I would love to strip the body and lacquer it black but I don’t see how that is going to work out without professional equipment. Sunburst was my last color choice, but this one had the stiffest, most stable neck of all I tried, so there you go. I don’t necessarily think the light luan (I assume that’s what this is) looks good with the sunburst, but this isn’t about aesthetics. I had planned on oiling this with tinted Tung oil to make it look more like the dark stained mahogany on vintage instruments, but the undercoat has put an end to that. They filled a couple spots, one on the corner of the heel, another in the dove wing, and a third at the point where the peghead side and the taper meet. The heel and the sides of the peghead were done very carefully, taping it off with blue tape, and using a small corner of paper. This gives me a smooth, semi-gloss finish which feels good. One it was completely sanded, I wet sanded 800, 1000, and 1200, then dry sanded with mesh to 8000. I started by wet sanding with 1200, knowing that was too fine, and worked my way up to 600, which was the right grit to remove the poly. I got the sharp lines with painter’s tape, a light touch, and patience. It’s not bare wood, but it feels fine and it protects the wood. I was surprised to find the undercoat - it is very definitely there - but it makes sense in the context of mass production. I thought about this quite a bit, considering how best to do it, before I began.

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