I finally finished #4 this weekend and wanted to share some pics.

Materials are Englemann with Euro Maple B&S and maple neck. Macassar ebony fingerboard, headpiece & fittings. Curly koa bindings & Gotoh 510's from Shane. The finish is Target Ultima. It's my first attempt at colour, a light single colour sunburst to bring out the koa & I was happy with the result (not as yellow as it appears). The Ribbecke/Manzer "duet" was also an influence. The pickup is Kent Armstrong's handwound PAF, with a "hidden" volume thumbwheel under the aft corner of the pickguard.

It's basically a 17" Benedetto plan, but with the non-standard f-holes give it a bit of a "D'Aquisto" look, so this time I reworked the bridge base and tailpiece to try to compliment that look.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time

Thanks for all the kind words.

Anthony, the sound holes are koa bound with a B/W purfling line. The stain is a blend of conc. liquid stains (tobacco, red mahog & amber) added to the lacquer only (none on bare wood).

Bob, as this was my first (nervous) the most significant thing I can say is that it went a lot more easily than I expected. I strongly suggest anyone contemplating a sunburst get the Stewmac video (Sunburst Finishing). I referred to it quite a bit, from blending & "alchemy"  right through the process.

Thanks.  Sorry Charlie, no soundclips.

Re Ultima, what can I say? Lots of debate out there! I "wanted" nitro, but it just wasn't an option, for most of the usual reasons. I believe doing your own finishing is a big part of the fun (nothing beats having the instrument begin to glow in your hands as you buff it out - priceless!) so I was reluctant to farm it out. I was turned on to Ultima by Gerrald Sheppard & his beautiful work. I know it's undergone much improvement over the years and for me, it works. It sprays well through a detail gun, into a knockdown booth (which I setup in my shop), venting through media right into my dust collector! It has good adhesion, now I know it takes colour well, & if there's proper pore-filling (I use Z-Poxy), no evidence of shrinkage. (My first Ultima job was sprayed in March and looks like it was finished yesterday.) It looks clear to me, although I'm sure a nitro guy would argue that last 1%. My schedule of leaving it 4-5 wks to cure (I believe this is a key), wet sanding to 2000 (another key) then med. & fine buff yeilded a very high quality finish.