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Okay, so you are ready to prep the guitar body for pore filling and sanding.

What is your approach? Any tricks to share - like binding gap filling methods, or best way to find scratches - anything at all to make the prep as good as humanly possible? Problem areas? Things that are easy to overlook?
Thanks

Prep sand and seal the sound-board completely before working on the back and side.

Do not use a solvent to wipe off oily woods such as Rosewood -- tack cloth will work fine.

Do not do any gap filling until the wood is sealed

Do not use wood and glue mixed up as putty on light color wood it will end up as a dark streak


Always use a sanding block

Scrap rather then sand purflings

Do your entire sanding routine put the guitar aside for 24 hours and do the entire routine again --- works for me.

This is all about prep , I agree with Ken's list . You really don't need to sand much past 220 grit. Too fine and you burnish the wood. The wood needs to have a little tooth for the finish to hold on to. I would add that use the proper sealer recommended by your finish supplier .
Today , the compatibility of the finish chemistry can be very sensitive . Shellac may seem good now but in a few years when the top coat is coming off is sheets you won't need to know why.

Good points John ---

I do not use shellac - mostly because it tends to tint the surface and if not sanded evenly, shadows will show up at a later date -- not good!

And I no longer use "sanding sealer" turn out it contains a kinds soap!! so it sands off easily and does not clog the paper. If you mix brands/poducts this can be a real disaster and in general does not set well with me even if the same product line.

deadedith wrote: like binding gap filling methods

I'd like to know a little more about this as well.

I like to fill my gaps one of 2 ways. If they are tiny I may wait till the first finish coats are on and CA , it they are larger save some dust and work the dust into the opening and use thinned finish , lacquer or what you are using. I do this after the seal coat and before filling , then seal and finish

If white glue was used to glue in the bindings, Rick Davis taught me how to use a heat gun and binding tape to close the gaps. I have been able to close most of them with this method. The one that do not close are bridges in any inside curve.

I put a little glue across the top of the gap. Heat the binding in an area around the gap until the glue bubbles and the surface look changed. It does not take long. At that point use a bunch of strips of the binding tape to pull the gap closed. Much like when the binding was glued on the first time. The glue cures once it cools so that you can remove the tape. On the tops I also use the heat gun to warm the tape before taking it off to avoid pulling fibers.

Watch what you do with the heat gun and where it is pointing so that you do not burn anything.

Thanks Two Johns. Good info.