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I've got a rosewood guitar with quite a bit of white silica. Are there any tips for either removing it or covering it up?

I think I read something once about using acetone, but don't really want to fudge a closed bound box....

I've successfully used a sharpie before Z-Epoxy.

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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.

If that's Indian Rosewood, I'm not sure that the deposits are silica. Whatever they are, they accept dye very readily. Just wiping the surface with a cloth pad moistened with denatured alcohol should do the trick. The pad will pick up the color from the wood, and stain the deposits to match. Stay away fom the purflings if you can. A Q-tip with alcohol works well for detail work.

If it's Brazilian, you're out of luck. The deposits in Brazilian behave more like silica--no stain will touch them. You can dig them out with a needle. You can use a dark finish. You can explain that this is a natural distinguishing characteristic of Brazilian Rosewood. Charge extra if you like.

It's eir rosewood.

Would isopropyl function as well as denatured alcohol?

Muriatic acid will likely dissolve it... I believe it's likely calcium carbonate or limestone, not silica. Lemon juice might even work. Or dig it out with a pick and pore fill with a dark filler.

Could well be. I've heard it referred to as silica, so just regurgitating...

I agree with James. Most likely calcium carbonate. I know some go the chemical route to dissolve it, but I've always just used the more labor intensive method. Picking it out with an Exacto knife with a new #111 blade, then blowing or vacuuming off the surface.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Only a little experience, but I was working with some teak. I resawed some boards and set them aside. White stuff oozed out of some pores after a day. In this case, it came clean with a rag and water, so I think this was some kind of sap. Point is, your spots might be anything. So, try everything, starting with the simplest, i.e., water.