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#1
12-16-2014, 06:24 PM
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Refinish Acoustic guitar neck
I have a handmade acoustic guitar that has some chipping in the finish on the back of the neck . Under the dark finish is a beutiful wood. I'd love to remove all the finish and just apply a clear to show its natural beauty. Not sure if this is a bad idea or the proper steps to do so. There is also inlay in the headstock and not sure if sanding would damage it. Also , would taping off where the neck meets the body be sufficient to protect the body during sanding . All or any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance ! Have pics if they will help !
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#2
12-16-2014, 07:50 PM
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Quote:
Spanish guitar construction is such that the heel is carved AFTER adjoining to the body. So, it is possible to tape and sand. Takes a great deal of care, however, so keep that in mind before you decide to begin or not. Also, if you sand off all the dark finish, you may remove some of the pore filler. So, you may have to redo some pore filling. This in itself is another skill. It is not an insignificant job to do to high quality. You might consider trying it on a beater guitar first before attempting it on a nice instrument.
__________________
---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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#5
12-17-2014, 07:05 AM
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You may be looking at the wood with nothing but a clear finish on it already. Most woods darken considerably from the "white" when finish is applied. To get a good idea of what the wood underneath will look like under a clear coat simply wet it with some naptha.
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#9
12-17-2014, 04:16 PM
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Im not sure what type of finish this is , but its not paint . Tho it looks black in the picture , its a deep cherry color , you can still see the wood grain through the finish. So im trying to figure out the best technique to remove , and also dont want to damage the inlay work . If chemicals were used , what type ? If sanding , will it be fine to light grit / light sand over them ? Thanks guys
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#10
12-17-2014, 05:19 PM
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there's a reason guitars are painted and or deeply stained. it's usually to hide ugly wood. to me it looks like a dark cherry stain and deep.
-verify it's a bolt on mt/dovetail/butt jointed neck. it is wearing steel strings so most likely it is. -verify that the inlay is actually shell. if not then choose your chemistry carefully. -remove neck. if the fretboard extension is glued down. heat it loose. -remove all hardware, nut, etc.. mask fret board. -try a natural stripper and see what comes off. if you use something with gnarly chemicals you might eat up your dot markers or have your neck smell like stripper forever. or you might not. -if you're lucky, everything will come off and clean up and all you have to do is pore fill and refinish and re-assemble, and touch up the finish at the fretboard extension and maybe the heel, and do a set up, . -if you're not lucky well, you just had to mess with it, -you know your punishment.  good luck Last edited by arie; 12-17-2014 at 11:12 PM.
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#11
12-17-2014, 05:38 PM
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+1 to what arie said...
I'd leave the face of the headstock alone, it's not worth the risk of damaging the inlay. Actually, I'd leave the neck alone also. But if you do refinish the neck, it's pretty easy to sand everything except the face of the headstock, especially if you remove the neck. If you can't remove the neck, refinishing it is probably not a good idea. Finish work on a guitar is not as easy as you might think.
__________________
Rodger Knox, PE 1917 Martin 0-28 1956 Gibson J-50 et al
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#12
12-21-2014, 04:25 PM
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Well, to my eye the neck doesn't seem to go with the body. That back is beautiful, but the neck looks out of place. I see what your going for, I think. So go for it, just be careful and don't mess it up. Maybe a No Beer project?
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#13
12-21-2014, 10:13 PM
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Quote:
Simply getting the finish off can be a project so full of, er, "challenges," that a novice could make an irretrievable mess of the finish on other parts of the guitar. Wear, chips, scratches, dents and other wounds are part of the life of a guitar finish, and if the guitar is in use, "things happen." i strongly recommend living with such things for a good long while before deciding that they "must" be fixed. Play the guitar, enjoy it, and let it age along with you. . .
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#14
12-22-2014, 08:15 AM
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+1 to what Frank said.
I see finishes gone wrong all the time. Done improperly with wrong techniques and materials and it always costs more to have me redo it than it would have to simply have me do it right the first time.
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#15
12-22-2014, 05:55 PM
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+2 to what Frank said.
It looks like a beautiful guitar, and I can't imagine that the builder chose such beautiful back wood at the same time as choosing to colour the neck in order to hide some bad quality neck wood. Rather, I expect the luthier made an aesthetic decision to colour the neck in such a way. The headstock looks well made and well finished, and I expect the neck is also well finished. It would take a pro (and about 1000 bucks or more) to refinish the neck to the same quality. If you don't like the colour scheme, I would suggest to off-load the guitar and commission a guitar more to your liking.
__________________
---- Ned Milburn NSDCC Master Artisan Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
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