Topic: My project
Hey all!! I've been wanting to share my refinishing project so I finally took some pics of it.
So this is my Art & Lutherie Wild Cherry. I love this guitar. If plays so easy!! But I hated the satin black finish and painted on rosette.
I decided to start tinkering with stripping the finish. Boy was it messy.
Here is the back all stripped and cleaned. I like the cherry grain.
Here is the front as of right now. I haven't gotten around to it yet. I want to do it when I have time to finish the whole project so it's un-strung for as short as possible. I'm gonna lose the black pic guard and go with a clear static cling one like I put on my Yamaha A/E.
Something I found tho. There are a few spots on the front that show sandthru of the top veneer layer. I don't know if it's been refinished before. Also the back and sides were the same color under the black as the neck is. A sort of reddish brown.
Pix inspired me to tackle a soundport. It wasn't all that hard to do. I still need to fiberglass the inside of the port, which I should have done before cutting it out, but oh well. I had a hard time deciding on a shape. I liked the guitar pic shape but wanted something different. So I went with the cross. It was alot more intricate so I made the cross fit into the guitar pic shape. That way if I messed up the cross I could just cut it out into the pic shape. I hit the side of the neck while rubbing with acetone and stripped a little off the heel. Notice the filler between the port and the neck. Some idiot drilled a hole for a strap pin there and just below the heel on the back. That's one reason I got it so cheap I think.
Another cool thing about A&L. This leaf on the inside of the guitar on the bottom of the neck block. Dare I say it's a leaf from a cherry tree?
Couple of questions, Would sandthru occur at the factory knowing it would be covered up? Why the brown under the black? And only on the sides and back?
I will finish it in the spring when the weather is a little nicer. I'm gonna go with a black to natural burst on the top because of the sandthru. The back and sides will be natural. All satin clear. I'm not doing the neck or headstock. So that's where it's at to date. I will post more when I get more done.
, trim it thinner than your vertical line in the port but about 2 inches longer so it extends past the port 1inch on top and bottom, bend it to match the curve of the shoulder and glue it in place. But as long as your careful not to hit it too hard it'll be fine as is.
