Archtop Guitar Build - Finishing Part 1

Finishing is a tedious but very important part of any project.  The guitar was gone over with a fine tooth comb to look of for any imperfections.  Any small gaps in the binding were filled with paste made from binding chips dissolved in acetone.  Small gaps in the wood were filled with Elmers glue and the wood was sanded to create dust which combines with the glue to form a custom paste that erases the gaps.   The bindings were scrapped and the guitar was gone over with 220 grit sand paper.

The guitar received a coat of thinned shellac and this sealed the wood and pointed out any areas where glue or other substances prevented the shellac from sealing the wood.  These imperfections were repaired and the process was repeated.  I liked the tone of the spruce with just the shellac on it and it should remain pretty close to this tone with the clear lacquer applied over it so this should be good to go.  I will make a alcohol based dye to tone up the maple to make more contrast between it and the spruce top.