Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,
Some of you may be aware that I have started my 1st finish on my 1st guitar build.

After reading finish related posts on this forum I have had 'make sure the surface is PERFECT before begining a finsh,' ringing in my head.

Also mistakingly during the build I routed the binding channels with a Dremmel and a guide from SM. This left the channels in a sorry state and that mistake has travelled with me through the build. I guess up unitl the finish I have put off addressing it.

As a beginner I easily forgot about the imperfections and applied the finish in a gleeful heady excited state. The finish shows the gaps between the binding and the sides real bad and they run in quite a few places around the guitar on both the back and SB sides too

As you can see!


A quick check on OLF and I find that Master Hesh has posted a gap filling tutorial.

A quick read and a difficult decision and I am out in the   garden taking my beloved 1st finish off the sides.

The gap fill process that most of you use is ace and many thanks to Hesh for posting the tutorial
It was a difficult and painful decision but i have learnt a valuable new technique and the guitar will look much better for it. I am in fact quite chuffed that I made myself do this .

Now the guitar looks like this


By the way is it a problem that the sides now look mottled/marbled like this?


I am planning on re-applying one or two coats of z-poxy and then continuing with the shellac and liberon finishing oil finish.

Thanks for looking.

Todd
Cheers buddy

I was wondering if anyone can tell from the bottom pic if i have 'burnt' through the poxy too.

I suspect i have as i used 120grit paper to effect the gap fill.

If so any ideas on how to proceed.

Maybe a full blown poxy coat followed by a 50/50 poxy/DNA???

Barry, good fix on the gap. You'll be happy you did that.
On the epoxy: In my experience, once you sand through epoxy, you need to bring it all back to bare wood. That was back when I was using West Systems. If I were to apply more epoxy with it partially sanded through, you would still see the lines plain as day. I can't say for sure with Zpoxy as since I've started using that, I've never sanded through it, (knock wood). Some people have had good luck diluting it but with the risk of witness lines showing up, I'd take 30 minutes and bring the whole sides back to wood. Then wash coat it with epoxy and you are in business.

Barry,

What Todd said - you made the right decision, those gaps would always have bugged you. The blotchy look is where you have gone to the wood in some places with Z-poxy in others. Try wiping over with the 50/50 as Todd says and see if that blends the colour together. If not you can always sand back everywhere with the 120 and re-apply the Z-poxy. If the colour blends fine then check how filled the pores are and depending how well filled you want them to be you may need another Z-poxy coat.

I told you that "finishing" was a bit of an oxymoron

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

[QUOTE=Dave White] Barry,

What Todd said - you made the right decision, those gaps would always have bugged you. The blotchy look is where you have gone to the wood in some places with Z-poxy in others. Try wiping over with the 50/50 as Todd says and see if that blends the colour together. If not you can always sand back everywhere with the 120 and re-apply the Z-poxy. If the colour blends fine then check how filled the pores are and depending how well filled you want them to be you may need another Z-poxy coat.

I told you that "finishing" was a bit of an oxymoron [/QUOTE]


Hahahah indeed you did Dave

Thanks everyone

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Great job Barry!!!!    And as soon as you get the guitar finished you will get 5 clapping hands!

The 50/50 coat of epoxy/DA is exactly for the purpose of evening out the color.

Are you getting excited that it is nearly done???[/QUOTE]

Can you tell Hesh?