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#1
05-22-2012, 12:29 PM
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Another refinishing question.
Here's the deal. The guitar top I'm refinishing had an abalone inlay around the body edge, and sound hole. When previous owner sanded the original finish off, the abalone got into the sandpaper and "stained" the rest of the top. Hence the dark color. I learned this during my attempts to sand the darkness off. The edge abalone is nearly gone. But the one at the sound hole remains.
I really didn't want to sand any more than I HAD to. So I just sanded the top until it is smooth. Some of the abalone staining came off. But a lot of it remains. Hence my decision to go for a Gibson style Tobacco Sunburst refinish that will cover most of the worst areas with a darker color. I really don't want to to do a solid dark color top. But that is "Plan B" if my sunburst attempt doesn't look good. So now I plan to dark color the top around all but the lower part of the sound hole. Which leaves the question, how to so and preserve the inlaid rosette. IE: I need to cover it and color in between the rings. My plan at present is to cover it w/automotive pinstripe tape. Not sure if to do so before sealer and light color added to top. Or apply them and then apply tape. Also open to other suggestions. 
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#3
05-23-2012, 06:39 AM
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Yes, you can use tape to cover the rosette. If any color gets under the tape, use a razor blade to scrape it off before doing your clear coats.
For future reference, sandpaper wont get the dust out. You need to use a scraper. However, given the fact that the abalone purfling has been sanded away, I wonder how much you have left of the soundboard in that area to sand. Can you post a picture? If the previous owner sanded off the finish, and you have sanded it more, you may have compromised the integrity of the sound board and it might no longer be able to withstand the pull of the strings. Any idea how thick that abalone purfling was?
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#4
05-23-2012, 08:50 AM
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It Is hard to give good advise, when all you have is a photo .But I would suggest you abandon your refinishing project .Glue the bridge back on and learn to live with an a guitar, with evidence of use.There is a danger of thinning the sound board and abalone to a point were you have more problems than just cosmetic ones.
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#6
05-23-2012, 09:56 AM
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Fat, it is more likely that the dust from the black purfling lines around the rosette migrated into the grain from sanding. Compressed air should easily blow this out of the grain. What type of sander did you use?
__________________
Joe White  ( o)===:::
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#7
05-23-2012, 01:18 PM
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I sanded by hand sparingly. Just enough to get the guitar 320 grit smooth. I've already ordered the refinishing kit (Behlen). Going in I knew it was a risky project. Might work, might not. The way I saw it, it could only get better. Couldn't get worse. My plan is cover most of the top, including about the top 1/2 of the rosette area w/dark color. That will cover the dowl rod dots. And lighter color (sunburst) the center section.
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