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Thanks to all who have offered so much encouragement and advice as I have repaired the many mistakes I have made on my latest guitar. For your entertainment, here are some before and after photos of the last repair --- the faded purfling line on the rosette. Here's the before picture:



You can see where the outer maple purfling line faded out on the right side of the rosette.

My friendly neighborhood hardwood store employee suggested I try some Behlen's powders. They come in nifty little bottles and contain a few tablespoons full of pigment. I bought some "maple" and some "white" (because the maple looked too dark). I put a tiny pile of each powder on a piece of wax paper and a few drops of laquer in the middle. I dabbed a little white powder into the laquer, and a little maple powder, then more of each until it looked right. I then dabbed a toothpick in the colored lacquer and, with my steadiest hand, drew the faded line back in. It was a challenge, because my hand really isn't that steady. But the final results aren't too shabby if I do say so myself. (My photography skills leave a bit to be desired, though.) Here's the final result. It's a lousy photo, but is a pretty good representation of how it looks now:



Sorry for the poor photos.

Thanks for all your help.Kelby38609.0714814815

Nice job Kelby! It isn't even visible in the second pic.

Sometimes it seems like all I do is try to recover from my own screw ups.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Kelby--very nice save. If that had been my problem, the temptation to cover over that line with a dark pickguard would have been nearly irresistable. But you did the workman-like thing. And, now you've learned a useful technique.
Can we send you our screw-ups from now on?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks, guys. Steve, if I had thought of the pickguard, I might not have figured out how to touch it up with the paint!