Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on October 12, 2013 at 8:10am

superglue is brittle, nasty stuff.  You can become (over time) allergic to the fumes, so be careful of how much you use.  When you mix it with sawdust won't it cure almost immediately?

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Permalink Reply by Robert Phillips on October 12, 2013 at 9:33am

I have had some really nice results with sanding to a 220 grit, and then applying sanding sealer. Let dry, sand lightly with 320 grit, clean the dust off and put another coat on. First coat will seem like you sanded it all off but after cleaning the dust off you'll see glossy sealer in the pores. Second coat will build a little more, a third coat will give you a nice smooth surface to work on. You can use more coats if you feel you need it. Then apply your finish of choice. I like a good polyurethane. You can also use Shellac without the sanding sealer. Buy a spray can, apply, let dry, sand, clean and spray again. I used this on early guitars with good results. If you can, try to use a finer grit with each coat. I progress through grits as fallows

Bare wood: 220 grit

sealer 1: 220 grit

sealer 2: 320 grit

sealer 3: 320 grit

Lacquer 1: 320 grit

Lacquer 2: 320 grit

Lacquer 3: 400 grit

Lacquer 4: 600 grit

Lacquer 5: Allow necessary time to cure (3 weeks with the finishes I use) then sand wet sand with 1200 through 2000 grit

 

Just remember that whatever you do, sand! Its very important. Especially after the first coat. If you don't get that one smooth, you wont get the rest smooth.

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Permalink Reply by jawbone on October 13, 2013 at 2:46am

I have been experimenting with doing the fret markers with woodfiller and paint combo. I was using dowels but I had trouble getting the contrast I wanted. The end grain soaked up too much stain.

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Permalink Reply by robert jones on October 13, 2013 at 10:57am

FIMO modeling clay works pretty good for making markers.

Get a piece of aluminum channel

Drill 1/4" holes in one side - 10 or 12 should be sufficient

Work clay to make malleable

force into holes, ensuring that the holes are completely filled

scrape across the upper side with a flat edge to remove any excess clay

Bake in kitchen oven per FIMO directions

push cooled plugs out of aluminum channel

insert and glue into 1/4" holes in fretboard

sand flush and call it a day

Custom color fretmarkers on the cheap.

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Permalink Reply by Uncle John on October 14, 2013 at 1:55pm

Fine, TINY sawdust and slightly watered down glue and 3 beers.  One for getting the fine dust and watering the glue thin.  One for the job.  One to celebrate a free fix.   Then make a slide out of one bottle.  

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Permalink Reply by John Peña on October 14, 2013 at 3:13pm

Check out "Sully's Guitar garage" on you tube, he uses eggs whites as an old technique for 

grain filling.

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Permalink Reply by Old Fingers Green on October 15, 2013 at 8:18am

That's exactly the kind of thing I was after! cheers for the link, some good videos on that channel. He knows his stuff!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Wehrmacher on October 15, 2013 at 6:41pm

If its not too late, I usually like the open grain look myself but my best results when I've filled the grain was to apply my finish, shellac, lacquer, or wiping varnish patiently with 320 grit sandpaper level sanding between coats.  It's a little tedious but the result is buttery smooth and perfectly matched. 

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