filling holes!

[mad_mackem]

hey all

im near to painting my guitar and i now have a problem to tackle.

in my piece of mahogany im using for the body there was a few holes, normally id just of whacked any old filler in it and painted it, but the problem is that i am staining my guitar with a translucent red stain. so im a bit stuck the holes are on the sides of the guitar and i dont know what to do with them and how to fill them in, obviously id like it so tht if the holes were filled they are a very similar colour, do i just fill with the closest colour putty i can find or is there another method i cud use to achieve a hard to notice the holes effect.

if any one can shed any light on this problem i would be greatful

thnx n rgds

[Southpa]

Deep holes? can they be sanded out w/out affecting the shape of the guitar very much? I had similar problems to work out and did some experimenting. I tried mixing mahogany sawdust with wood glue and packing it in. I realize I used the wrong kind of glue and didn't get the mix quite right. The filled holes were a tad lighter shade than the surrounding wood. You could try it with a clear glue, maybe epoxy? and your stain might mask it. So long as your stain and clear won't react with the glue-mix in those areas.

The other option is go ahead and stain and then spotfill the holes with whatever clearcoat you are using. It would probably take more than one application.

Damn, 4:30 in the AM and I just can't get to sleep.

[Devon Headen]

I'm having a similar problem with my strat refinish. After removing the paint with a heat gun (which left some gouges...oops), I sanded the body down a bit, and apparently a piece of something got on the paper, and now I have a fairly shallow (but really long) scratch across the front of the body. I guess I'm just gonna sand it out. I need to get some new paper. What grit should I get to sand down the best without being too rough? I was thinking 180 grit, but could I use something rougher to hog more wood out as long as I still work up to a 320 grit?

[Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars]

If you mean actual holes, rip a piece of mahogant ide grain on the tablsaw, wider than the body, bend it to shape, then glue it on.

[Brian]

mad_mackem - There are fillers on the market especially designed for mahogany in situations like this, before using one on the body though I would recommend trying it out on a piece of scrap or just laying some out on a board and test it to see how it will react to your stain.

Southpa - has the other option and a good quality wood glue is the answer I think you needed to find for the adhesive.

StonesCreed - you can hit it with 60 grit and a palm sander to smooth out the top, then work your way down in grits, it really shouldn't take long if you have the right tool.

Litchfield - has another option, but it's a tough one to do and get it to match and blend (so is the filler but it is easy to work with).

[mad_mackem]

thanx everyone for all ur help everyone!