That headstock looks gorgeous in its simplicity...

Just a few more details to address then it's ready for the finishing booth!

https://i.imgur.com/4c7xx2f.jpg

Doesn't look like much left at all. Looking fantastic. Very you're very excited now.

Steve sent me this pic, sanding after pore filling. That's one lush piece of rosewood, huh?

https://i.imgur.com/NlTfFFX.jpg

Looking just great, it should be amazing with finish.

I am watching the weather conditions like a hawk, waiting for the humidity to get down to 65% or lower, so I can shoot the shaded finish on the top. We've had thunderstorms moving through for the last week.
Joel and I have found that in these humid Gulf Coast conditions, you can get good results spraying in higher humidity by adding thinner and retarder to the lacquer, and spraying super thin coats, so any moisture can escape before the lacquer skins over. Adding more coats completes the routine.

We build our guitars in carefully controlled shop climate, and keep them in an environment with 45%- 50% humidity. Our spray room is not climate-controlled though, because lacquer is poisonous and extremely volatile, and we have to have two fans constantly exausting fumes OUT and fresh air in while spraying. It would be nice to spray in a controlled environment, but our paint room is in my house, and I don't want to kill myself with toxic fumes.

I hope to get that shade on James's guitar today. Then, I'll be lacquering up a regular storm. I have three other new guitars to finish too.

I told Steve it's looking really nice, but the neck is a little rough in that pic, and asked him if he could maybe sand out the rough spots. :D

Wow! That's one skinny neck you've gone for!

The guitar is looking great. Hope the weather plays nice for you now

That photo above does not show the guitar in its best aspect. :p That's the first wet-sanding session, which is pretty messy. I just want to assure everyone that it's still a work in progress, and will look a lot better when everything is done. :guitar:

Originally it was going to be a clear finish, but after going through the wood pile, the one that rang the best, according to Steve, was just not the most exciting top visually speaking. I could have opted for something more visually striking, but I am a player, not a collector, so I told Steve to make the best sounding, liveliest guitar he could make. He assured me this top was the one. He also suggested we try a shaded burst. I hadn't considered that before, but after seeing some pics of ones he had done in the past, the look started to grow on me. After some time to marinade on it, I agreed. Let's try a subtle burst.

The 1st attempt wasn't really doing it for me, so Steve sanded that off and resprayed. He was most gracious about it. The second try was a lot more to my liking. Here it is, fresh out of the booth. Still some clear coats left to do:

https://i.imgur.com/b8C4Vje.jpg

I really like your 2nd attempt, simply gorgeous.

I echo what Rob said: looking really beautiful.

I like it too. I’ve done fewer than a dozen shades, so I’ve been getting a good education on how it’s done. I said to James, I now think of this guitar as the “Eclipse Noir”.
We’re now on the home stretch with this build. I’m spraying top coats today. Pretty soon, the music will be flowing!

Very nice guitar.

Yea, and I'm liking it more the more I look at the pics. It's been an interesting journey. When it started, I had something very different in my mind, but as the build progressed, some of my original ideas just didn't make sense anymore. Add in Steve's aesthetics and the #1 goal, to make it the liveliest, responsive, great sounding guitar he could make, and it almost seems like it took on a life of it's own.

I doubt Steve feels that way, having labored over every tiny detail :D