I pulled this body out of a box after moving and recently decided to finish it up.
It's a Padouk top on Alder, routed under the cap and with an F-hole. The hollow routed parts is only really broken up by the block for the pickups and the bridge, so the whole thing is very hollow and light, but also very loud on the tap test. I ordered this body from Saylor about 5 or 6 years ago? I think.
Anyways, I took the proper precautions of gloves, long sleeves, and a light-duty 3M mask because the padouk is toxic! And finish sanded it on Friday. 220 -> 320 -> 400 grit. That's about all I needed to get the scratches from shipping, handling it, and moving house about 3 times with it packed in a box of packing peanuts. (I'll probably never work with Padouk again because I was sneezing and had hives on skin as a result of sanding.. not good. I don't get that with other woods.)
My plan is to keep the grain texture on the top both visible and something you can feel with your hands, but with no rough edges or rough bits that would snag your arm, etc. So 400 was enough. Note that the router bit did an interesting thing when doing the rounded ended of the top: it "burnished" or polished the edge a lot more than the top and side are finished to. So it gives it a neat look.
Today it was warm instead of pouring rain like it has been, so I vacuumed and wiped down the body, then applied the first coat of Tung oil. (Not Tru-oil.) I put it on kind of thick on the top and the wood kept eating it up. It was thirsty! Everything I've read says that for the first coat of tung oil, you want to get a thick layer of oil, wiping it in continuously with the grain (I used some circular motions at first too) and then after about 10 minutes wipe off the excess. So that's what I did.
I was a getting a few drips down the sides so I wiped down the sides with a clean rag, but I didn't do the back. I'm not sure that the first coat on the sides was really thick enough, I might go back over it later tonight when I do the back.
My plan is to wait 24 hours between coats, but alternate between back and front. I work at home so I can pop out during lunch to do a coat, is my plan. I've gotta go grab some more lint-removing cloths, blue paper towels, and #0000 steel wool at the hardware store tonight to scrub things down tomorrow. Hopefully by the time I've built up a good finish (shooting for 5-6 coats, with all coats after this one going on thinner) I won't be tired of this guitar.
It sure is a beauty now that the top's grain has been highlighted by the wet oil:
Note that I'm not much of a woodworker, and most of the stuff I've built in the past has looked terrible. So I'm hoping the simplicity of this finish yields good looking results.
Also while I'm noting stuff: Pretty sure the Dirgecaster came from Saylor around the same time, or maybe after I ordered this body. In any case, they're cousins, though I expect this one to be quite a bit twangier and brighter.
