Fixing up an acoustic...

[DrChrisMD]

Hey, guys...

This is my first time doing any work to a guitar, and it happens to be an acoustic at the same time. I'll describe it because I don't have any pictures:

It's for my girlfriend, who has small hands...so it's a Junior to begin with. Second hand, and a bit banged up, but mostly scuffs and scratches. Basically, what I've done so far is take all the tuning gear off 'cause it's gone to crap, took off the nut and bridge-nut (I think that's what it's called), and the pickguard. Now, I may have been an idiot for trying it, but I got the crazy idea to steel-wool the neck and headstock...it turned the original reddish finish it had into a tri-colored burnt kind-of look...I hope I can get a pic in the future. It doesn't look too bad. That's what I've done so far.

Now here are my questions...

It never had much of a glossy finish to begin with...now, I'm new to the world of wood-working, and I'm wondering what would happen if I were to put a glossy finish on it. Would that ruin the sound much? Also, I'm attempting to customize my own logo to put on the headstock. How do you suggest I go about that? I thought I could make my own stencil and spray-paint it...but what'll happen if I do put some kind of varnish/lacquer/finishing material on it?

Also, while I was steel-wooling the fretboard (I got the idea online) to get the old dirt and stuff off, I scratched it up quite a bit and I think I discovered that's it's fake ebony wood...'cause it revealed white-ish colors...is there a good stain I can use? Any tips?

And finally, I've got bumps on the edges, like where the binding's at and such, and I'm wondering if there's a simple way to cover them up and make it at least *less* noticeable.

Alright guys n' gals, thanks a lot.

I'm hoping to *build* a guitar in the near future.

Chris