Hofner score

[Lightyear]

I like the red as well, kind of unusual for a Hofner.

[drbassman]

Yeah, I'd love to duplicate that amber burst look of an old Hofner.  We'll see!

[Highlander]

Go with the gut, Bill... go with the gut...

[drbassman]

Very nice!

How has the stripe in the top done?  Has it aged in any?

The stripe is still visible, but not too bad.

[Lightyear]

Have you tried giving her a bit of sun?  No joke - some old fashioned UV exposure might even it out some.  Maybe make shield out of cardboard to mask the areas outside of the tape line. 

I set cherry projects out in the sun to advance natural darkening - cherry reacts strongly to UV but other woods react as well.  Just a thought

[drbassman]

So I should expose just the lighter stripe to darken it up?

[Lightyear]

In theory, yes.  If I remember correctly the top is spruce?  I'm not sure how spruce reacts with UV but maple is another wood that ambers or darkens with age.  You for sure don't want it to get hot, the old glue would liley give up the ship , but it may be worth a shot.  It would be easy enough to mask off the area out side of the strip give it some sun.

Stupid question, but I'll ask anyway, have you sanded the top any at all?

[PeterB]

Beautiful piece of work, Doc! Love the binding, and my vote is for Amber 

[drbassman]

In theory, yes.  If I remember correctly the top is spruce?  I'm not sure how spruce reacts with UV but maple is another wood that ambers or darkens with age.  You for sure don't want it to get hot, the old glue would liley give up the ship , but it may be worth a shot.  It would be easy enough to mask off the area out side of the strip give it some sun.

Stupid question, but I'll ask anyway, have you sanded the top any at all?

Sounds good, I can try that.  I don't have anything to lose at this point.  I did sand, but I can't do any more of that.  The spruce is so old and dry, it's starting to flake off!  I've never seen this before, but evidently spruce can dry out pretty good over time and literally start to come apart, layer by layer.  So the next thing I've gotta do is get some S&S on it to hold things together.

[Highlander]

Might you need to feed that wood first, then..? (lube-job)

[drbassman]

Might you need to feed that wood first, then..? (lube-job)

I suppose I could oil it a bit.  Tung oil maybe?

[Lightyear]

I suppose I could oil it a bit.  Tung oil maybe?

I think that a coat or two of fresh shellac would serve the purpose well - very thin, forgiving, dries uber fast (sorry too lazy to find the foriegn punctuation) and is compatable with any other finish.  Amber or buttonlac will give you a natural amber color as well.  Plus it's a traditional finish.

[drbassman]

I think that a coat or two of fresh shellac would serve the purpose well - very thin, forgiving, dries uber fast (sorry too lazy to find the foriegn punctuation) and is compatable with any other finish.  Amber or buttonlac will give you a natural amber color as well.  Plus it's a traditional finish.

I might try that!  I also am going to expose the white stripe down the middle to some sun for aging purposes.  I left a piece of flame maple out in the barn a week or so ago and the sun has aged/darkened it amazingly!  It really does work!

[drbassman]

Here she is taking a sun bath.  I'm exposing her to some UV rays for a week or two to try and darken the light stripe in the middle.  It might work, we'll see.  All the binding is finished and the neck is glued on.  Next, we'll drill and pre-mount the hardware before finishing!

[Highlander]

Bill... cover that exposed shoulder to maintain the effect, or you might end up with other problems...