12 String Telecaster: None more Black

With the glue spots fixed on the veneer of the 12 String Telecaster, it was time to finish the sanding on the rest of the body and get the black dye on there. Having already sanded the body comprehensively to 180 grit I proceeded to sand with 240 and 320 grits until she felt really smooth all over. I then raised the grain with water a couple of times, knocking the raised grains off with some 400 grit.

With the body smooth, out came the black Colortone. I gave the body 3 rounds of dye before I was satisfied with the coverage. There are a couple of places on the end-grain that aren't accepting as much dye as the rest (this usually happens on the horns and in the cutouts) but overall I'm pretty happy. There's also a patch around the ferrule holes that is taking more stain than the rest of the body. It's very possible that this area didn't get as good a sand as the rest. Let's chock that up to a little DIY character.

The back is a bit patchy, but black dye is like that.

After I was satisfield with the back and sides I went back to the front veneer. Here I played with a little more dye, trying to get it into the flame figure as much as possible. I did this by applying some colour, letting it soak for a little while, then pulling it back out with a clean wet rag. Trouble is, pulling dye back out again is a bit of a balancing act - teetering between popping the flame and making the rest if the grain too lifeless and grey. I think I managed to get a good balance in the end. I also attempted a subtle black burst around the edge.

A subtle black burst? Can you see it?

All in all I'm very happy. I'm very interested to see what the lacquer does to the grain here. Hopefully it will pop it even more and give me a little chatoyance. Fingers crossed! I took the tape off the binding to let the body hang and dry completely, and man - she looks even better with the stark white strip around the top. The only thing that could have been better is two strips of binding top and bottom!

Much better without the tape.

Tomorrow I'll start to spray White Knight Clear Gloss Acrylic and we'll really get to see what she's going to look like. While I wait for the coats to dry I'll be able to get started on the neck which is going to get the Fender Vintage yellow treatment - fretboard and all.