Official Luthiers Forum!

I come before you today with a problem....a foolish mistake. The unit...a 00 mahogany / spruce top 12 fret bolt on. I used a Behlens Mahogany grain filler, on the sides , back and neck. Broke the rule of trying out on a scrap first....and I do know better, but that's where the foolish comes in. Light sanded the thing down to 350 gr.and off to the finish guy. But , now here's the problem....this stuff put a pinkish pigment in the pores of the wood...which looks like crap under the sealer coat. No going back over with a more appropriate darker filler of course...tried that. I'm concerned that to sand this *%#@$ stuff out, I'll have to go too far to get there....creating more problems. (?)

Anyone ever find themselves in this or a similiar position? Thoughts or advice greatly appreciated.

I don't want to paint this thing a solid color.


Michael

Might have to scrape / sand off the finish & stain the whole thing. Try it on a piece of scrap to see if it'll work first, though.
Every time I've tried a paste type filler, I have had SOME kind of problem with it. I'm sure it's just a technique thing, but one I don't have the patience to learn.

Will the filler you used take an analine dye? If you dye it, everything's getting darker but maybe that would improve things.

You can stain the filler with an analine type of dye but this must be done before the filler dries completely. And this only works on water-based pore filler, not oil-based. Since your guitar already has a coat of sealer, I think your window of opportunity has passed on this fix. But you have little to lose by trying it.

I think the best approach would be to apply a toner (tinted lacquer) using whatever color necessary to tone down the pink.

Next time, make sure your filler is a darker color than the wood. Light colored pores seldom looks good.

Johnny Cash loved black guitars.....!!
Tom

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