Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

[SrDeMaFp]

So, I had planned on going au naturale with the back on this one but when I sanded it down this is what I found...

Now I know why they covered the back with paint!
My question is: can this be stained/tinted to look somewhat uniform or am I stuck with this eye sore of 3 different colored pieces of wood?

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

I gotta say it doesn't look that bad in this pic. When wet, the difference in color is magnified 10 fold!

 

[AlexR]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Maybe adding black to grainfill or sanding sealer might help a bit.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Idk man, it's pretty drastic...

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

How is the Top? I have seen a lot of backs like that, with a traditional cheery red / natural / translucent finish.

 

[Texas Slim]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Maybe this will help, or give you some ideas. Used a lot of this when i repaired antique furniture, it's useful stuff.

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=171

 

[RorySquier]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

It looks like you have a dilemma on your hands. Instead of fighting it brother, go with the flow man!:dance: Highlight the different contrasts of the wood just like on the back of this acoustic guitar here.

This one looks like spalted maple.

And a multi-piece head-stock I think looks cool.

:14:

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

I got the opposite problem on a LP project. The back looks amazing and deserves a trans finish, but the top is as plain jane as it could be. Back to Black I'd say.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

How is the Top? I have seen a lot of backs like that, with a traditional cheery red / natural / translucent finish.

The top...

Rory, I'd love to just embrace it but being off-center ruins that idea. I'm wayyyyy too OCD for that ****, LOL. I'm gonna try some of that stain that Texas-Slim posted to try to get some color-matching going on, otherwise, I'm just gonna stain it dark as hell.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

You can try bleach on the darker parts. Use painter's tape to keep the edge sharp.

 

[dominus]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Those lines are pretty much going to show, no matter what you do.

It's the back though. Who cares? (Granted, I don't even care what the front looks like.)

<---------

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

You can try bleach on the darker parts. Use painter's tape to keep the edge sharp.

That totally slipped my mind! I'll have to give that a go and see how it turns out.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

FWIW I use regular clothes bleach to make dark spot on maple fretboard the same color again before I seal them with new lacquer.

I should have mentioned that the time required is very short. Seconds. And with your large surface you need to be careful to have a very even application.

You can probably defuse that by mixing in a lot of water but either way watch closely. And no mixing of chlorine with -well anything else mokay?

 

[chadd]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

FWIW I use regular clothes bleach to make dark spot on maple fretboard the same color again before I seal them with new lacquer.

I should have mentioned that the time required is very short. Seconds. And with your large surface you need to be careful to have a very even application.

You can probably defuse that by mixing in a lot of water but either way watch closely. And no mixing of chlorine with -well anything else mokay?

Have you tried the Mr Clean Magic Eraser Pads? It seems like they may be a little more easily controlled than mixing bleach and water.

As for the back, I would just go with a darker version of the darkest burst color. You should be able to get the transition fairly smooth. The darker you go, the easier it will be.

 

[RorySquier]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

The top...

Rory, I'd love to just embrace it but being off-center ruins that idea. I'm wayyyyy too OCD for that ****, LOL. I'm gonna try some of that stain that Texas-Slim posted to try to get some color-matching going on, otherwise, I'm just gonna stain it dark as hell.

I can see your point about the off-center middle piece of wood. It wouldn't bother me, but if you're particular about it being center then maybe a darker stain as mentioned would work. When I play someone a game of chess, I'm also OCD about having all the playing pieces right in the center of the square...I'll even center my opponent's pieces.:18::naughty: There are some good ideas mentioned here, especially with the bleach so I would like to see how that turns out. A lot of my guitar projects are trial and error when it comes to finishes, but eventually I get it right somehow. BTW, your top looks like a beauty. I have a feeling your guitar will turn out fine.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

It's the back. Just move on.


Gibson Bash comment: I have absolutely seen Gibson paint stuff that SHOULD be seen (see pawn shop prize in Ultimate Axe) and seen them transparent stuff that should have been painted.


But this is a Les Paul Studio of no value (collectible/premier status, whatever)

Your expectations are too high. It's back wood on a painted axe. If you wanty a fancy back get a Premium whatever they were with the sealed back cavity for 5k.

Let it go.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

It's the back. Just move on.


Gibson Bash comment: I have absolutely seen Gibson paint stuff that SHOULD be seen (see pawn shop prize in Ultimate Axe) and seen them transparent stuff that should have been painted.


But this is a Les Paul Studio of no value (collectible/premier status, whatever)

Your expectations are too high. It's back wood on a painted axe. If you wanty a fancy back get a Premium whatever they were with the sealed back cavity for 5k.

Let it go.

Maybe I like the idea of putting lipstick on a pig? IDK. BUT, my plan was to remove the paint and go with a transparent back as I quite like the look of mahogany. I'd simply like to make it look a bit more uniform, that's all. This isn't a collectors piece, that I know. But, I like a challenge.
Thanks for all of your helpful advice, Ace!

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

IDK, man. This seems like a non issue to me. I wouldn't worry too much about it if it was mine. First of all, it doesn't even look bad to me. Second, it was too be expected, given the model and the company (neither of which are high end). Thirdly, it's on the back, so it's effectively invisible unless you specifically go looking for it...i.e. looking around for reasons to be disappointed.

That said, you're not me. So, if I was in your position, with your outlook, what I would do is to plane off enough material from the back to eliminate the roundover on the back edges. Then I'd add add a matching thickness of whatever nice looking veneer that you'd like. Then I'd re-make the roundover and finish the back.

 

[SrDeMaFp]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Eh...you're probably right. I might just slap a finish on there and say **** it and tell people it's a racing stripe! LOL I mean with the baby and all, I don't have enough time to do **** anymore anyway. The progress so far took me almost 2 weeks (I buffed the top/ headstock and sanded the back by hand).

 

[Aceman]

Re: Refinishing guys - help a brutha out

Thge bottom line is it isn't going to become what you want.

And we all have trouble understanding the focus on the BACK of the guitar.

Unless you are hanging it back facing, or playing purple haze with your teeth -

I completely understand the awesome of a guitar that is superb front to back. This wasn't going to be it.