TO Touch up

[mike-p]

So i put my second TO finish on, 12 coats, looking great. Realise that the neck angle isnt as i want it, sort that out and discover that the mask i made for the bridge outline is now off by a very small but noticeable amount. BAD WORDS! Tried sanding the ridge where the masking tape was and then some of the surrounding area of finish and applying a few coats. Looks not very good. Some more bad words. How should i have done this and how should i proceed now?

thanks all,

Mike

[Dave Bagwill]

So you've removed the mask and applied a number of TO coats in that area? I think that's how I would approach it - remove the mask, wipe on a number of coats of TO in that area, build it up level and proceed from there.

[mike-p]

yes, its only a gap of less that a mm so i am overlapping onto the finish which is already applied and this is visible, is there a way to blend them or polish them out when its dry? Thanks.

[Dave Bagwill]

Yes, you can level the two areas with some 0000 wool, and then use the wool on the rest of the top to make sure everything matches, then put a thin finish coat on. That should work.
Bummer that it happened at all, but hey we all do stuff like that now and then...

[John Parchem]

No clue how to fix up True Oil that's for Dave. One note is that after a bunch of guitars using a mask for the bridge I stopped using it on my last few guitars. My reasoning:

I found it nearly impossible to get the mask just right so I always made it a smidgen small. Given that it was a bit small, I still needed to deal with the area under the bridge with finish. Some make a small rebate all the way around the edge of the bridge to mate with the ridge of finish once the mask is removed. I did not like that idea so I temporarily mount the bridge and use a scalpel (new x-acto ok) to cut the finish around the bridge and used a chisel and a razor blade to very carefully removing the finish to the cut line. Not really hard as the finish lifts when you hit the cut line.

After about 6 guitars I thought if I am going to have the chisel the finish anyway in the most dangerous area what is the mask doing for me? Sure it makes it quicker to remove a thin line of finish than to remove the entire area under the bridge but the bridge mask itself has its own hassles. It is easy and safe to remove the finish in the area away from the edge with a razor blade. In both methods I had to remove finish at the edge of the bridge.

Now after three guitars without a mask I am sticking with that method.

[mike-p]

John, you're talking some sense.

[Marc Dutko]

John do you do the same in the fingerboard area? Or just mask that off?