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what is "non shrinking catalyzed material"? 

I'm repairing a hole in the face, tapered the edges so it is glued with overlap, but some seams are a litte open and another place is adeep gouge in the face but not through. Whats the best filler for a blond spruce soundboard to level it up to the  finish?

I tried hide glue but I guess my hide is too dark. I can soften and scrape it out, but what's the best filler to match? the  face. The patch is a close color to the bare face, so I think it will match with the finish, hopefuly.

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Man, that was pretty ugly. I would make a bigger patch to cover all the ugly stuff and make the patch match the hole better. As far as I know, there is no putty to make an easy and somewhat invisible repair on a natural spruce top. The only way is to make the patch match the hole almost perfectly and do a good job using lightly yellow colored lacquer. Even the best job will probably be visible. A complete refinish of the top with perfectly fitted patches may come close.

The only catalyzed filler I'm aware of is Bondo. It would be more appropriate if you planned to paint it. I would remove the patch (which matches the grain well btw) and create straight sides on the hole. Recut a new patch with a very tight gap free fit. A shooting board and finely set block plane is great for taking a gnat's eyelash away.

Hey, isn't that the  Peter Tompson/WHO leap? Anyway I think a solid color paint job would be easier. I tapered the sides of the patch for vibration transfer and because I don't like cleats and I can't reach far nough to get the bottom half of it anyway. Making a gnat fit is difficult in the guitar side, ergo the tapered side.  I usually work on ouds, so I researched repairs on F.com and it seems cleats are in order, although I think it just adds weight and disrupts the tranmission of vibration. huh? (Am I too anal/tech?) I use parchment paper over cracks and seams on the oud, which are very thin soundboars ~1/16in, yes really! I know parchment is used in violin repair, by some anyway, no? It's not a high value guitar anyway, I see them used for $100, so more work is not in my interest. I think I'll just use a wood filler and then paint it pink or something. (not!) Maybe a faux wood paint job would work. Anyway, thanks guys for your input.

Yes, a solid color will hide everything. In that case you can use bondo or whatever to get a really flat surface.

The disrupion of vibration from a cleat IS anal/tech ;-) The weight of a cleat is really small compared to the rest of the top. With small instruments like violins the cleat's weight is a factor, not on a big guitar.

Sounds like a good option for the situation. Yes, that's Pete Townsend from my very first real rock concerts in 1971. The Tommy tour. I found a treasure trove of photos from a former local newspaper photographer.

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