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I'm just wondering if I could have done more to hide it.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

That's where finish work comes in.... That looks like a very nice repair.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thank you. This has been lacquered and I'm waiting a week to buff it. I was tempted to do some dye touch up but figured I'd make it worse.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Nice repair,
Mohawk sells brush tip graining markers that are great for doing small touch ups. They are alcohol based so when applied on top of some (not all) finishes they can be removed with alcohol. Finding a color that is close and adding a few "dots" of color along the visible line can help "break" it and keep it from drawing the eye. A coat of finish over it seals it in.
If the markers dry out they can be rejuvenated by using an insulin needle to add alcohol into the body through the brush end.

Thanks Clay, That's now on my must have list.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

YA DONE GOOD!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Another thing that can sometimes help with solvent based lacquer finishes is to mist some retarder (butyl cellosolve) on the finish and reamalgamate the cracked lacquer. It will probably need to be rebuffed after and there is the possibility of ruining what you have - so tread carefully.

I've never been able to hide it so you can't tell unless it's a black neck or even dark mahogany. Something like that is impossible to hide.

I guess the important thing is that you can't feel it. Thanks to you all.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

There are people in the furniture repair and conservation trade that could make that "go away" to where even knowing it was broken we would be hard pressed to find the break. I worked in that trade for a few years and can make a repair that is inconspicuous, but there are people who have done it for decades and can do things you wouldn't think possible.

Thought about using GluBoost products?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

When I quote on such work, I’ll add a qualifier that the “repair area may not be invisible but should be smooth to the touch”. Generally speaking, I’m able to do a better job than most customers expect (+2 for Gluboost products). For the odd client who is looking for « like new from the factory », I turn down the job and wish them luck.


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Hopefully they are well paid for their work too because that is some serious skill there. I would imagine it entails faux grain lines and other tricks followed by blending color and other finish techniques that take many many years to develop.

It used to be a well paying profession. Unfortunately when the domestic furniture industry took a tumble the wages for repair people took a tumble - it is cheaper to toss the junk import furniture than to fix it.