DIY Maple Headstock Touch Up (Advice Needed)

musicalman

Greetings all. I hope this finds you all well. I recently bought an American Special Strat in superb condition, except for some minor flaws on the front, top end of the headstock. Attached is a picture of the maple headstock. There were some dents and dings around the areas that I sanded. The factory finish on the neck is satin polyurethane. I need the more heavily sanded area raised just a tad, and the edge of the headstock where I've sanded touched up with satin polyurethane to match the rest of the headstock as best as possible. What's the best way to go about this? Do I use some super glue to raise the slightly lowered area, then fine sand it level with the rest of the headstock and apply the satin polyurethane clear coat? Any better approach? Many thanks. Grant

musicalman

Yoohoo? Anyone? ?

peterleroux

Curious why you want to mix finishes- superglue does a great job as a hard finish on it's own, but why use it as a base coat for poly? It will subtly change the colour of the wood and might show through even if you get the top coat finished perfectly.

The 'right' approach (i.e. best chance of getting a seamless finish) is to carefully mask the decal, sand the rest of the face down to wood, and then respray the whole face in one go. But that's a mission.

I don't want to presume much about your abilities and available time, but this is one that I'd personally send to a luthier to get sorted.

musicalman

peterleroux wrote: Curious why you want to mix finishes- superglue does a great job as a hard finish on it's own, but why use it as a base coat for poly? It will subtly change the colour of the wood and might show through even if you get the top coat finished perfectly.

The 'right' approach (i.e. best chance of getting a seamless finish) is to carefully mask the decal, sand the rest of the face down to wood, and then respray the whole face in one go. But that's a mission.

I don't want to presume much about your abilities and available time, but this is one that I'd personally send to a luthier to get sorted.

Hi Peter. Thanks for the comment.

I've been thinking more about this. If I use spray poly, and IF the maker says its OK to do multiple coats, I might be able to fill it with spray poly. The recessed area is not very deep. I was using 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper. So, if I can get this done without having to apply super glue to the wood, which is not my preferred choice, then that's great.

In that case, I would use a piece of thin cardboard and have it up off the face of the headstock a little. That will give me a soft edge at the end of the new poly. Then spray so that the mask protects the area that still has some finish on it. Do some quick, light passes first to get started and avoid runs. I'm strongly contemplating this option.

Shibbibilybob

Super glue will yellow the wood. I'd avoid it.
I'd likely try painting the affected areas with Shellac. I'm sure you could build up layers in the dents if you're careful.

musicalman

Shibbibilybob wrote: Super glue will yellow the wood. I'd avoid it.
I'd likely try painting the affected areas with Shellac. I'm sure you could build up layers in the dents if you're careful.

Hi. Yep, I was always nervous about the super glue option. To drop fill a poly finish, that's one thing. To apply to the bare wood, that's another story altogether.

What I'm not sure of is whether or not the original tint of the headstock is due to the polyurethane coating, or to a wood stain applied before. I suppose doing a little paint touch up with Shellac to match as closely as possible can't hurt before I apply the poly finish.