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The mahogany in the body and neck on this size 0 are different shades. I've had this one in the works for a while but had not put naptha on it till today and didn't realize how different the colors might look.

My finish plans were to use a Zpoxy fill, seal with shellac, and then finish with the new PolyWhey luthiers blend. After seeing it with naptha I'm thinking I need to darken the body to match the neck. I could really use some help here:

Is it going to be as miss-matched as it looks in the third photo when it's finished? If so, what's the best way to darken the body? I have a selection of aniline dyes in various mahogany tints - can I use these?

My idea right now is to do the Zpoxy fill, then mix some of the aniline dye in a light cut of shellac and spray the body until I get a decent match, add a few coats of shellac over that and spray my finish.

What do you think?

This is sanded to 220 but no naptha. Doesn't look that far off.


Here is neck and back with naptha. Still doesn't look too bad.


This is the one that got my attention. The neck almost looks like chocolate against the lighter mahogany in the body.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Seal the endgrain of the heel with thin hide glue if you don't want the zpoxy to darken it (run tests on scrap first, of course)

But it looks like your neck wood is just naturally darker than the body, so you will have to stain if you want them to match, and I don't know anything about stain technique since I prefer all natural colors.

Or you could save that neck for a rosewood guitar, and make a new one with a better matching piece.

I've only dealt with this once, my inexperience is showing.

I built a Les Paul with Honduran neck & African body under Maple top.

After pore filling & sealing, I tinted by spraying diluted lacquer with Trans Tint. It worked pretty well but don't know how to pull it off with Poly Whey.
Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I like the contrast.

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
http://www.aaronhixguitars.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/A-Hix-Tonewood-a ... r-Supplies

Dennis, this was a neck I rescued for this guitar so it's pretty much a one-off kind of fit so not a good candidate for another guitar. I've heard of using hide glue on the end grain but haven't tried it - is this a common practice before filling with Zpoxy? I've only used Zpoxy once but didn't notice any problem on the end grain.

Kevin, I'm not sure how much color I could put in the PolyWhey. I would have to contact them.

Filippo, I'm not sure the different colors are a problem. I'm not real artistic and sometimes make color and design choices I regret later. I prefer a natural wood finish so if I can be comfortable that it will look ok as is then I'd rather not dye anything.

Aaron, sounds like another vote to leave it. That's encouraging.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I dont see a problem either, though of course it's a personal preference thing. If you want it to match you will need to make the body darker, probably with a tint coat. Making the neck lighter is not impossible but getting it to match probably is.

Leave it!

I'm in the leave it alone camp. When do we get to play this one?

Thanks everyone. I'll leave it alone.



I'll start finishing today so I should have it done for our July meeting.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Hey, Steve. Well, you certainly received a lot of others' opinions on what they thought of the match, but not much advice on how to rectify your situation. If what really matters is that you don't like the color/shade mismatch, I'd suggest two options. First of all, you might contact people who do finishing for a living--Addam Stark, Joe White--and see if they'd be willing to advise you on a method to get a better match. Secondly, you might just finish it as is and see if you can live with the result. As one person suggested, the Z-poxy could get you a closer match. Now, one nice aspect about a bolt on neck, is that it's easily removed. So, if you really don't like the contrast, you have the option of making a new neck of lighter mahogany and saving the present neck for a future guitar say, with a darker body (rosewood or such). It would delay your end product, but then again, you're the person who has to look at this instrument every day. If you don't like it why settle? And that's just one more person's opinion.

By the way, my favorite supplier of high quality mahogany neck stock is Guitar Wood Experts in Lake Oswego, OR. They have a great selection of varying shades. Contact either Mike or Alan, and I can almost guarantee they'll have what you need.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Mike, good points. As you say, it's a bolt on so if I don't like it I can always take it apart and put a new neck on it. Thanks for the point-out to the guys in Oregon.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So here's the result with no color. Zpoxy fill sanded back to the wood, 2 coats of blonde shellac, and 1 coat of PolyWhey. As said earlier -not near the color difference as there was with the Naptha. Thanks all!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

It looks great now that there is some finish on it.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

It looks great Steve

Looks good!

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

The new polywhey Luthiers Blend? Vermont Coatings...?

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice.



Yes, I just sprayed it straight out of the bottle.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I'm curious how the end grain in the heel matches the body now under finish. Do you have a shot of that?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I enjoy the change in color as the straight grain of the neck barrel goes into end grain at the heel. I think it's the darkness of that area that really makes the design and carving of the heel pop and stand out.

Yours looks great!

here ya go. Not near the contrast that there was with the Naptha.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Steve, looks good down here in Texas.
(Course, everyone knows we Texans have no taste, so take my compliment with a grain of pore filler.)

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Wow, that looks WAY closer. Nice, the chear finish must let more light into the surface of the wood than a dull, but wetted surface.

Looks dreamy.

That's looking good!

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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.

Thanks guys. I'll be leveling and shooting the final coats this weekend so I'll post photos when I'm done in a couple of weeks.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

+1!!