My Preciazz.... Page 2 - grain filling and prepping

Now the body's been prepped, it's time to start daubing it with something.

I'm going to try the epoxy method of filling the grain before applying the laquer/varnish/what have you.
For those too lazy to follow the link, it involves using a clear 5 minute epoxy adhesive worked well into the grain in small quantities, using a razor blade or (as I have used), one of those flexible plastic "dummy" credit cards.
The idea is not to coat the wood, but just to fill the grain to create a smooth surface ready to apply the next layer.
I used a spare porcelain tile to mix the gunk on. It's quite easy to do, but you do end up with slight lines, and certain places are bound to get more that needed. I'm expecting to sand it down thoroughly after this!

Here's the back with epoxy applied to the right hand side - grain showing nicely, and a pleasing final colour.

I applied the epoxy on one face at a time, and left a good couple of hours to make sure it went off properly. Edges were then done in a couple of attempts.

Make sure you have good light for this - makes spotting excess humps and bumps a lot easier!

Here it is with the epoxy applied - I'm afraid I didn't spread it quite thin enough, so there's some sanding ahead...

Rear view...

Now after dry sanding to remove excess epoxy

And after wet and dry down to 400 grade (white spirits as the wetting agent). Note that the flash has exaggerated the grain a bit, but it's certainly a lot more prominent than it was before.

As a reminder, this is what it looked like after initial sanding and no epoxy.

Here's what it looks like inside the pickup rout - soon to be covered with shielding foil. Note the bridge cover holes.

I have now filled the two holes where the bridge cover was fitted - found that Cuprinol Natural High Performance wood filler was almost an exact colour match for the body. Looks a lot better for filling them.

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