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Well another snafu in my beginner experience with guitar building.
My new rebuild project went into 3 coats of lacquer (going quite well) and I noticed a tiny, gap in 2 places along the binding that wasn't covering/filling with finish. I must have missed those spots in the pre fill stage. I decided to use a grain filler to fill the voids, lightly sand and try another coat of lacquer. NOT GOOD! The result was a bad experience to say the least. Not only did the area filled not cover, but I evidently didn't sand the area well enough to eliminate any residual filler on the surface that surrounded the area. NOW, I have areas about the size of a quarter that didn't take finish and I have had to resand the project back down.
In this circumstance of spot filling between coats of Lacquer finish, what should I have used? Should I have tried to simply tiny brush into those areas with lacquer (maybe several times) and sand until surface was flat?

I hate it when I do stuff like this.

Kent Bailey

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Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

I'm sure you'll get info from some more experienced folks but I just drop fill with lacquer, scrape level with a razor blade after it dries then very lightly sand it level or just shoot more over it.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

drop fill when you are done with the build coats and let set a few weeks , level sand touch up any sinks you missed then spary 3 coats let cure and level off and polish

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

There is nothing as quick to show mistakes as a few finish coats. That is not the end of the world, clean up the area even if you have to sand down to bare wood in those areas and drop fill. If the gaps are rather large you may want to fill with some medium CA and sand out. The beauty of lacquer is its ability to blend in with previous coats. Before finishing I spend a few minutes with a bright hand held lamp and check all areas where there are wood joints all over for cross grain scratches and dings, shine the light from all directions close to the surface.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Fred beat me to it

A dungeon for a shop and old eyes are not in my benefit. Hand held lighting will be on my next buying list.....and some magniglasss.
Thanks all!
Kent

_________________
Wood Creations by Kent A. Bailey
EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

Want to save time on the drop fills ???? make yourself some drop fill lacquer .... take some of whatever you are using, put a 1/2 inch in the bottom of a mason jar, and let it sit open for a few days, watching it as it thickens - the thinner will gas off slowly, leaving you with drop fill goo that has more solids content, and dries without shrinking as much. Wouldnt be without some, cause it comes in aweful handy.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Ooooh... Good trick Tony!

Tony, I was just about to ask about that. Well, actually, about lacquer burn sticks. Does that work? Stew-Mac has some from Behlen.

I did the same thing with EM6000. The good thing about EM6000 is you do not have wait 3 weeks. But then there are the bad things...

Mike

Lacquer burn sticks will work .. but you HAVE to sand them down absolutely flat, such that they are ONLY in the gap .. they are pure solids, and the surrounding lac will shrink around them, leaving the area higher after time - you WILL see it. The time to use them is before you start finsihing, as a gap/pore fill. My opinion. I have/use them as well.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

You don't need anything fancy for this, it is more important the reflect the light across the surface in all directions.

Before retirement I was an Electrician in a auto factory paint shop and we had the lighting in the paint inspection areas and sanding areas with high wattage florescent tubes mounted vertically and across the roof, the vehicles sort of went through a tunnel of light fixtures, the workers used the reflection of the tubes on the body the spot defects.

I do something similar by holding the guitar up close the the tubes close to my face and moving it in all directions and angles to get the reflections. 4' fixtures with bare tubes above the work bench work for me and it is actually safer than a portable lamp, the main thing is the use the bright lines reflected and the shadows to spot defects. I stop and sand them out or mark with small pieces of masking tape as I go if they need extra work. When you think it is good go over it again, the difference between a great and a lesser finish is when you say to hell with it and continue.

Remember the finish process starts when you start building, sand properly, get good fits and don't create dings and scratches, especially on the top. If it looks a little bad in bare wood it will be much worse under a finish.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866