Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all. I have a little problem, and I hope maybe somebody can help me.

My wife and I have been building an acoustic guitar for her eldest daughter's graduation from college. Quilted maple b/s, englemann spruce top, so far it has come along pretty nicely even with the problems that do seem to crop up. But... my stepdaughter wanted a sunburst guitar. I usually prefer an all-natural look, but a hand-applied stain job using water-based dyes was done, and it really looks great on this wood. The problem is that a couple of small fixes on the sides with CA now leaves me with areas that didn't take the stain. Is there anyway I can color these spots to match(reasonable close, anyway)?

Hi Kevin,

It will take some real artistry to make it totally disappear, but you can try to tone the lacquer in an intermediate layer.

Layer 1 has the problem, and is coated with lacquer. (Problem still shows, maybe even looks worse.)

Layer 2 uses color-toned lacquer, only over the problem area. In this case, it should probably applied with a lint-free cotton pad, artfully hiding the problem. Leave no ridges. If possible, do not sand, but if you must sand, use a high grit and feather the toned lacquer edges. If it doesn't look good right now, then you are not done. When it looks good, stop. Wait for it to dry.

Layer 3, and subsequent layers, are clear lacquer. You do not want toned lacquer on outer layers, or else any repairs become very difficult.

Good luck, it is difficult to get this right. Be patient on layer 2, wipe it off and/or very lightly sand it off and start over if you have to.

Dennis
p.s. I have done this on furniture, but not on guitars. I got the repair to look "commercially acceptable" but I could still see it.

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Hi Kevin, in case i didn't see you here already, welcome to the OLF, i'm sure you're gonna have lots of new friends here, good luck with that fixin'!

Serge

Yes you can color an intermediate layer but I have had best results doing that with an airbrush as the waterbased stains don't stick to the finish well when rubbed and you will have better control that way.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Thanks for the welcome and the help. I was able to get it to an acceptable state. This thing has to be playable by April 28th (next Friday), when she graduates - and that includes driving from Texas to Utah. I may be spending time in a motel room filing frets and shaping a nut

This is the first guitar I have built in about 8 years, it's been fun and my wife has really enjoyed learning and helping. Hopefully the next one won't be quite so 'under the gun'.

Very cool...a real family guitar!!! Good luck, Kevin, and bring a camera when you deliver it so we can see your pride and joy holding her new pride and joy!