Masking error, a lot of extra work

[Herman]

They say, be careful what you are wishing for. But more important is to be careful what you wish to mask before finishing.
I am up to completing a OO spruce/maple guitar. I masked the fretboard area and applied the sunburst and waterborn varnish. This is how the guitar should be about. Bad pic, sorry.



When I removed the masking tape it turned out I left a piece of tape outside the masking line.
I took the tape off and now it shows below the fretboard.
If I used just clear laquer, I could repair this. But with this sunburst it will show forever.
%^&*!!!
After some words and a deep breath the decision is clear. New neck, new a little wider fretboard that is a bit longer, so the area will be covered.

Lesson 565: Be kind to yourself and keep the masking within the outline!. At least 1mm/0.05".

[John Parchem]

The burst looks great; but yup more work! I am horrible masking. Will you be able to drop fill? I know it would take time layer be layer. The hardest being the transition on the thin line of the top before the transition. Not the most notable location if close. Gluboost sells CA formulated for finishes (a bit softer) and a set of pigments with the colors used in guitars. It would be quicker than drop filling finish. Probably a hassle to source outside of the states. I will be interested in seeing how you fix it.

[Herman]

Yeah John, that filling came to my mind also, but my guess is, it will show in the end anyway.
(BTW over here all Glueboost stuff is available)
The solution for me is another neck with a bit wider fretboard. If done I'll show.

The first neck will end up in another guitar down the road.
Greets
Herman

[Kevin in California]

That is a beautiful burst Herman. A real bummer on the masking issue. I did a similar thing on the first violin but a small area I was able to brush on more colored varnish.
You will make it good. You do such nice work my friend.

[Kevin in California]

That is a beautiful burst Herman. A real bummer on the masking issue. I did a similar thing on the first violin but a small area I was able to brush on more colored varnish.
You will make it good. You do such nice work my friend.

[Herman]

Thanks my friends.
Earlier I made sunbursts like Fender, with yellow, red and black. I always found that quite harsh. Like the one of this Jazz bass of mine:



Now I make more a tobacco like bursts. Meaning, Amber in the middle and brown (with a drop of black) around the edges. This is one of those:

[Herman]

While working on a new neck, I had the thought of coloring the spot. If it turns out badly, that also will be covered by the new neck. And if it works fine or close to that, I will use the original neck.
Now I did 2 drops of lightly amber tinted waterborne varnish on it. And the color looks quite fine now.
We will see if I'm able to level it with clear finish and make it nice. It looks to me a 50/50 chance.
Herman