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I got a shot from my Nicaraguan luthier friend of a Martin-style burst he did on one of the guitars in the batch that should be to me by the end of the month.

I really like it, but I see that he sprayed right over the top of the herringbone rosette. Don't know yet whether he protected the walnut binding or not, though I know in general how we can do that in the future.

What I'm not sure of is the best way to ensure that your rosette stays clean.

Simply scrape with a razor blade after it's done? Shellac? Mask somehow?

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

It's called binding or purfling, not a rosette. Yes, you scrape it with a razor blade within a couple of hours of spraying so it doesn't chip.

Hi Andrew,
Nice looking job!
Is the dark color black or tobacco color?
What is the color in the middle?
where did you get the colors?
Help me out...I'm getting ready to do my first burst.
I would appreciate your help.
regards, walter WalterK38968.7317361111

The item in question is R13F on this page: LMII. I'm pretty sure that rosette is the correct word here.

Andrew

You are correct, rossette is the correct word, looks to be affected by the red to yellow part and the walnut binding would be affected by the dark outer color. Never bursted a guitar, but I think the scraping recommendation should correct. I would say that taping both off carefully with a good stick tape should prevent this in the future.

Mike
White Oak, Texas

I would think that frisket (sp?) tape would be another way to go for the
rosette. Stick it on covering the whole rosette, then cut around its outline
very carefully with an exacto knife. Remove after spraying the "burst"
colors, and finish everything with a clear coat.

I can't say I've ever done that though, so maybe someone else can chime
in on that method.

Mike

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

[QUOTE=MSpencer] I would say that taping both off carefully with a
good stick tape should prevent this in the future. [/QUOTE]

Sorry, I missed that part before my previous post. Great idea
MikeSpencer!!!    So I'll revise and just say:

Perhaps frisket tape would be best, as you can see through, which would
make cutting it to the rosette's exact dimensions easier.

Mike

_________________
Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

While working at Huss and Dalton, I always put on 3M fineline tape to cover the rosette and biindings/purflings, then just pull it off after you spray. It is much easier than scraping to me.

Yup, masking tape, then scrape to the edge to clean it up.

But the big secret is.... Always use a black line for your edge. It's tempting to use a white line as the last purfling line because of the dark burst, but don't. Use a black line, and it's be the buffer between the burst and the actual white line.

The colors should also be very thin, with little "binder", and easy to scrape clean. Looks like it was mixed-in and shot with standard lacquer, here.Mario38969.6086921296

Regarding the rosette versus the purfling statement. I thought you
were talking about the perimeter of the body instead of the
soundhole. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Since you ARE talking about the rosette, I withdraw my
recommendation to scrape the finish off with a razor blade. Doing
that would also take the finish off the thin strip of spuce between
the rosette and the soundhole, which would obviously not be
desirable.

Also, the use of tape is a little after the fact since it is already
sprayed. And trying to remove the lacquer after it has cured for
more than a day or two will probably end up with a ragged edge. I
say leave it alone. It looks fine.

Thanks for the help all - to clarify, I'm not at all worried about this guitar. I'm just clarifying what to do in the future.

Andrew