Brushed off the excess, filled in little holes, and carefully scraped the edges to get cleaner lines. Easily the most delicate part of the whole build. I think, for my first time using gold leaf on wood, it turned out pretty well. A few tense moments when I thought I’d have to scrap it and start from scratch, but it worked out and thankfully I learned a few tips for next time.

After letting the sealer sit for a few days I transferred my design to the body using graphite paper (available at your local craft store - it’s invaluable to someone who tends to make mistakes like I do). Applied the gold and silver leaf and let it dry ...

Once the art was done, I sprayed it down with lacquer (8 coats over 3 days). Let it dry for a week and wet sanded, using 800 and 1200 grit paper. Rubbed it down with rubbing compound followed by guitar polish until I had a mirror-like finish.

From there, adding all the machinery, pickguard, etc. was pretty straightforward.