Guitar Build Update: Finishing The Envirocaster Part 1

After sanding the body to 220 grit, I filled the grain with some neutral
Timber Mate mixed with water.

I brushed two coats of the soupy mixture over the entire body
and allowed two hours of dry time between coats.

After the Timber Mate had been allowed to fully dry, I sanded off the
excess with 220 grit paper.

Next, I vacuumed off the dust and brushed on a couple of coats of
water-based lacquer thinned 1:1 with water. This layer of lacquer will
seal the surface and prepare it for the next step.

In part 2 of the finishing process, I will lightly sand the body with 220 grit and apply a brown burst around the edge. Stay tuned!

Progress On The Highline Prodigy Guitar

Today, I finished sanding the Prodigy's body and neck from 80 grit down to 220 grit. Next, I applied a thin coat of pure tung oil, which highlighted a few nicks and scratches that needed further sanding. After the touch-up sanding was complete, I slathered on a liberal coat of the tung oil and let it soak in for about an hour. Then, I went back and sanded the entire surface of both the body and neck with a couple of 1/4 sheets of 220 grit. This process generated a good amount of oil-soaked dust, which I rubbed into the grain with a cloth and more tung oil.

Since pure tung oil dries hard, it acts like a binder for the sanding dust.  And by rubbing it into the wood, it works perfectly as a grain filler. I'll let the oil/dust layer dry for 24 hours before repeating the process to insure a nice, smooth surface. Then, I'll start applying pure tung oil by itself with a cloth rag until I achieve the light sheen I'm after. Check out the progress so far:

The body after filling the grain with tung oil/sanding dust. 

The neck heel was sanded to match the body's contour.

I use threaded inserts to bolt the neck in with machine screws rather than bolt it on with wood screws.

I'm going to use a nice slab of Cocobolo for the fretboard.