# Guitar finishing



## Wildman (29 Jan 2016)

I have just purchased a rather nice guitar that had met with an accident resulting in a broken neck. The seller reglued the neck but did not finish the job. The neck and body are a high gloss black. Any ideas of a decent finish to match.
I tried to upload photos but photobucket is down and there does not seem to be a way to upload from my computer direct.


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## bugbear (29 Jan 2016)

Classical, acoustic, electric or bass?

BugBear


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## profchris (29 Jan 2016)

bugbear":15kka4nr said:


> Classical, acoustic, electric or bass?
> 
> BugBear



I'm guessing electric, but ...

Whatever the guitar, gloss black is a complete turnip! I'm currently building a resonator uke with gloss black body, so I really, really, know. 

Most likely your guitar has some kind of polyester finish. This is the toughest, because the cured finish is chemically inert. So you will get witness lines around the repair. I believe the best option is to use black CA glue, slowly building it up, scraping back, wet sanding and finally buffing. 

Nitrocellulose lacquer is easier. Obtain some black nitro, let an eggcupful thicken by evaporation, drop fill as with the CA, sanding and buffing to complete. Nitro burns into itself, so repairs can be invisible. 

Easiest of all, but unlikely, is a black shellac finish. This is shellac with either black alcohol-soluble dye (which I'm using) or lamp black. I'm brushing on, many, many, coats, sanding between, and will eventually wet sand and hand buff. You can use French polishing techniques with this too. 

And don't forget, all the available blacks are different colours!

I'd ask the question on the Official Luthiers Forum and on MIMF. There are experts on both these who have probably done this repair before. They will want photos and naming the manufacturer may tell them what the finish is. Also visit www.frets.com, which is full of repair information by an acknowledged master. 

All this assumes you want a repair which is as near invisible as possible. If the beast plays well, you could just hit it with some rattle can black and sand to playable smoothness, on the basis that the audience will never notice. If the guitar has any value, this will kill that value though because of the cost of reversing this "repair".


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## profchris (29 Jan 2016)

I missed "rather nice". With luck (if electric) this means nitro. Even then, if nice enough it would probably be worth getting a quote from an appropriate luthier. For the next owner, your repair, unless done right, will need to be removed and the proper repair applied, so will devalue the instrument below its current value. I'd only attempt it myself on (a) a low value instrument, or (b) a gigging guitar where the owner had no plans to sell and understood the value hit.


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## bugbear (30 Jan 2016)

Wildman":2gh95lfi said:


> I tried to upload photos but photobucket is down and there does not seem to be a way to upload from my computer direct.



It's really easy:

picture-posting-guide-t63716.html

You know the rules - no photos, didn't happen!

BugBear


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## Wildman (30 Jan 2016)

here we go photobucket up and running again.









as you can see not visible from the front and plays fine, it is a shame he never took more care and wiped the surplus glue off when it was done. Fretboard untouched.


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## NazNomad (30 Jan 2016)

Just sand it down until it feels right, rattle-can some black gloss over the back of the neck and play it.

It's not like it's a vintage LP or something.


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## Wildman (30 Jan 2016)

It has AXL on the top so no idea of make it is vintage, probably a Les Paul copy never been into electric guitars to know the difference.
Actually it seems they command a price in their own right.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/13165485 ... ue&ff13=80


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## AJB Temple (30 Jan 2016)

I would say don't spend any money on this as this guitar would have minimal second hand value even without a broken neck. Smooth it, spray it, play it. These are very much budget guitars, essentially Les Paul copies, still available and can be had for under $250 new. No meaningful second hand market. 

Good to practice repair work on though.


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## profchris (30 Jan 2016)

If you search for AXL guitars on eBay's Sold listings, these LP copies seem to go for just under £100. That cries out "automotive paint". I'd be tempted to paint the entire neck after sanding and filling round the repair, which you could make look very good if you can do the levelling/polishing stage well. 

More important, have fun playing it!


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## Wildman (2 Feb 2016)

well it seems it is an AXL 1216 model made in 2002, it sounds great so I would like to try and make an invisible repair. The company failed to let me know what type of finish was used. Still hoping though. Only 2 ebay sold listings for that model, £104, £150 so not too bad I certainly never overpaid for it.


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## profchris (3 Feb 2016)

Wildman":1509v1rm said:


> I would like to try and make an invisible repair.



Invisible repairs are for the top pro Luthiers, and even then they can usually see their repair. Black is definitely the hardest!

Undetectable from a short distance should be within your grasp though. 

1. Remove that glue residue, scraping or sanding back to bare wood at the join. 

2. Sand to feather the existing finish edge down to an undetectable junction with the bare wood. 

3. Apply chosen finish (probably black automotive) in multiple thin coats, masking 2 or 3 inches back from the repair. Sand between every second or third coat, to prevent the paint building on top of the original finish. 

4. Once you have built up in the repair area, level with wet sanding through to P1000r higher. Once you have a nice, smooth neck, polish up with T-Cut, then buff up to your preferred shine. 

Good luck!


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## Wildman (3 Feb 2016)

Thanks for that AXL have confirmed it is a poly finish, is that normal polyurethane? If not where can I get some I would hate to have a paint reaction.


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## profchris (3 Feb 2016)

It's two-part catalysed polyester, not normal polyurethane. Probably UV light cured. Not stuff for the amateur and rather expensive!

From all I read, guitar finish poly is impervious to pretty much everything in the way of solvents, so I wouldn't expect any reaction. Lash out on your spray can from the auto spares shop, spray enough into a tin lid or jam jar to get a puddle and dab a little on the damaged area. Leave overnight to see if there is a reaction, but I'd be surprised.


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## bugbear (3 Feb 2016)

profchris":1xddyusn said:


> From all I read, guitar finish poly is impervious to pretty much everything in the way of solvents...



Probably for the best, given the "solvents" some lead guitarists dabble with. :lol: 

BugBear


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## BenCviolin (6 Feb 2016)

I'd junk it and work on something else 
Seriously.


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## bugbear (6 Feb 2016)

BenCviolin":146j3k3f said:


> I'd junk it and work on something else
> Seriously.



Disagree. I've spent some time recently working to repair a poor, (and very cheap) guitar recently.

It will never be a good guitar, but it's better than it was, and if I do need to work
on a better guitar, I've improved my skills.

Don't want to try tricky techniques for the first time on an expensive guitar!

BugBear


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## profchris (6 Feb 2016)

I'm with Bugbear. The OP is happy with this as a music making tool, which is what it's for. Appearance is entirely secondary. 

I'd advise him to tidy up the repair to make it comfortable to play (no lumps or bumps). Stage two is covering the damage so the audience can't see. Stage three is making the repair barely visible - if this is a gigging guitar, why bother? Unless he wants to learn finish repairs, in which case this is a good guitar to practice on. 

Stages one and two will take a couple of hours and cost a tenner -surely worthwhile if it plays nicely?


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