Watch this BEFORE you build a GUITAR!

How I nearly messed up my Les Paul Build...
I have always wanted to build a guitar, but was equally too chicken to actually go out into the shop, and make a freaking guitar. Well, today is the day! Well, maybe month...
I decided to bite the bullet and just order a semi hollow Les Paul guitar kit, while I dont generally like to buy kits, I thought this would be a great way to practice some guitar building techniques (like finishing and wiring) without worrying about the woodworking part. I can do that next time. maybe.
I am super happy with how this semi-hollow Les Paul guitar kit turned out! The Blue Burst effect turned out awesome and getting that factory finish was actually easier than I expected. (ok fine, NEAR factory finish....)
If you want to pick up your own kit, check out The Fretwire! (affiliate link)
shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=112354...
Or check them out on Amazon: amzn.to/3xGX1SE (affiliate link)
TheFretwire KZbin Channel: / @thefretwireguitarkits...
➤Like Metal? Check out Suncinder! They wrote the theme song for this video, and it freaking rocks!
"Shinobi" by @suncinder used with permission, check out Suncinder on BandCamp: suncinder.bandcamp.com/
Or on KZbin:
/ @suncinder
➤I wrote a book!! (sorta)
Grab your very own copy of the Woodworker's Notebook on Amazon: amzn.to/2Uy4h0F (affiliate link)
➤Gear (affiliate links)
Camera: amzn.to/3eqbBXa
Main Lens: amzn.to/3l2dH0H
Tripod: amzn.to/3vd1haX
Microphone: amzn.to/3vdqBxA
➤Social Media
Be sure to check out my Instagram: imakejake
and of course, my website, www.makewithjake.net where you can find more awesome plans and projects!
Don't forget to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!
Make with Jake LLC, imakejake.com and Jake Drews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
#luthier #lespaul #guitarkit #guitarbuild #thefretwire #makewithjake
00:00 Jake2 borrows the Guitar
00:15 Shinobi by Suncinder!
00:45 Actually Building the Guitar
01:18 Blue Burst Dye Effect
01:40 Adding Grain Filler
02:10 Scraping the Binding
02:27 Brackets of Holding
02:36 Quick Tip! Heat yo Lacquer!
03:00 ERROR! We pivot and change directions...
03:40 Spraying the Guitar BLACK!
04:35 Spraying Clear Lacquer
05:36 7 to 20 days later
05:50 Wet Sanding Lacquer
06:42 Too Much Water!
07:00 Polishing for a Mirror Finish
07:26 Wiring the Electronics
08:30 I forgot to solder the pickups...
09:02 SMASH the LIKE button!
10:29 If it's good enough for turtles...
11:00 Special thanks to SUNCINDER!
11:21 Thanks for watching!

[@suncinder]

The guitar came out incredibly well! Cant wait to play it! Loved every second of the video, Jake. Super proud to have our music in it and I hope everyone enjoyed the tune! 🎵🎸

[@MightySawdust]

I did enjoy your tune!

[@MakewithJake]

Rock on! The song turned out awesome, really made the video, if I do say so myself... :-)

[@MightySawdust]

@@MakewithJake I thought it was Jake² all the way!!!

[@Thefrawkster]

You can use foam earplugs for the tuning key holes, works great.

[@JadeRaven75]

That's a great tip actually, thank you

[@Thefrawkster]

@@JadeRaven75👍🏻

[@ADFinlayson]

That's a great result, especially for rattle cans. Something I learnt a little while back is to wet sand with mineral spirits instead of water. It will prevent the issue of lacquer cracking because it won't cause the wood to expand.

[@erikrummel6277]

I smashed the like button and bam 💥 my bridge posts installed themselves!!!!!!!! Great tip!!!!!

[@MakewithJake]

Glad it helped!

[@glenwardgross366]

Jake wax any exposed wood to keep water off it during wet sanding. I hope this helps. Great tip you passed on to those that do not know about it. Warming up any rattle can is a great tip. It adds some pressure inside the can and lowers the Viscosity so you can spray more smooth layers. Hence the phrase Shake Rattle and Roll. What that means is you shake the can and it rattles, then you roll it up and down the dinning table a few times so the colder paint falls to the bottom of the can. Bet you didn't know that.

[@jakepiascik7277]

For the water in the screw holes, you can use a toothpick in the hole and trim it down enough to stay out of the way, but still enough to pull it back out. Also when painting and staining a guitar with f-holes like this one it can help to fill the cavities with an old shirt or rags so that no water, stain, and/or spray gets into the wood inside the guitar.

[@FuzzyJohn]

8:52 Use something (rag, newspaper) to protect the guitar body when you solder right on top of it.

[@MakewithJake]

Good idea! I like living in the danger zone.

[@rodmacrae3611]

A quick wash coat of shellac in all those tuner holes and every other exposed part ahead of time does wonders for not getting water in the wood.👍🏽

[@codelicious6590]

When i used to refinish bikes i would hit them with steel wool between each coat followed by a few passes with tack cloth to get rid of wool residue.

[@simpson6700]

Beautiful paintjob, you made that look easy.

[@craigparse1439]

8:58 I see an "N" on the pickup closest to the bridge and I see a "B" on the pickup closest to the neck. Was this intentional, or did the pickups get mislabeled? It looks wonderful!

[@burningidburningid2145]

Came here to say the same thing.

[@JulianFernandez]

looks great!

[@RobertHollander]

Button smashed. Thanks for the reminders.

[@michaelorourke7032]

This was very informative. Thanks for a great video.

[@Gregabalese]

You did a great job. I have built a couple of kits had getting perfect guitar ain't easy for a novice. But it a great experience. Good luck to you!

[@zaurike]

Love the video and your presentation style.

[@TheUncleRuckus]

The hot water trick to warm the can is good practice with any Rattle Can paint or sealer. Also sanding in between coats with 4∅/4-ought steel wool will prevent the orange peel effect. 👍👍

[@davidarnold3321]

When I buff I apply a small amount with rag or towel that way it won't splatter all over the place.You may have to go back to some places after you finish. Can up area and look carefully for rough spots. It is better to take your time.

[@heyfoo2]

I just ordered Leo Jaymz of this type of guitar today. Going to build it and probably go for finish like this one. Great video, thanks.

[@alojz300]

Loved the video! Hope you do more guitar stuff

[@MakewithJake]

thank you! Id love to build another one...maybe from scratch?

[@genedeahl7453]

Thanks for doing this. I have always wanted to try it.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching! It was a super fun project, and I highly recommend giving it a shot.

[@lawndart188s]

I like the how the color came out

[@Burtsc]

Nice ! Thanks for doing this.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching!

[@NelsonWoodworks]

Awesome job Jake!

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you!

[@MakerBeach]

This video rocks! That clip of the wax shooting all over your drill press is hilarious. Keep up the great work!

[@MakewithJake]

It wasn't hilarious in the moment....but Im glad I got it on camera. lol

[@ScottWalshWoodworking]

The finish came out great! Really love the blue burst

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks man! I'm really happy with it overall. But also glad it's finally over...lol

[@WoodworkingYouTubers]

Added this to a playlist on my channel. Thanks for the video.

[@MakewithJake]

Awesome, thank you!

[@CMRWoodworks]

The finish came out looking awesome! Nice job on the blue.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks! I was really impressed, I thought it would be way harder.

[@richardjagger6920]

Good job

[@Cole.Claeson]

So smooth with that like button😂 Such a cool build and very detailed. I’ve been wanting to build a guitar for a while but wasn’t sure where to start and maybe just buying a kit and painting it is a good first step.

[@MakewithJake]

Go for it! Its really not too bad, and tons of fun!

[@mattheweastman8984]

Awesome video and great build!

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@777PLove]

looks great

[@tanner4828]

It's on my bucket list, too.

[@MakewithJake]

Nice! I was never a kit person, but this was actually a lot of fun. Highly reccomend!

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

Well done, sir.

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you!

[@hayabusa1572]

i can only dream of having a guitar like these. new sub here from the PH

[@anabolictiger9466]

Can you do a detailed video on how to put the pickups, volume knobs, plug etc. in?

[@myloopooping]

A true beast!!!

[@Oranguice]

nice guitar!

[@waggyquack974]

To avoid the problems with using water for wet sanding, do your wet sanding using white spirit. This dries quickly and does not cause the grain of the wood to swell.

[@scottyV1000]

I got a good laugh when you said you couldn’t play - same thing here but I’m good at collecting. It turned out nice - I hope I can do as well. I’m starting out with Strats but I have a LP down the road.

[@zvirb]

I have smashed that like button too.

[@JulianFernandez]

looks good! thanks!

[@MakewithJake]

thanks for watching!

[@BassadorWoodworking]

I am so happy that I am not the only one that has trouble with guitar wiring diagrams specifically 🤣. Great job on the build! It is beautiful!

[@MakewithJake]

Dude, right? Im not really sure why, I deal with electrical diagrams for far more complicated devices on a regular basis.

[@trukr817]

For the buffing, two things. 1 don't put a bunch in one place, little patches across it works better. 2 use an orbital buffer, it's made for that, drill presses are not. But even the drill press would not sling it if it was applied as above. Drill press can also burn the finish if you're not careful. Nice looing guitar.

[@MightySawdust]

Like the intro of Jake2, that was cool. I'll eventually get a kit and do something like this. But first a few other projects I have lined up and wanting to do, oh and edit stuff already done. Like my "Ultimate Workbench", should have part 3 coming up soon!!

[@MakewithJake]

Dude awesome! Definitely get one in the ole project to do list. Lots of fun. Thanks for watching!

[@Woodified]

Great video. Thanks for the tip about warming up the lacquer. I plan to build an electric guitar from scratch. So far I've gotten as far as buying a board to make a solid body. Based on my research it's not going to turn out well, LOL ....but should be a good learning experience.

[@MakewithJake]

I think you'll do great! I was surprised how well each stage turned out. I think it's easy to get overwhelmed on a project like this, so just take your time and go slow and I'm sure it will be great! Full disclosure, there were a bunch of small flaws and errors I made in my guitar. So many in fact, then when I put them in the video, it felt like a complainer video. Lol. But overall, I'm really happy with the learning experience. Good luck! Hit me up on Instagram if you have questions!

[@BadAppleWoodwerx]

Looks good Jake! I'm currently still trying to finish up a bass I've been building (not on my channel, I have a separate guitar channel for that). Always love a good guitar build video! 😎

[@MakewithJake]

Thats awesome! What is the other channel called? (or send it to me on facebook, id love to check it out!)

[@boahnowers]

for keeping the polishing step a little less messy I recommend just "tap out" all the compound on the area you are working on first. that way there is less in one spot and less chance for it to splatter everywhere!

[@mrsaizo0000]

I bought Fishman Fluence pickups for my ESP, by accident I made the connector/cables for the pickups "too short", had to improvise. Does work however, and even have a killswitch, 5-way toggle and 1 push/pull (tone) control. Looks like a normal ESP, until you start playing it..

[@Hungarianheat]

Hey man awesome video!!! I learned a lot from watching and the guitar turned out amazing!! Quick question..... how long did you wait between each coat of black lacquer and also black lacquer to clear lacquer.... on the watco can it says to wait 2 hours beteeen coats but I've seen guys only wait approx 15 minutes between coats....just wanted to know what worked for you?

[@dboone7670]

Am I crazy, or did he install the neck pickup in the bridge and the bridge in the neck?

[@MakewithJake]

Anything is possible. I may have installed them backwards at first, but the final build is correct. Nothing was labeled in the kit, so it was a bit confusing for a first build. Thanks for watching!

[@aryp420]

That's the same thing I was thinking. The pickups were labeled "B" and "N" and they were obviously in the wrong place lol. Looks good though

[@markpell8979]

@dboone7670, yes, he did put the pickups in the wrong holes the first time. But that doesn't mean you're not crazy. 😉 Whether we're right or wrong, probably most guitar players are at least a little crazy. It's almost required.

[@chrilleh7626]

Try it, it’s actually quite nice sounding to switch position on the pickups, 😊

[@HowIDoThingsDIY]

I've never used grain filler. Interesting! Also, those fret board inlays look sweet! Great build man!! Full watch!

[@MakewithJake]

Same here! But as you can see, there are some potential weird effects.... I think most people dye the grain filler, which would probably help even out the tone.

[@HowIDoThingsDIY]

@@MakewithJake I can see it being nice when you know you plan to paint something.

[@eskrimadorchris]

Nice looking kit build! A few pointers for you: 1) Dry fit everything before you start so you can see how every piece and component will fit together and where there's play you may need to address. 2) Rattle cans for paint are fine, but rattle can lacquer isn't great. There just isn't enough hardener in the rattle can (unless you use K2, X2 or Nitro), so talk to your local body shop if they can spray clear when the do small parts. 3) With veneer finishes, check the seams carefully for glue squeeze-out. I noticed as you were dying there was a good sized blob that you corrected, but there were other areas that were still not taking dye. Using paints, colored markers, colored pencils (as long as they aren't wax based) or even nail polish that can match the coloring and cover it to hide the flaws before clear-coat is advisable. 4) Check the frets on the neck. While it may look nice, check the level of the frets and the fret ends. Kits are put together with the intention the builder will be going over it with a fine toothed comb. The frets are pressed in at the factory, but no time is taken to insure they are leveled, crowned, polished and edge-dressed. Again, beautiful looking build! Looking forward to the next kit video!

[@godsinbox]

I would install the pickups in the correct bridge and neck positions.

[@PierceThirlen2]

An auto parts store that sells car paint will typically also sell sandpaper as fine as 3,000 grit. It's recommend using that before buffing.

[@thefreyfactor442]

2 suggestions. 1. The stick you made for the neck cavity, leave it attached and clamp it to a workbench. Then just use a car polisher. It get the biggest parts real easy. 2. Please oh please put a cloth down on the body as much as you can. You will cry when a drop of solder falls on the paint. Killer guitar though. this makes me want to build a hollow body.

[@michaelkeudel8770]

Use different grits to sand, light sanding with a heavier grit allows you to get a flat surface (get rid of orange peel) faster, the 1200-1500-1800 grit would be last before polishing to remove tiny scratches cause by the heavier grit. But yeah, wet sanding sucks, I still have to do it on my 1973 Mustang that I painted in 2007.

[@TVsBen]

If you apply the polish to the buffing pad instead of the guitar, and then hold the body to the pad before you turn on the drill press, I think you'll get a lot less mess.

[@MakewithJake]

Yeah, lesson learned....

[@tonyhull4350]

As a new not very good woodworker. You will see every mistake but if you don't tell most people will never know. Love the color

[@lancersbowchuckle960]

Good idea for wet sanding prep is use paste wax in the milled holes where you don’t want the water to touch the raw wood you couldn’t finish. Use a cotton swab and spread it out inside the holes. Then use a cut off cloth rag to remove the excess. There is some expansion from the wax so be sure to do it before you spray finish, and let it set for about forty eight hours to settle.

[@gribbo14]

Absolutely beautiful job. I hope mine turns out half as good 😂

[@MakewithJake]

awe thank you! You can do it! Just go slow, and it will be awesome.

[@nicolashadler]

Came for Cinder's music, stayed for highly satisfactory video hahaha Subscribed!

[@MakewithJake]

Welcome aboard! Glad you liked it!

[@marcstreiff6067]

Nice, I'd suggest routing out an access panel on the back side

[@MakewithJake]

Semi hollow body guitars typically do not have an access panel on the back. (to my knowledge at least). I believe it is either a sound or structural concern.

[@RLLWoodworks]

Brilliant. That is all.

[@MakewithJake]

Thank you! That is all.

[@meestuinier4486]

Any tips on how to get the colour darker near the edges? Looking great but didn't quite catch what paint you were using and how you applied it.

[@wallyodom8254]

Did you ever make a video of this guitar being played?

[@666pinkster]

Use fishtank tubing for fishing wires n pots bro

[@Buck_Em_Garage]

Thanks for the video. Was the lacquer nitrocellulose? If so, I’m assuming it’s safe to use nitrocellulose over water base stain? Thank you!!

[@myoneblackfriend3151]

You can use cardboard to make a backsplash to keep your work area neat while polishing. You can also use plastic cling wrap around your tools.

[@MakewithJake]

Good call. I made a huge mess.

[@jeremyklein9679]

I wishbi had watched this before applying finish to my first guitar.

[@1freexp511]

Hey man if you are struggling with pulling wiring use a lead get that through first then tape the wire to your lead and pull. Also the sanding part if you want to make les of a mess wipe a thin layer down instead of globs that should reduce your splatter a ton. GREAT JOB OVER ALL 🤟

[@DavidConnolly-zm1sn]

How do you feel about putting some wax around the holes before you wet sand plus be careful

[@sunriseshell]

Looks good! I don't believe you're meant to use grain filter when you want visible wood. It's meant to be painted over. Also typically you add MORE lacquer after sanding, dry & sand, THEN repeat at least one or two more times. Lacquer is a LONG process, why poly is so popular.

[@reddsshaker3477]

Grain filler is used on transparent and translucent finishes all the time. Every Les Paul Standard has grain filler in the mahogany on the back. The idea is to get it in the pores, and remove it from the surface. Gibson tinted grain filler on the old SGs with cherry stain. The actual color you see on vintage SGs is the tinted grain filler itself, bleeding out from the pores as the clear lacquer was applied. I’m a luthier by trade, and I’ve done hundreds of finish repairs and restorations of vintage Gibsons over the last 40+ years.

[@sunriseshell]

@@reddsshaker3477 Well there you go! I guess I've seen some bad jobs that influenced what I said. I've also not worked with mahogany. My instinct would be to seal the wood with shellac if I was going with stove kind of transparent finish. Admittedly I'm just a rudimentary wood worker and novice guitar tech.

[@waggyquack974]

To fill the pores then wet sand with tru-oil or danish oil and then you get a slurry of wood dust and oil that is exactly the same colour as the natural wood. This fills the pores and seals the grain but remember to wipe off the excess slurry across the grain so you don't wipe the slurry out of the tiny cavities.

[@Sentientfx1]

Looking great mate. at 9.02 it looks like you got the neck and bridge pickups in the wrong places but I guess if you';re not going to play it, who cares?

[@JARMade]

9:12 lmao thats perfect!

[@MakewithJake]

Hehe, smash it!

[@stephencraig8578]

Do you assemble the guitar before you dye it to make sure that it plays ok? Then disassemble?

[@BurninSven1]

Thanks for sharing, this is cool to make it shine and everything but did it turn out a guitar that work, sound and play good?

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching! Honestly, I dont play often (or well). I just like having guitars. So for me, it plays fine. But if you are big into good sound, I am sure it sounds bad lol

[@bongnp]

did you have to ream the holes from the lacquer getting in? I worry about cracking finish upon reassembly

[@Stage_5_Entertainment]

Next time you Spray a guitar spray with a light and look from the side you can see this way if its the lacker is smooth or not

[@artiefufkin3292]

What spray lacker did you use?

[@billyvega]

How was the neck attached? Glue or skrews?

[@davidAll5]

beautiful build, pity we dont hear the guitar though well done !

[@billmartyn-smith1364]

thanks

[@MakewithJake]

You're welcome!

[@theeugenicsprofessor9212]

The trick to glass top finishes is to wet sand 1500 grit in between clear coats

[@Badhands55]

I’ve never had any luck with that grain filler- ever

[@mikem0ke]

what kind of lacquer did you use?

[@aholder4471]

Pretty sure you could have just sanded the wood filler and you would have accomplished 2 things you wanted at once, you would have got rid of the wood filler you shouldn't have used in the first place and you also would have gotten that super smooth finish you wanted in the beginning. Of course you would have had to use multiple grits of sandpaper, and probably use a kinda course grit till you got down to virgin wood passed the wood filler, and then a couple more finer grit till you got it super smooth. I think what you might have been thinking of is grain filler that is a dark kind of stain that you put on to pull out the grain is certain woods where it makes the grain underneath a darker color and then when you sand it and stain it it will have a 2 tone look to the grain. I think sometimes people call it filler, but it isnt like the puddy type of wood filler you use to prep wood before you paint it. And if I was gonna do this on a bigger scale, I would definitely want some big buffer wheels, on a workbench maybe with a mounted motor with a belt drive. Might as well get 2 big buffing wheels so it'll be balanced out and you can use one for stuff like open pore type finishes that you want to buff out to a semi gloss, and closed pore like this high gloss lacquer finish you did here. At least thats what I want to do, because I've been lusting after getting a set up to do exactly this. I grew up in a wood shop with my grandpa teaching me more stuff then I can remember. I treasure those moments but at the same time I wish I had been just a little bit older so I could have paid more attention and maybe learned more. I had one of those granddad's that were the man's man, does it all from building a house from the ground up to building cabinetry to repairing the old tube style tv's and radios. I didn't realize it at the time but I was basically getting one hell of an education on everything I would need to know to build and repair tube amps, build guitars, build houses, and repair cars....and being a musician my whole life who at the time my grandpa was teaching me this I was practicing piano like a concert pianist like 4 hours a day, and 6 or 8 hours if I had that much time tbh. And wouldn't you know it I grew up and only used the stuff I learned to build homes and fix my car when I needed to, while still playing music for the last 30 years. 🤦‍♂️ "WTH is wrong with me?" is what I've been thinking. So I realize this contradiction in my 40s now that the wife has left me since the kid is now an adult and out of the house. I guess she was just waiting on that to happen to bounce. But now I'm free to do what I want and I'm trying to figure out how to pivot into building amps and guitars and stuff. That would be so much more satisfying and fulfilling to me. And be way more harmonious with how I am naturally anyways. I could build and work on that stuff anytime I want and work all night if I want to. Here lately having the normal job working outside, I've been on that regular morning light till dusk schedule and I hate it. But it's paying the bills for now. Anyways thanks for letting me spill my life story in a comment section... enjoyed the video. I liked that you left in all tue things that went wrong and didn't edit them out. Life is a learning process and rarely ever do we go straight to expert mode in anything. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake that they never do anything new. It's like a mental health problem really, and kind of sad. I'm a huge Tool fan (hopefully not the obnoxious stuck up better then everyone else type) and naturally I'm a Maynard fan, that guy is a modern day Renaissance man. (And that is one of my goals as well. I love how he has fronted 3 bands, 2 that were top level touring acts and now he has a full Vinyard and winery and is basically building an entire town in Arizona, I think?) But I heard him say in an interview If you set out to do something, there is only 2 possible outcomes. You either succeed or you learn something. If you fail, that's up to you. It's all in how you look at it. So I never fail anymore, I just learn and move on. Hope that helps someone like it did me....

[@reddsshaker3477]

What? 😳 That was a chapter. Anyway, you lost me at “shouldn’t have used wood filler”. Of course you should use wood filler…..on open grained wood. The idea is to get the filler into the pores, and scrape it clean from the surface. Which he didn’t do. He should’ve taken a bit more time to make sure the surface was completely free of filler. Every high end vintage mahogany or ash bodied guitar you’ve ever seen has had grain filler in the pores.

[@MakewithJake]

Thanks for watching!

[@cghbuilder86]

I’ve been doing some finishing tests with brushing lacquer and wipe on poly. I have a compressor and spray gun but can’t use that inside the shop without a spray booth (it will lacquer fog the whole shop). Do the rattle cans work ok inside without a paint ventilation booth?

[@MakewithJake]

They are probably slightly better than an HVLC system, but I still kept the garage fully open and it still stunk up the place.

[@BoneheadGuitars]

If it's just dye, you can actually just buff it off of the plastic with clothe, instead of scraping. That AquaCoat is tricky junk. I never had a lot of luck with it. And it shrinks, so it generally takes multiple coats.

[@rodmacrae3611]

Automobile wax with high carnuba content is best.

[@mrwaffles1394]

Spread the polish around before you turn on the buffing wheel and it won’t splatter as much.

[@MakewithJake]

Great tip! Thanks for watching!

[@mikemahoney5943]

N is for neck pickup. B is for bridge pickup.

[@oldschoolcarl9247]

Use 3000 or 5000 grit for wet sanding next time

[@davidrussell8783]

No pick guard?

[@michaelpal7641]

Question: Did this kit come with a wiring diagram and a list of steps to perform?

[@MakewithJake]

nope. just had to wing it

[@WoodcraftBySuman]

Great tip on the lacquer warmup (lol hopefully with just warm water). Give Deft lacquer a try. I've found it to be significantly better than watco/rustoleum/minwax variants. Edit: car polish compound application: take a random orbit sander with a buffing pad with hook and loop backing. Take er outside and buff away.

[@MakewithJake]

Awesome, Ill check out Deft for the next one for sure. Anything to reduce the amount of wet sanding next time....uhg!

[@richardwright345]

how did you glue the neck with all that finish on it.

[@MakewithJake]

I had tape on the neck so that there would still be raw wood to glue to

[@666pinkster]

Hey brother guitar looks great listen when you're wet sanding ....you want to wet sand not dry sand it. use warm water with a drop or two a dish soap as a lubricant . Start with 400, work your way up. 1200 from the start is too fine. 400, 600, 1000, 1200 maybe 2000 grit. Another hint..use scotch brite instead of sand paper. You dont wet sand bare wood ever.

[@keefardin612]

HI USE MICROMESH FOR RUBBING DOWN,,,, IT DOESN'T CLOG AND YOU CAN GET IT SO FINE (5000 GRIT) IT WILL POLISH TO A STUNNING SHINE , WITHOUT ALL THE PAD CREAM FLYING EVERYWHERE, PLUS ONE SHEET WILL LAST FOREVER I SPRAYED AND FLATTED MY STINGRAY WITH MICROMESH, I DID THE WHOLE CAR 3 TIMES WET AND DRY AND STILL AS GOOD AS WHEN I BOUGHT IT AWESOME STUFF

[@CobraFat2000]

Doesn't "B" and "N" stand for bridge and neck... when installing the humbuckers? Maybe the frames should be swapped instead of just flipping them around.