The Final Scraping
July 28th...I spent today
scraping the dye off the bindings. I went at it very slowly
and carefully, using various tools --- a single-edged razor blade,
an Exacto knife with a narrow, pointed blade, and a micro-chisel.
July 29th...Today I went
over the binding again, to make sure I had scraped off all
vestiges of the dye. Finally, I taped the top of the fingerboard,
in preparation for finishing.
Below are the results of my two days of scraping.....
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There seems to be no end to the mistakes I make and the
new things I learn (after the fact). I discovered, as I was
scraping the bone point protectors, that bone is more porous
than I had thought, and the dye had soaked more deeply into the
bone than I could scrape off! I tried scraping the dye off, sanding
it off, using alcohol to dissolve it off, and even bleaching
it off with some wood bleach ---- all to no avail. I did get
much of the dye off the bone, but it was still slightly stained
by the time I had exhausted all my options.
I then considered removing the bone points, but concluded
that would be too difficult, as I had used epoxy to glue them
on. Finally, I decided to figure out a way to cover the dye with
paint or something compatible. I ended up using some of that
"touch up" glaze that you use to patch porcelain. I
figured that might work, because the bottle said you could sand
it smooth after it had dried. Well, it worked --- it covered
up the dye, dried fairly quickly, and sanded to a smooth white
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