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Ive heard this question before an I believe the answer given was to inlay before applying paint/finish and then scrape the colored product off of the inlay. I am a little on the edge about this. Some quick background on what Ill be doing: Black guitar with some rose inlay. I know that I could use ebony veneer and inlay into that, but if its possible, I would really like to get that beautiful solid black gloss nitrocellulose look. I feel like it would be dang near impossible to perfectly scrap the finish off of the inlay without taking off any around the wood. Thoughts? Any pictures of previous work like this would also be helpful! thank you kindly! -Alex

I can't see my way around having to lay down the black, do the inlay, sand even, and then add the clear topcoats. Thing is; you'd have to lay down enough thickness of black to be able to sand smooth without worrying about sanding the color thin. It's pretty dicey any way you look at it.

I'd sure like to see that trick. I have the exact same problem. I make these cool wooden inlays for my logo. The logo gets a color tint if the rest of the guitar does. The best way I handle it so far is to choose the woods for the logo that will look good under the tint. That's fine but I can't do solid colors without some other solution.

The only solution I can think of that MIGHT work you'd need a cnc machine to test....but...I'll explain nevertheless. Since my logos are made on the cnc from file, a small mold could be made in which castable silicone could be poured. The result would be a rubbery stencil the shape of the logo that one could place and press over the inlay while spraying the color around it. Success or failure would be determined by how refined the edge of the wet color remains when the stencil is removed. And of course, any seriously delicate inlay is likely out of the question.

It's an idea.

But if this technique DID produce a highly defined color edge...then the outer perimeter of the inlay could be made larger than the actual stencil allowing for two possibilities: 1. The stencil, being smaller than the inlay could be visually aligned perfectly before spraying and...2. Since the color determines the edge there would be no chance of seeing the boundary between the inlay and the wood it's set into if the color is opaque.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

You could stencil on a few layers of PVA mold release, it peels off in a layer. That's just a small mod to Stuart's idea, which I think is a very good one. The important part is the 'bleed' of the color over the edge of the shell. Pretty much any masking should work if you bleed the color over the shell and scalpel out the masked part.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Here is another thought. Apply a layer or two of masking tape to the area to be inlayed after sanding and prepping for finish but prior to doing any inlay work. Cut the pocket and set the inlay with tape in place. When the inlay is brought level to the tape and the tape then removed your inlay should now be .003"-.005" proud of the surface. Paint with black lacquer and then wetsand down. When the inlay polishes through you will still have a few mils of black left and can clearcoat as usual.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Greetings I have done this exact inlay on one of my black tele style guitars . I have tried to attach an image file but don't seem to be having much success. The masking tape technique is very effective. Also ,it helped me to coat the inlay with a layer of superglue that could be sacrificed when leveling to your color coat.
Tim

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TR
Rocco Guitars

Here is an example of a very simple rose inlay I did on one of my guitars . The inlay is purple heart and pistachio over black nitro. I will tell you that even after using the tape method and coating the surrounding area with CA while leveling, I still had some sand throughs that needed to be touched up . It's not all that difficult but you need patience and the usual persistence that makes us all better builders
Best of luck on your build

Tim

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TR
Rocco Guitars