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Post by alexkirtley on Jan 30, 2018 1:01:01 GMT
People with more experience doing finish work than I could you please lend some advice.
I've been doing a headstock repair on a Gibson Hummingbird I bought as a project, the headstock is currently drying, going to inlay splines in the next couple of days, but when that's done and it's sanded down, how would I go about staining or colouring lacquer to match the original (Dark) colour?
Or, if I don't do that, should I just spray a black nitro burst around the area with the air brush?
Thanks
Alex
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richm
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 47 
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Post by richm on Jan 30, 2018 8:51:29 GMT
Colour matching can be really tricky,
If the break is clean then you can make up a little stained cellulose and drop fill the joint and it will be nearly invisible. If the break is very ugly and there is a lot of bare wood then you can either spray some darker lacquer on the headstock and make a bit of a sunburst of it or refinish the whole neck so the colour is the same on the whole neck. Or you could try colour matching it up, if it doesn't work then you can go down another route.
Is the break very bad? In most cases the broken surface can go back together very cleanly and there is a large enough surface are that no extra reinforcements are needed. I usually make a backstrap repair rather than cutting into the neck and inlaying anything. It tends to look neater and gives more support.
Rich
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Post by alexkirtley on Jan 30, 2018 11:17:53 GMT
Colour matching can be really tricky, If the break is clean then you can make up a little stained cellulose and drop fill the joint and it will be nearly invisible. If the break is very ugly and there is a lot of bare wood then you can either spray some darker lacquer on the headstock and make a bit of a sunburst of it or refinish the whole neck so the colour is the same on the whole neck. Or you could try colour matching it up, if it doesn't work then you can go down another route. Is the break very bad? In most cases the broken surface can go back together very cleanly and there is a large enough surface are that no extra reinforcements are needed. I usually make a backstrap repair rather than cutting into the neck and inlaying anything. It tends to look neater and gives more support. Rich Cheers Rich The break is actually pretty clean, despite being the second time it broke (Due to a poor glue join), If I were to leave it glued with no additional re-enforcement I could very easily use a series of drop fills and light spray to get it looking better, but I might have to put additional support in, not sure |
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richm
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 47
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Post by richm on Jan 30, 2018 19:57:02 GMT
Hi Alex,
I usually use backstraps where a break repair has failed or the joint has been open for a long time- Its amazing how many players use a guitar with a headstock that broke 10 or even 20 years ago!
Take 2 or 3mm off the thickness off the headstock and up to about the 1st fret- watch out for the truss rod! I use a sate-t planer in a pillar drill but you can use a plane spokeshaves and files. Get a piece of matching wood and bend it a little at the end to transition into the neck, glue it up and trim it back. The downside to a backstrapis that you have a big area of bare wood to finish and you lose the 'made in USA' stamp (although if you are really keen you can cut it out and inlay it).
The advantage of a backstrap over splines is that you have a very big area that you are reinforcing and it extends far over the broken area. Splines are relatively small and quite intrusive. they also have end grain at either end that have almost no gluing strength so quite often there is a bit of shrinkage.
I have done backstrap repairs with quite a few gibsons; acoustics and archtops, cheapo electrics right up to a 1926 Martin size O that was worth god knows how much and they have all been really successful.
What glue are you using to fix the break? I use hide glue freshly made for the job, if you heat up the wood beforehand you have enough time to get the clamps on and tidy up before it sets too much and it is thin enough so that you can really get it into all the nooks and crannies. I use a baby bottle warmer to heat the glue up, £2 from a car boot, otherwise proper glue pots cost hundreds!
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Post by alexkirtley on Feb 9, 2018 11:47:00 GMT
I went the backstrap route, went very well, now I'm just deciding what to do with the finish, would a black burst be bad?, I know that's just a cover up but my airbrush packed up and mixing lacquer colours is not my strongest point  |
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Jo whoever he is.
