Hey guys, I’d love to get some suggestions on how to finish this repair aesthetically. The customer brought it in because this piece had split while trying to remove the saddle using a rubber mallet. My main concern is that the joint between the two pieces of wood is still visible. I was thinking of doing what I’ve always done: using wood dust mixed with CA glue or Titebond. But I was wondering if you guys use a different method that migh…
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Hey Ian, it looks much better with the Fill and Finish CA! I still need to sand a few areas a little more and apply some gloss lacquer, but I think it’s going to turn out great! Thanks so much. It’s t…
It's not a big chip so Iwas thinking of trying the black glueboost fill n' finish. Is that the best option? Any tips/suggestions appreciated. Thx! David
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What Ian says. First stabilize with the wicking viscosity. I've done a lot of those, and find the black Gluboost is not nearly opaque enough for such repairs. I use regular F’nF in both viscosities. F…
I was approached by a local music venue about finishing over the signatures on this Dean guitar. I have finished over signatures before, but never an entire guitar. The main challenges, as I see it, with this endeavor is prepping the existing finish. Cleaning the existing finish without disturbing the signatures will be time consuming enough, but abraiding/sanding the finish will be cost prohibitive. I have already experimented on a test…
Dovetail was 9/16” deep, and 1 9/16” wide at the back. 15th fret was 1 mm tail side of the end of the dovetail socket but a slight angulation towards the headstock landed in the right place. Hide glue, released easily. Nice everyday player, finish and binding beautiful, good spruce top, warped poplar neck.
The archived video and recent Council of Elders were very helpful in upping my binding reattachment game. Now I need to correct how much I've been charging! Someone mentioned that Martin pays $90/individual separation, I believe regardless of the length of the separation. Does this include finish repair, if needed? Any other guidelines on pricing for binding reattachment will be appreciated. Thanks! Neil
They pay $90 for binding repair “with touchup” and $80 without. Basically they always send the authorization for “with touchup” and never ask if it actually needs touchup. I tell customers “you dont w…
I working through a long top crack repair on a c.1964 Fender Newporter and need to do a little touch-up on the clear coat. The top coat is matte over a do-do brown stained mahogany top, I'm guessing around a 10-20% reflectivity. Questions: 1. What top coat product did Fender use on these? 2. What should I use that has great self-leveling qualities and will melt into the old finish? <>
I've decided to follow your wisdom, Ian, and it leave the finish cracks alone. It will be structurally sound again and look like it used to have a crack.
I had a customer ask me to take a look at this electric guitar an "amp guy" did some work on. (if you couldn't tell by the size of cap he installed 😆) Seymour Duncan hsh pickup configuration. Is there any good or logical reason one would put the north start, finish and the south finish all on the same lug of a switch? The guitar plays but has more buzz on the hb settings than the single coil. I know how to rewire it to be more... traditi…
Best not to overthink the previous installer's intentions, judging by the excess foil left from the cable and the bare ground wire, just waiting for an opportunity to ground out and short the pickup.…
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*Photo added* Ding repair on spruce top, 2015 Collings 0002HE #23701. What are y’all reaching for when repairing dents in nitro? GlueBoost fill & finish or drop filling with nitrocellulose? This is a well-used guitar; not pristine and the owner has reasonable expectations that the repair will not be “like it never happened” Bonus question: If there is bare wood, should I seal it with shellac to preserve the color before proceeding to fil…
The coating on that 000 is a mixture of a UV poly base and nitro top coats. It seems that many of the deeper spots could benefit from steam applications. I use a paper towel, folded into four layers a…
Hey Looths, I have a 1980 Guild 12 string in the shop and while doing a preliminary examination I noticed this odd discoloration inside of the guitar. My immediate thought was water damage, although it hasn't bled through to the outside of the guitar and lifted the finish. I also thought of glue smear but I can't quite tell. Any thoughts here?
I've got a client with a '72 Tele. It needs a re-fret, but the truss rod isn't functioning. In fact it's backed out of the channel significantly, and there's a bulge in the neck underneath the first fret which suggests to me there's something going on with the truss rod anchor. The puzzling thing is the wood in the neck has bulged, but the skunk stripe and the finish don't appear to be disturbed at all. I'm thinking I'll probably hav…
The only other potential thought I have outside of maestro's James and Ian is, while it's hard to know via photos; has the neck been refinished? I'm seeing some sheen in the worn areas which I wouldn…
James Roadman - Roadman GuitarsArticleRepair and Restoration