First kit build - Martin dred

[BlindBo]

“That’s what he said!” 😂😂👍

[rcplanefan]

“That’s what he said!” 😂😂👍

Hahaha! Fun project for sure, and I'm also sure this will be the first of many. Thanks for all the help and feedback, it certainly is nice to have a good community to share this stuff in.

[rcplanefan]

“That’s what he said!” 😂😂👍

Hahaha! Fun project for sure, and I'm also sure this will be the first of many. Thanks for all the help and feedback, it certainly is nice to have a good community to share this stuff in.

[Diane Kauffmds]

We were in Blue Ash last year for the sale of our house. We owned a house in North College Hill. I'm very familiar with Montgomery.

[Diane Kauffmds]

You're doing a really good job. It looks great.

[rcplanefan]

I’ve been quiet for a few days as I prepare the guitar for finishing. This guitar will have a French Polish finish. I made this decision after a lot of research and thinking. I plan to start another kit shortly after this one is finished and it will likely be something more exotic with a sprayed on finish/polish.

For now - prepping the body and neck for finishing. I’ll be happy to document what I do here if people are interested.

[rcplanefan]

Well, I've made significant progress on the finishing. French polishing has been a learning curve for sure. I tried filling the pores with the tried and true pumice method, but I continually had pores that were not full. Eventually, I bought a water based pore filling material from StewMac, and after 3 applications and some sanding with 320 grit, I think the pores were filled well.

Here are a couple of photos of the body of the guitar as it stands now. I will apply 5-10 more coats of shellac and then allow it to sit for a few days before final polishing. Then, I will glue on the neck and bridge and start to set the guitar up. It's been a fun project!





The challenges in applying the finish have mainly been a lack of experience. Once I saw what the pore filling should look like, I was able to see that I was making progress. Rosewood is both beautiful and also a pain in the butt. The dust wants to ruin the bindings until it is sufficiently sealed. On my next guitar I need to do a better job of protecting the bindings in the early sanding phase and also during the finishing. But I'm happy with how it is turning out for my first attempt. Thanks again to everyone for all the help.

[rcplanefan]

Duplicate post

[rcplanefan]

French polishing continues. Today will likely be the last day that I add polish, and later tonight I will begin spiriting off the oil. Hoping to have it completely polished and ready to assemble by early next week. I'm not far away now from completing this project.

Twice during the polishing process, I have stopped for a day and sanded the entire guitar with 1500 grit wet or dry paper (dry - well the oil in the finishing process does lubricate the paper). I think this has been a key to having a very smooth, even finish. I still have work to do, but I'm very pleased with how the guitar is looking now.

[TEETERFAN]

That’s gonna be a beautiful instrument. Good job!