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Old 05-04-2017, 10:08 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Default What to do for this small dent on guitar top

I don't know how this happened -- and it really torques me, because this guitar is otherwise extremely clean -- but it has all the markings of being caused by a quarter-inch guitar cord plug, as you can see. There is a little depth to the bigger hole -- maybe about a 16th of an inch -- and a little less on that second ding. My local repair wizard said to just live with it, but that ain't my style, and I'm sure it can be made to at least be less noticeable, but of course not invisible. My first guess would just be to find some appropriate-colored wood-fill putty at the hardware store and do my best with that. Any other ideas? Thanks in advance...

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Old 05-04-2017, 10:21 AM
Frank Ford Frank Ford is offline
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As a rule, I also suggest living with it.

When we do try to fill holes like that we might try steaming a bit to raise the grain, which can have the unhappy result of driving some of that dirt deeper. Ultimately we clean up the hole, pick out the broken bits, smooth the area to reduce the appearance of splinters, fill the hole with clear material, level and polish it to the surrounding area.

The promise is never to make it "go away," but to make it look well-attended, and to have it not obtrusive looking in reflected light. It will always be obvious as a filled spot, of course. it is not particularly cheap work, for a reason - it's always a bit risky.

Looks like a cedar top in the photo, which is notorious wood for staining when the clear fill is applied, so there's another risk.




I suggest living with it.
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Old 05-04-2017, 10:37 AM
dannyg1 dannyg1 is offline
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Maybe you could design some inlay work to over it?
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Old 05-04-2017, 10:57 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Ford View Post
As a rule, I also suggest living with it. When we do try to fill holes like that we might try steaming a bit to raise the grain, which can have the unhappy result of driving some of that dirt deeper. Ultimately we clean up the hole, pick out the broken bits, smooth the area to reduce the appearance of splinters, fill the hole with clear material, level and polish it to the surrounding area. The promise is never to make it "go away," but to make it look well-attended, and to have it not obtrusive looking in reflected light. It will always be obvious as a filled spot, of course. it is not particularly cheap work, for a reason - it's always a bit risky. Looks like a cedar top in the photo, which is notorious wood for staining when the clear fill is applied, so there's another risk. I suggest living with it.
Thanks very much, Frank -- I think I'd be a fool to go against, now, two very knowledgeable opinions on this. It's tough to think of just leaving it... but I'll try!
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Old 05-04-2017, 10:59 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Originally Posted by dannyg1 View Post
Maybe you could design some inlay work to over it?
It's right at the very bottom of the guitar top -- I'll take a look; maybe some kind of material, decal, inlay, something, could at least cover it without looking too goofy, and not be permanent....

<heavy sigh> Dang, such a nice top otherwise!
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Old 05-05-2017, 07:15 AM
Truckjohn Truckjohn is offline
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I understand where you are coming from...

I agree - there is a very high likelihood of a "repair" making the boo boo even more visible. Say the cedar stains or darkens (very likely)... Say the blob of goo that fills the hole doesnt match the finish (they never do)....

What I might have a repair guy do is to stabilize it so you dont have future problems pop up... Perhaps dab a bit of shellac on it so it doesnt get worse and so dust and dirt don't collect in the divot....
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Old 05-05-2017, 03:50 PM
slewis slewis is offline
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Good points, Truck; thanks.
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Old 05-11-2017, 04:46 PM
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j. Kinnaird j. Kinnaird is offline
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Here is what i would be tempted to do.
A. Clean it well so that there are no stray marks
B. Steam the dint making it rise as much as it will. My recommendation is to put distilled water in the dent and touch a clean solder iron to the water (not the wood) That will make the water boil and the wood will rise. There are more elegant ways but this is easy.
C. Once the ding dries from the steaming, fill it with thin super glue. Let it cure over night and do not use accelerator.
D. Sand the surface level with the surrounding finish and polish it to a shine
Super glue has the same refractive index as most guitar finishes so if you work carefully the surface should blend nicely. There will be unusual depth to the finish at that area and it will probably be slightly darker looking because of that, but riding by on a fast horse you will never notice it.
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Old 05-12-2017, 10:03 AM
Beau Hannam Beau Hannam is offline
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Among other things, a drop of retarder thinner to re-melt that shattered crackle...assuming this is nitro.
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Old 05-12-2017, 10:30 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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Surely there is someone willing to do a minor repair such as this but personally, I'd leave it alone. It's a cosmetic issue, and unless the guy you use is good at finish work it'll probably be more noticeable than if you left it alone. If you fix every little ding you'll spend more on repair over time than the guitar cost. Guitars that get played get dings.
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Old 05-12-2017, 07:28 PM
mirwa mirwa is offline
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If you have seen some of my previous posts, I am extremely confident with my finishing skills.

I would not personally touch it, the visible grain lines are very distinctive so IMO you could never make it invisible.

You could minimise the impact area, by locally removing the finish, steaming the dent, pour filling with a clean gel and then coating the surface again, but that is a lot of work for a minimal gain.

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