.

Sorry to hear about your father in law, its always a sad time when someone close dies, no matter how ill they've been. Houses are selling very quickly up here at the moment, my daughter is in the process if buying just now, some that she had liked were sold before she got a chance to view them. So, good luck with your house search and I'm looking forward to visiting once you get settled in bonny Scotland.

Looks great! Headstock is awesome!

Looks great! Headstock is awesome!

Thanks @ wayne_f    The headstock started off a little bigger than that. I tried to use a handheld polishing mop and ripped the corner off it. Rather than sand it back and try to redo the finish, I reshaped the end of the headstock until the damage disappeared.

She really is a beauty @robin, thanks for sharing as it's always so inspiring to see what everyone else is up to.

I can see small swirly scratches shining through the lacquer when I turn it in the sunhine, I don't know if these would polish out or not but I think I'm going to leave it as it is, I'm delighted with how it's turned out for a first attempt at lacquering.

@robin Ok, those swirls are where you haven’t sanded out the scratches properly from coarser grits of paper. It’s easily done so don’t beat yourself up about it, just put it down to experience. You still have a great guitar to play and had fun making it. Using paints and lacquers to finish guitars (or anything) is quite difficult really and you have to start somewhere and improve over time.  It’s all about meticulous preparation, cleanliness and experience and you will get better and better with practice. It’s a fantastic start though, a great baseline to work from. Now you can actually see where more sanding was needed and that you MUST sand out each set of scratches entirely with the next grade up before continuing to the next grade, an on…… If you move to the next grade too soon, you will not sand out those deeper scratches from a couple of grades earlier. Another possibility is that dirt, grit, dust has been trapped under your paper as you were sanding, leaving tiny scratches in the paint surface. Those scratches could also be in the wood itself or the sanding sealer (if you used any) under the lacquer, if they are then you will not be able to polish them out. 
It doesn’t matter though, it’s all a learning curve and nothing is ever perfect (you can get pretty close though sometimes). 

Enjoy playing your guitar and I look forward to seeing your next design. 

Rock n Roll

Boo. 🤘😁🤘🎸

Thanks for the eencouragement @boo , I'm not going to tamper with it and risk spoiling the finish that I've got. The next project is still a block of wood at the moment, so the decision to oil or lacquer is a long way off.

@robin

Some factory instruments from 30 years or longer ago have this type of swirl from circular sanding or polishing that can be seen by moving around under a light. You could think of it as stage 1 relic finish which adds value apparently.

Indeed Yes. Run with what @rocknroller912 said 🙄👆

Top job @robin, that came out great! I really like the offset shape and neck joint, the color looks fab as well! 
How does it play and sound?

Very sorry for your loss @boo… how’s your wife holding up?