Scratch removal

[John J]

Soooo. My Koa and cedar got scratched up on the right upper bout pretty good. I broke it down and sanded the scratches out -they ran pretty deep. Trouble is now I have an area that doesn't blend in. These pics just after I applied a little Seal Lac to see where I was. Finish is Royal Lac over Seal Lac padded on. Will I have to sand the entire top back down to make it look all even? Thanks for any advice on this.

[ken cierp]

Koa as well as many of the softwoods and hardwoods quickly take on a patina (I guess from UV and/or oxidation) -- from my experience if you sanded down to and removed the slightest amount of wood you will never be happy short of a complete strip and sand.

[John Parchem]

I am with Ken. When I have sanded down to the wood or through the finish of a light top I never have been able to make the area invisible. I always ended up sanding down the top before I was happy.

[John J]

I think it's going to be ok. I started sanding down with the intention of doing the entire top. But I realized that I might be able to do the one side and blend at the lighter center section. I put a couple of passes with the seal lack and it looks pretty good. Still have a tough time around the bridge.