I am working on my second ever guitar re-build / re-finish. all along the way i continue to learn things to do and not to do should i embark on another rebuild. As far as background on the project i started with a stock PRS Tremonti SE (Korea model) and removed the neck pickup, the toggle switch, and three of the volume/tone knobs - leaving me with just a bridge pickup and single volume. To cover the cavities that i filled, and for a different look, i placed a bookmatched veneer top on the guitar and then installed binding to hide hide the edge of the new top. I then stained the top, applied sand&sealor, painted the sides and back - then clear coat the whole guitar.
Though not perfect, i am happy enough with most of the results as a learning experience as well as a resulting guitar that will see playing time on stage in my band (it's not a show piece in other words). After installing my binding i did use some wood filler to help make the joint a little more seamless from the side of the body to the new binding. After that dried i also applied some CrystaLac grain fill to help fill in a few more smaller gaps (in hindsight perhaps this wasn't the greatest move - or perhaps i went wrong somewhere in the application of it).
Now after clear coating the guitar i have 3-4 small areas where the paint is slightly peeling away from the body right at the binding (my guess is that the grain filler is what the color had attached itself to and now that grain filler has released from the body and my cleared paint is rising off the guitar. My fear is that a small snag might rip out a chunk of paint. Any suggestions on how best to fix at this point? should i use a knife and cut out the flaking paint, sand the area, re-paint and re-clear. is it best to try these types of repairs as small as possible - or is it best to sand the entire area and re-apply finishes?
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
