Poor Man's Quick and Dirty and Cheap Stain and Varnish

[Paul678]

Ok, I've repaired this broken neck (don't ask
how it happened!) on a beater $15 12-string guitar, and sanded
it down with 320 sandpaper, and it feels very smooth
and playable, even if it looks bad



Of course, to get it this smooth, I had to sand to the bare wood,
so you can see the stain has been sanded away as well as the varnish.

What would you all recommend as a quick, dirty, and cheap way to make
this decent looking again? I know many of you are professionals here,
but this doesn't need to be a professional job, on a beater $15
guitar.

Actually, I wouldn't mind also hearing what the "proper" method
would be as well, but I just don't feel like taking off the
tuners and re-spraying the whole neck.....

Thanks in advance.

[Paul678]

Ok, I just used a brown Sharpie (mainly over the white Elmer's Wood glue),
and it already looks a hell of a lot better! The natural grain
of the wood makes it very easy to blend in a brown line.

Ok, I'm ready for the lacquer. I'm thinking of
bringing my guitar to the ACE hardware store, and seeing
what will match my color. It would be ok to brush the
lacquer on the damage areas, right? Instead of spraying it?

I'm gonna try to feather the new lacquer into the old, using
600 grit, then 0000 steel wool....and then.....

Is it possible to use automotive "scratch out"
polish, for the final polish? It sure works on my
car, but I've never tried it on a guitar.....

[ken cierp]

Normally, a properly fitting fracture repair will have an almost invisible glue line so it will be interesting to see how long the repair holds up under the stress of the 12 string tension. As for a professional repair -- unless the instrument was a priceless collectible I personal would replace the neck having that much damage.

[Paul678]

Normally, a properly fitting fracture repair will have an almost invisible glue line so it will be interesting to see how long the repair holds up under the stress of the 12 string tension. As for a professional repair -- unless the instrument was a priceless collectible I personal would replace the neck having that much damage.

Thanks for the response.

The crack is actually smaller than the photo shows, for some reason. Also, the crack
do not go through the neck, so most of the strength is still there (again, the photo
doesn't show this). As a hint of how this all happened, next time just remind me to steam
the neck (or use a clothes iron), score the glue line, and use a putty knife to
get the fingerboard off! :)

Ok, keep in mind I'm a bit poor at the moment, and this guitar originally cost me
$15, so as a usable instrument, it would be fine as it is now, but I just want to
experiment a bit and play "amateur luthier" for a while.

Someone recommended spray lacquer, and feathering the edges with 600, 1500,
then polish. I'm gonna try automotive "scratch out".

Yes, I can see all you pros out there cringing..... haha

[Tim Benware]

Is it a lacquer finish? If not there may be compatibility issues with it i.e. the type of finish you use.

[Paul678]

Is it a lacquer finish? If not there may be compatibility issues with it i.e. the type of finish you use.

Yeah, good question. This came up at the hardware store.

Is there a test to find out what the finish is? This is why they tell you
to test it in an inconspicuous spot first.....

Oh, BTW, I just got some buffer wheels for my Dremel tool, and I'm
using it with the "scratch out" on my frets, which I just used 0000 steel
wool on.....makes them quite shiny!

[Tim Benware]

Is it a lacquer finish? If not there may be compatibility issues with it i.e. the type of finish you use.

Is there a test to find out what the finish is? This is why they tell you
to test it in an inconspicuous spot first.....

A bit of acetone will be sufficient to test to see what finish is on the guitar. Touch a Q-tip soaked with acetone in a inconspicuous spot. It will etch lacquer deeply and immediately, where it will have virtually no effect on catalyzed finish. Tip from Frank Ford. I wouldn't use too much acetone.

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