Building a SAGA HT-10 - the body
The body
First, I masked off the sides of the body with masking tape and sprayed two coats of white primer. Using primer ensures that the gold lacquer,
which is not very opaque, appears even. I masked tight to the line where I wanted the top to be, as I wanted the gold to completely cover the primer.
Once the primer is dry and sanded smooth, I sprayed the gold top. This time I maked a bit more conservatively so that the gold came slightly over
the sides of the body. I sprayed 2 coats of gold, sanding smooth after the first one. This picture shows the first coat. The final coat of metallic should not be sanded.
I left the top to dry for several days and then scraped the edge clean with a craft knife. The sealing coat on the body allowed me
quite a lot of leeway doing this.
Next I masked off the front and the sides where I wanted the binding to be and sprayed the back with my dark brown lacquer.
Spraying hanging up is a good idea as it gives easy access to all parts of the body.
Here you can see how the "binding" appears at this stage..
Finally I scuff-sanded the back and sides of the body (any more might have risked sanding through the colour) and wiped down with a tack cloth to remove any dust.
I gave the whole body a few coats of clear lacquer and buffed to a shine.
I sprayed the first few coats very lightly to avoid disturbing the colour coats. It's easy with lacquer to redissolve previous layers and cause runs.