Matching D-18 color

[Bob Gaddis]

1972 D-18 in for a new bridge, frets and to repair a dime-sized hole in the lower bout, treble side. The guy hit a cast-iron fish-cooker corner. I cannot get the old piece to fit back in, due to the crushed grain, so I'm going to patch it with a piece of mahogany from a spare factory D-18 side I've had for years. Does anybody know if Stew-Mac's Rosewood colortone filler comes close to matching the original color without me having to blend a lot of different colors? I've not used the product before. Looking at their sample pictures, it seems like the mahogany color is too light and the black is too black. I used to use some aniline alcohol stain and black paste filler for pores, but I've used it up and don't know where to replace it in today's marketplace.

[Mike Kolb]

I share your pain, my friend. The nemesis of repair work (for me, anyway) is color touchup after a repair, particularly on the sunburst-finished Guilds, Gibson and other acoustic boxes.

As you probably already surmise, I don't have any concrete advice (other than to keep a whole bunch of dyes and shades and little 2oz. bottles handy for experimentation), so it's not answering your questions. I WILL, however, keenly keep an eye on this topic as it's always been a source of frustration for me. The greatest structural patch job in the world looks like doo-doo if it's not touched-up correctly, so let's hear some expert opinions...

[Ronnie Nichols]

I think you'll probably have to mix up a color. If there is a color that will match that, I'm not aware of it. You may see a variation between one Martin and another due to age, condition, and just the differences in wood. It seems like I have used some brown and a little red ( and maybe a touch of amber) before to get pretty close to that color. Since you have some extra wood to experiment with this will help. It is hard to look at the stained wood and imagine how it will look after it has the clear on it. The problem with a repair like this is that, at best, it will most almost always be noticable and it's a real challenge to get it to the "presentable" stage. I've learned to prepare the owner ahead of time for the fact that it will not be an invisible repair. If you prepare the owner for the worst, perhaps he'll be more pleased with the final result.
Ronnie Nichols