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I'm going to do this in parts. It will help people find the specific area they're wanting to see, and keep me from typing so much at once I lose my mind.

You want to start with the body (same basic prcedure for necks) completed, and sanded to 220 grit. If there's any gaps around the binding before finishing, fix them. If gaps are visable at this time it's best to route the binding off, and re do it.


The first step if pore filling. I've use a bunch of different materials and methods, but my current choice is CrystaLac Water Based Grain filler. It's available from Rockler.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=17353

Start by wiping some filler on with a rag. It dries pretty quick so experiment to see how big of an area you want to do at once.



When it just starts to flash off (you can see it starting to dry) take a squeegee and wipe it at an angle to the grain. The removes the excess, and also forces it down into the pores.


It dries pretty quick. After an hour or so you can sand it. Block sand with 220 grit. Let the paper do the work. Don't use a bunch of (or really any) pressure. You want to sand back to the wood, but not deep enough to sand into new pores. One of the biggest mistakes I see people do when pore filling is sanding too agressive, and actually sanding into new pores. If you done a good job with the squeegee it won't take much sanding. Depending on the wood it can take up to 2 or 3 coats to get all the pores filled. Use breathing protection.


You can tell when the pores are filled. Blow all the dust off, and look at the wood at an angle. If there's unfilled pores you can see them. I should have taken a "before" picture at this angle so you could see the difference.


At this point I block sand the entire body, including the top with 320 grit. No need to go finer, I just want a smooth 320 grit surface for the Varnish. I mask for the bridge with extra tack Frisket film. It's only .001" thick. Tape is alot thicker, and will can cause a build up of thicker finish around the bridge. Stick an oversized piece of film on the to, locate the bridge and cut the film with a sharp knife. Be careful to just cut the film without cutting into the wood. Some people prefer to scrape the finish off afterwards, instead of masking. This works good too.


If the binding is stained from the sanding and filling you need to scrape it clean. This guitar has plastic binding. A little acetone on a rag will help clean the rosewood stains off it too. Be patient, it doesn't take that long but it seems like forever to me.



Part 2 soon

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

This is great and very generous of you Woodrow! Thanks!

Yes, indeed, Woody, this is excellent. This should inspire lots of lurkers out there to have confidence that this thing can actually be accomplished. Further, it will give some old pros and lots of old amateurs (like me) some alternative ideas about how this chore can be accomplished.

Thanks for posting your method!

Patrick

Thanks Woody!

Good job Woody. I wonder if that filler is similar to LMI's microbead filler. I love that stuff, because you can color it with acrylic paints and it fills gaps wonderfully with a very hard fill.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I haven't seen any microbead filler in person, but I bet it's similar. I believe it's basically silica dust made into some kind of paste. Microbead filler is "microscopic glass beads" Isn't silica paste microsocpic glass beads too?

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/