Acoustic Guitar Construction

While it may appear like more work to sand the whole top it will provide the best overall result. A meet-in-the-middle approach would be to sand complete to the nearby edges and then do a thorough job feathering this area into the main section of the lower bout. Now that you have exposed the raw wood I would recommend that you only dry sand. There are a whole bunch of issues trying to wet sand around bare wood, even if you are using mineral spirits or naptha.

A few other comments:

1. Don't forget to apply some vinyl sealer to the bare wood. One or two light coats as typically recommended by the finish mfg. You may also want to sand the extra sealer from the area that is still finished. No need to add dissimilar materials between coats.

2. You will need to block/level sand the area a couple of times as you build the finish. On your final coats it may be advisable to spray the entire top. I usually spray my final coats at 50% reduction. This allows the material to flow better and should reduce orange peel.

I have decided to sand the entire top to the wood. However, I have to spray outside and I won't be able to do that much till April here in Tennessee so an alternative finish is in order. What about Tru Oil??

I've sprayed in some pretty cold weather -- warm the coating, warm the guitar -- spray outdoors, bring it indoors to dry/cure.

French polish on the sound board would be a good choice -- many high line classic makers do just that -- lacquer back and sides -- French polish on the top.

I am sure sure DaveB can add to the "TO" conversation -- I've not used "TO" but wonder about the gloss level compatibility?

If a spit coat of TO goes on smoothly (50/50 TO and min spirits) and cures for a day without any problems, it is probably okay to go ahead and use it. Ken is right that the gloss may not match exactly, that may or may not be a problem. The best solution of course is to spray your nitro and eliminate any guessing.

I'm sorry I missed this until too late :(
Obviously prevention is worth a pound of cure and the previous suggestions are of course right on, but if you should encounter a spot like this again for some reason, , the mixture of radiant heat and UV from natural sunlight will often soften the new finish enough to allow the moisture to escape, at least try it by placing in in a window with good direct sunlight for a couple hours, as soon as you first see it...if it doesn't dry out in that time, it probably won't!.

I've done this more than once and it's saved me a lot of work and frustration. Just a suggestion, won't hurt to try!

FWIW
I agree with Dave on the TO, not because it won't polish out well enough, I've seen some polished TO that was amazing, but TO is generally a bit darker than lacquer and if your not looking for a "Vintage" tint look you may not be happy with that...stick with the lacquer and avoid any added problems. Also there can be a compatibility problem with TO (Where the two meet)...you can shoot lacquer OVER TO but TO will not work over lacquer.

Ray :)

Wow, I am so ready to be done with this guitar. As Ken knows. I started on it when Noah unloaded the boat. Anyway, if I re-do with lacquer, that's another month and a half to two months of spraying, letting cure and polishing. I can do this if I can catch some decent days to spray outside. Can I spray at 40 degrees or so and then bring it in?? I don't mind the darker color of TO. Can I use the Zinnser shellac in a can to French polish? I'm not very good at making decisions so I'll let one of you. The top is sanded down nicely, by the way. Sorry to be such a PIA.
Thanks