), but most of you should know what this build is about. I was hoping to get started on this project this past weekend, but a train derailment delayed the arrival of a couple of things I needed. I didn't have to agonize much over what kind of finish I want to do on this one. I have long admired the look of the Fender American Deluxe/American Elite (now called "American Ultra") Tele in Cherry Sunburst.
Not enough to drop $2,000 on one. That would be insane (I'll get back to that later).
But I tucked it away as inspiration for a future build some day, and this body fits the bill. It doesn't have binding, but it has a 1/4" flame Maple top. Perfect for doing "faux binding", which I think is even better.I've never done this before, so I did a lot of research and watched a lot of videos. There are a few different techniques. I've seen people do this without taping or masking the edge at all (I won't be using that technique!). Some just mask the edge with pin-striper's tape, while others paint sanding sealer around the edge to prevent the dye from penetrating the wood. I'm going to take a belt-and-suspenders approach, and use sanding sealer, but also cover the edge with tape when I start painting the burst. If the red dye seeps into the end-grain on the edge, there will be no amount of sanding that will get it out.
So I ordered a can of Mohawk sanding sealer:
This stuff is kinda spendy... $20 a can! I wasn't sure if I really needed it. I've got plenty of polyurethane around here (or just straight lacquer) that I imagine would do the same thing, but everybody I watched used sanding sealer for this, and often times when I decide to get clever and go off-script, it doesn't work out so well... Not every the time, mind you, but I don't want to take any chances with this.
And I got some vinyl 3M pin-striping tape:
Now I have to do a lot of sanding. The back and sides are kinda rough, but the top feels like it was sanded to 1000 grit. Super-smooth, with no scratch marks that I can find anywhere. But unfortunately, I'm going to have to sand it down again, because the other day I was test-fitting the hardware to make sure all the routs and bridge mounting holes were in the right place, and the wire from the pickup that was mounted on the bridge plate got snagged in the hole when I was removing it, and the bridge slipped out of my hand, leaving a very faint ding in the top.
It's not deep. In fact, it's too faint to capture in a photo, but it's there, and it needs to be sanded out before I apply any dye.I'm pretty eager to get started with this, so I'll have a progress update soon. Somebody mentioned in the "Sun King" build thread that they'd like to see a video of me doing a burst finish (I think it was @nomadh, but I might be mistaken), so I will be making a video document of this.
If anybody has any suggestions for a model name for this guitar, I'd be happy to hear them! All the ones I've come up with so far are stupid.
