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I am having to refinish a small area about 2" square on the upper bout of one of my guitars. I don't know what the customer did to damage the finish but it required removing the lacquer down to the bare wood with acetone. The rest of the finish is flawless and I don't relish the prospect of masking off the top and back and overspraying the entire rim assembly once the finish is built back up and levelled in the patched area. Is there a way to blend this small area back into the original finish with no blend line and with the least amount of fuss? Lacquer is Seagrave.

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

I have messed up some great finishes and fixed them with this.
It takes a little practice, but I have definitely fixed some nastiness with it.

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=142

This product is used to french polish right over the area of the blemish. It will blend with the lacquer but the solids are shellac rather than lacquer. You just need to have some padding skills, patience and a good buffing system.

You need to soften the existing lacquer so that the new lacquer will burn in. It can be done with thinner, but retarder works better.

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=451

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John

I would build up the bare area using a fine tipped brush. Level sand once it is built up and it may be good to buff. If not use an air brush with 50/50 lacquer/thinner to melt in

Like john said, soften the original surface with some retarder first. I also use a bit of slow evap thinner after after to blend out the edge of the repair a bit. Airbrushes work great for these small repairs.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

It's called cellosolve acetate. Airbrush some over the area, airbrush an appropriate amount of laquer over the area and airbrush another coat of cellosolve over that. Let dry 1-2 months and resand and buff.

The Mohawk "Super Blush retarder" John mentioned, and Mohawk's "No Blush Blender Flat" come in convenient aerosol cans and can give better control over the amount of "melting" of the finish. If working in a cool environment I prefer the No Blush.

The common mistake when spraying retarder is to use too much. A little goes a long way.
Unlike lacquer thinner, all you want is a thin mist coat of retarder....just enough to soften the lacquer where it will show a fingerprint.

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John

Read up on the WilPro I mentioned.
It is a mohawk product and will soften and burn into the lacquer. It is a repair tool.