As the guitar part of this project is wrapping up, I wanted to reflect on a few things I’ve learned through the process.

1. Test on scrap. And have scrap to test ON! I should have started a couple of sanded and sealed boards to test finishes and relic techniques before I worked on the body itself.

2. My biggest mistake of the project was allowing water to seep into the edge of the control cavity route and screw holes during my first round of wet sanding. The wood swelled and created a flat spot in the finish. Way too much water, and I let it sit around the edges. I need to make sure I really hit the routes with primer early on. I also learned to re-wet constantly to keep the sandpaper from clogging. I also saw a guy using a 2 litre bottle cap as a sanding block and this worked very well for the edges

3. With the decal process I used too much gold gel ink and mod podge, this added material made it dificult to get a firm flat seal on the headstock. Thin is the way to go.

4. Spray thin coats, Color was fairly forgiving, but the tinted laquer would show even the tiniest overlap or run.

5. I’ve been looking at alot of old guitars and the stereotypical relic guitar wear isn’t that consistant with alot of the old gear I’ve seen. Very few of the late 50s and 60s strats seem to have extensive forearm wear. Alot of edges wear but this seems to be due to a buildup of dents and dings on the rounded edges that allow larger sections to break away.

6. The direct acid etch process on hardware is way too heavy for a “real” relic look. I like the effect, but it’s not really an authentic effect. An indirect method using muratic acid in a closed container looks 100 times better than the results I achived. Took at http://www.relicdeluxe.com/ for some great relic techniques.

7. The more visulazation and planning I do before I start, the fewer mistakes I make.