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Winter Build Off 2020 - Uke Space

#63
Completed the fretwork last night. And I found that I like to polish frets while watching TV. This way, I can slowly step down through the whole stack of micro mesh pads without getting bored or impatient.

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This morning before work I snuck downstairs, did some touch up sanding, and wiped on the first coat of finish. I knew the top was going to be spectacular (and it is) but the real surprise was how nice the figure in the back looks now that it has finish on it. It's very subtle but I really like it.

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#68
I'll get more photos once the finish is cured.

Suffice to say, I like this top well enough that I just emailed the supplier I bought it from and asked how many more they have because I might want to buy all of them. :D

I do need some new cotton rags though. I just bought a big bundle on Amazon and they're super linty. There are probably at least two dozen little white flecks in the finish that I'll have to sand off. Luckily my wife bought me some new white t shirts for Christmas, so I can "borrow" one of those in the meantime.
 
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#70
Yes absolutely. This is reclaimed and it's clear that it is very old. You can tell - it's very, very dry (not just in terms of water but also oil/resin content). The finish sucked into the wood so readily that it almost looked dry before I was even done applying it.
 
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#75
I'm on the 5th coat of this wipe on poly product. The back, sides, and neck would probably be OK at 5 or 6, the finish on those parts had sealed up and filmed over the wood on the second coat. Meanwhile, the top is barely sealed at this point - I think this will be the first coat that actually dries to a continuous film on top of the wood instead of just sucking in. Coats 3 and 4 started to film over, but the finish was uneven and had sucked down in to the softer grain lines even though it filmed over top of the harder lines.

This stuff dries quick enough to do 2 or 3 coats a day, so it may be all done tomorrow, which would be nice, because then I can let it sit and fully cure for the beginning of the week and get the hardware on later in the week or next weekend.
 
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#77
I can already tell that there's one sliiiiiiightly uneven spot where it has soaked in to the redwood unevenly as it dried. :banghead: I guess it'll need another coat after this.

This finish has a great effortless sheen and it certainly goes on easily without issues that are common with other similar products (I have yet to see a single drip, sag, or brush mark). But it is pretty darned hard to get it to build up on wood this soft. I might experiment with sealing the wood first with shellac or something else on the next projects (I did end up buying three more of these tops). Or maybe I'll try doing a coat with "normal" poly before switching to this wipe on product for topcoats.
 
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#79
Finish is finally done. It took several more coats but it looks good now. The upside to this stuff is that it won't need as much buffing as my usual poly technique, it dries to a really nice even sheen.

I only had about 10 minutes tonight. I got the nut made from a scrap of ebony, and got about halfway into installing the pickup and electronics. This is getting SO CLOSE.

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