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I wanted to change the geometry on one of my flamenco guitars. To do this I carefully pulled the frets and planed down the fretboard giving it a greater angle of relief. Once this was done I re-sawed the fret slots to the proper depth and installed new frets. So far, so good - however, the finish along the edge of the fretboard is now chipped at most of the fret-ends. I'd rather not try to re-finish the whole neck assembly. The finish is hand-brushed marine spar varnish (Pettit 1015 Captain's Varnish). The fretboard is Gabon Ebony. What would you do?

Thanks,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Buy a fine artists brush and 'fill' with a Spirit (Shellac) Varnish. A little at a time (and it takes time). It's what the violin makers use as a touch up varnish on their instruments, irrespective of whether they were originally finished in Oil or Shellac. The only difference is that their Varnish uses natural resins, whereas the Pettit is most likely a synthetic. I don't think that will be a problem though.

Hi Michael,

Is the spirit varnish just regular shellac? If so, what cut would you use?

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Shellac but you will probably have to match the colour to the pettit varnish, presumably a little Yellow? Most Oil Varnishes show some colour, especially if it contains Linseed. Something like Lemon Shellac might work but everything from Platina to Garnet is available. You can even mix them but don't forget that the colour will build (and change) the more that you put on. Do clear Shellac as a base coat.
Go for a safe 2 Lb cut. it probably doesn't matter all that much. Thick Shellac will take longer to dry, thin is quicker but requires a lot more applications. You can thin it as you get very near to level. It's very similar to drop filling but with the control of the brush. Don't go putting on thick amounts each time. That could take forever. It takes a long time (dependent on thickness) but virtually all of that is waiting time.

Max I have used CA for this. Once its dry, it can be scraped to size, then buffed to a high gloss.
As always YMMV. IT has worked for me

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Thanks, Michael and Lance.

Best wishes,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

I have used epoxy dyed black with good results. Just fill the gap with the blackened epoxy, let it dry, sand it flush, then French polish shellac over the sanded area. Use powdered opaque pigment to color the epoxy. Stewmac item#1856. Lacquer burn in sticks are another option but I like the durability of epoxy better for this particular application.

Thanks, Goodin.

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan