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i sanded through a section of shell while trying to true the upper bout for the fretboard extension. the shell is pink paua heart from andy depaul installed with titebond. its fairly figured with hues of pink, black and gold. as you can see, what lies beneath is much more blue and to my eye sticks out like a sore thumb. the fretboard just misses it. this is probably the only real aesthetic mistake ive made that is difficult for me to live with. im unsure at this point if it is worth risking further damage. how say you? how would you go about it? or would you move on and live with it. first guitar by the way.

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sweat the small stuff.

Hi Heath.

I don't really know how you'd go about fixing it as I've never worked with shell before. I'm more just responding to bump this up for you.

I'm sure you there's a good way of going about fixing it, and I think you'd might as well since it's bothering you.

Anytime I leave something I could have fixed I regret it, and every time I fix something, the learning experience almost makes me glad to have made the mistake (almost )

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-Clint Beacock

Heath my friend that is the elusive blue note and a very desirable sign of good fortune!

Well if that does not work for ya how about consider it a "feature" and not a defect?

If it were me and this was my first the really, really important thing is getting through your first so you can learn all that you can. What I see does not look bad at all and I would just press on.

It could be worse - you could have uncovered the dreaded brown note......

I'd just move on. You'd have a very hard time pulling that shell out and putting in new stuff, especially without do the same thing again it other spots.

Either that or keep sanding to expose it all blue.

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I'd leave it alone.As said, it doesn't look bad and you probably won't see it when playing as it's on the bottom side of the fretboard anyway.It even ads character to the guitar if you ask me.

Heath, Since this is your first, I would say to leave it go and move on...but if you are the type that will not be able to look at the guitar without focusing on the blueish area, then it may be better to fix it,,,that is if you have some left over shell.

I can't recommend how to do it since I haven't been in this situation YET! But I think if you have some small, sharp chisels, and ability to handle them precisely, it can be done. If you are hesitating due to uncertainty, it is most likely best to leave it and move on. BTW, looking real good for your first!

Chuck

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I think it looks pretty and makes a nice accent.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Hi Heath,
I would be inclined to do a faux finish over the blue shell so it doesn't draw the eye. Try to match the color and grain of the pink shell. It may not have the same reflectance, but it is in an inconspicuous area, and if you use a clear pickguard over it that will further disguise it.

my wife says im out of mind. "no one notices that, but you."

well, as difficult as it for me to do... i think im going to have to move on and try to forget about it. lesson learned i suppose. the truth is i do need to move forward and actually finish my first guitar.

thanks for the advice, encouragement and reality. appreciated as always.

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sweat the small stuff.

I hate to say this BUT

I agree with your wife!!

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Larry
Fox Haven Lutherie

Maybe sand through on the other side of fret board as well and firm up it's status as a feature.

Heath, I agree with Clayl. I would think about fixing it in the finish. Once you have enough clear coats on the top, you could use diluted paint, tints, dyes etc. to lightly tone down the blue area and bring the color closer to the brown of the other shell and then final coats on top. If you don't like it just sand it off (before the last coats) no harm done and just call it a feature - you could call the guitar "The Blue Note" - the blue just magically appeared one day I won't tell

At the woodworking school I went to we would look over a newly completed piece to see if the back and underside was perfect, and if you could take out a drawer, turn it upside down, put it back in the drawer pocket and have it still fit perfectly. As we were doing this to one guys piece his girlfriend looked at us for a while and then said "you know, normal people don't notice stuff like that." Not bad advice to remember.

Peace, Paul

I think you can run a soldering iron over the shell and it will come out and you could put a new piece in if you want to change it. I had an inlay piece that was in the tongue pop out from heating the tongue with a heat lamp for a neck set and the inlay was glued in with CA. If it bothers you then change it. Besides first builds are good for learning how to repair mistakes too. Or cover it with a non clear pickgaurd. Next time try and set the ablam at least .005 deep and glue it in with CA.

Go to an art supply store. Ask them to show you samples of acrylic iridescent paint and acrylic interference paint.
Use a fine brush.

It ain't MOP but you'l come close, and well most will just not notice.

The stuff is also available in powders and can be mixed with any binder.


Blessing
the
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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hmmm... i was actually coming to terms with leaving it as is, but the soldering iron has re-sparked my interest in fixing it. the thought of prying that junk out with a chisel seemed dangerous, but a soldering iron... well, i guess that could do damage as well. ill give it some more thought. thanks for the idea chris. by the way, the shell was installed well below the surface of the top plate and then the plate sanded down flush with the shell. i just got a little careless in sanding the upper bout for the fretboard. i think the carelessness is the most bothersome part to me. hindsight is 20/20 i suppose.

thanks for all of the other ideas as well guys.

anyone else have any comments on this method?

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sweat the small stuff.

The soldering iron rubbed on the section of inlay that is discolored would work, but I'd recommend laying a soft damp cloth
between the iron and the material. If you touch the purfling to either side for even a second, it will burn and discolor and if you
overheat the shell material, the heat will be conducted into and discolor the purfling.

I'd advise leaving it alone and moving ahead with your build. You'll be surprised at how it will look fine once you complete
construction and have a nice finish over the rosette. Being organic, the mismatched color in that section is not a negative thing,
but one that exhibits the infinitely variable things that can be encountered when using natural materials.....even though it appears
that the rosette material is abalam which is engineered from thin layers of natural material.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

OK, so I'm one of the pickiest, most perfectionist guys you'd ever meet. I had to look at the pictures and read the text 4-5 times to figure out what we were talking about. I get it now. Unless you are really good with faux finishes, I'd leave it alone. It really doesn't look wrong to my eye. As I said, I couldn't figure out what was wrong for quite a while. It looks like shell. And there are other areas of blue in the shell, so step back and just let it go. I also agree with Paul, normal people don't notice stuff like that.

sigh... i think i have no choice but to let go of it and move forward. i agree with you, todd, i think any repair that i do will just make things worse. i started fretting the board tonight and that got me excited about the next step. i really just need to string this baby up. once again, thanks for the advice.

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sweat the small stuff.

It's natural shell, right? I'd leave it alone. Shell varies in colour naturally. I have read that that is the reason Abalam was invented, because the natural shell wasn't as uniform(I've also heard if you sand through that it's worse). All part of the wonders of nature, just like figure in wood. It looks fine to me.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Heath, when you hear this guitar sing for the very first time, I guarantee you won't be thinking about the rosette!

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

oh, so true! its getting awefully close. i can hardly wait.

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sweat the small stuff.