Is This a Good Plan for a Maple Neck/Maple FIngerboard?

[ejko]

Background: I have a birdseye maple neck with a birdseye maple fingerboard on the way from Warmoth.  I've one build under my belt; an acoustic where I used True Oil on the neck but nothing on the rosewood fingerboard.

My Plan: To make the nice birdseye on the neck and fingerboard jump out, I'm thinking I should first use True-Oil on both the neck and fingerboard.  Once finished, rubbed down with steel wool and polished (by hand), I'd then hit the fingerboard and front of headstock with either gloss lacquer or poly.

My concerns with this plan are:
1. Can I True-Oil the fingerboard without build-up around the frets?
2. With limited experience spraying lacquer of poly, could I thin one or the other by 50% and then wipe it on?  Or am I making more of the  challenge of spraying than I should be (I'd likely use rattle cans)?

Thanks in advance for your advice, suggestions, etc.

ejko

 

[ejko]

It's been suggested to me that I can get the same effect with less effort by using a wipe-on wash coat of amber shellac on the whole neck followed by lacquer or poly.  Should get the birdseye to stand out plus give an aged look to the neck.

Thoughts?

ejko

 

[Who?]

I don't have a great deal of experience with Tru Oil on guitar woods, but I have used it a great deal on rifle stocks.  My concern is that it would darken maple too much.  Some more experienced builders may be able to point you in the right dirrection as far as a stain or wash, but I would save the Tru Oil for darker woods.