oscarvan

And today things got real at Muppet Labs.... sanding. 150-220-320. I believe the offending finish is GONE. Waiting on a box from StewMac with beauty in a can..... Close up is after a wipe down with mineral spirits. I am pleased....

I have not.... thanks!

I did notice the finish under the bridge. And yes on the blades. I've ordered the one sided ones. They are also shorter. The longer blades showed me the top is not flat. There is some bowing on the top. At the narrowest area of the body the top dips down towards the sound hole and the edges are high. In fact there appears to be some "banana effect", ie the neck working it's way up under tension. Also noticed that the free setup at Martin where the action was brought down ended up being the saddle lowered to where the string is barely clearing the bridge and the truss rod tightened to where there's a visible curve down to the head along the neck. IOW, it's twisted and needs a neck reset for any further lowering of the action. This is bad news on the one hand, on the other hand it makes me feel less worried about refinishing a Martin. Maybe I'll end up resetting the neck myself and the guitar will serve as my learning project, which is a noble cause. We shall see.......

And.... it has commenced! https://woodenshoe.blog/d-16gt-restomod/

It's Titebond hide glue......

And if that is economically prohibitive I would use a clear pick guard and paint the image on the BACK of it, probably with acrylic, and then cover it with clear lacquer..... against the natural top that could look quite spectacular.

ESL (English as second language) here too, although I have spoken English for more years than I have spoken Dutch now. Language is one of the foundations of civilized society. Words matter.

Thank you for your responses. It appears that other than buying a special tool versus multi purpose clamps there is no pro or con either way. And yes, I am aware of the wood-to-wood requirement.... Also plan on using a removable glue, probably hide glue, so I can take it off in the future if needed. For the life of me can't understand people using epoxy here.

Very, very nice.

I just installed K&K minis on my Martin D-15M and I am quite pleased with them. VERY unobtrusive, easy to install and very economical. As they are passive and do not have any EQ to them I run them through a Behringer ADI-21 This way I can put K&K's in multiple guitars and have one Preamp/DI. (I can, still, only play one guitar at a time.)

Greetings, another question. Gluing the bridge it needs to be clamped. I have basically seen two methods. One or more large C-clamps through the sound hole either to blocks or something like this: https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Bridges/StewMac_Bridge_Clamp_Caul.html The other scenario are these https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Bridge-Guitars-Accessory-Luthier/dp/B07PNKQ763/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=guitar+bridge+clamp&qid=1562193992&s=gateway&sr=8-4 which pull through the E/E string holes and have the adjustments on the end for even pressure. No clamps through the sound hole.... Interestingly these are nowhere to be seen on the Stewmac website.... Thoughts? Thanks.

Thank you for your input. The razor (and buy a box of 100 and change frequently) sounds like a good idea. It will not leave scratches in the plastic. OK... we proceed.

Yes, as much as we like to see people succeed we also cherish the moments where we can learn from other's mistakes.... I know, It's a dog eat dog world out there....

So I've decided to go ahead and refinish the top on my Martin D-16 GT which has the top coat separating from the sealer. As it has plastic binding it is sanding only. (Chemicals will dissolve the binding.) The question is, how will the binding stand up to sanding? And, I assume the top coat is on top of the binding as well? So gently around the edges and the binding will be thick enough to remove the top coat off it and then sand it smooth with the top itself? What grit for the binding and immediate area? I was going to take the top down to 320, will that leave marks in the binding that won't fill? Or will they? Some experience here would be helpful. Thanks.

Yeah but the worn area seem more "yellow" than the (red) mahogany itself....It's got a, for lack of a better term, "bleached" look to it.... I have some mahogany scraps..... "SCIENCE" time....

I have one, a 000-15M. Looks like this: https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/15-series/000-15m-streetmaster/ I'm wondering if anyone can guess at the process. My guess is that the burst effect is a selective black transparent lacquer spray, and that the satin top coat is some kind of polymer. What I'm wondering is when/how the light "wear and tear" is done.... chemical? What kind? Thanks,

Actually went as far as to order a top worth of raw sitka spruce on eBay..... so lots of "scraps".

Greetings, new to this forum. Not new to fora. Two years of high intensity guitar playing. (Recovering keyboard player). Guitars appear to be multiplying in my home.... Damn you Craigslist, Reverb and FB Marketplace! Picked up this Martin D-16GT for a very reasonable price. Plays very nicely. Got that Martin ring and hours of sustain. Well, sort of. Then one day I look at the top under JUST the right light and I see...... Light spots IN the top finish. Since I live minutes from Martin's lair I took it there and yes, in 2001 they changed some things in their process and had some "issues" with the top coat separating from the sealer. (Sealer not being lacquer). Unfortunately since I was not the original owner the lifetime warrantee did not apply..... Now I have choices. It's not flaking, yet, so I could ignore it (it is not visible from the "audience angle" and just play it. But, since there's plenty of other ones to play I could take it out of service for a while and refinish it. Which sounds like a cool project. I have tools, and a shop. I have dirty hands every day. Wood, metal, electric, plumbing, automotive, stage craft.... always making and fixing things. And since it's "just" a D-16 and not worth a fortune, in fact arguably a lot less than market in current condition, there is no real financial risk. So that's the plan. I've spent quite a few hours on the StewMac site.... and on Youtube-U. got some quotes and "thinking" from luthiers, ($5-600) And I've found this place. Seems like the right bunch to hang with. So, after research, I've come to the idea to do something interesting. Sunburst, Martin style. It would be cool, and make the thing unique. If done right it would be a snazzy looking guitar and I have no reason to believe it would play any less. Luthiers suggested sanding down the top coat TO the (Non lacquer) sealer. The latter is not compromised and getting it off would require removal of quite a few thousandth of wood. Sand to 220 for a mechanical bond then Re-apply a top coat. (There will be no chemical bonding to sealer). For sealer I'm thinking lacquer in a can. Amber on top, then the tobacco around the edge (per StewMac instructions), spilling over on the mahogany sides (would also need to roughen those up) Fading to nothing the dark as it comes down the sides. Clear coat top and sides, leave the back the way it is. (Satin) Thoughts? Does anyone know EXACTLY what the sealer/finish used are? Also, there's black binding around the top. Plastic I assume. Does a lacquer top coat sit over that? Does it adhere and not flake off? Here's a link to the factory specs on it..... https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/16-series/d-16gt/ Picture of current condition. The separation is mostly visible at the bottom of the body but it's all over in spots.