Capo marks on back of neck

[BigTim]

So I have a guitar in which the previous owner used a capo.

Now I have in the passed taken a wet rag and a soldering iron and had some great success lifting the grain back on maple.

This time it is a mahogany neck.

I am pretty sure the same can be done again with decent results.

I do not use a capo......most of the marks are not bad at all....but I can feel a couple of them.

I am curious to see if anyone else has done this??

[nikpearson]

I use a chisel-tipped soldering iron to remove dents in wood on a regular basis. You also need some water lift the crushed fibres; a damp piece of white cotton cloth works well here.

The problem is that finished surfaces may not allow the steam to enter the wood fibres, or the heat and steam will often damage the finish. I’ll steam a dent in a shellac finish as it’s relatively easy to repair invisibly. That’s led likely to be the case with other finishes.

[BigTim]

Thanks....this one is a 2003 Taylor....so I am pretty sure it is a poly style finish.

I am always careful and I am not going to just keep it in one spot very long at all.

[nikpearson]

Taylor have used a UV cured finish for around 30 years. In many ways it’s a fantastic finish, and very tough whilst being reasonably thin, but repairs are tricky unless you have access to specialist equipment.

It may also be that the finish is intact and won’t allow steam to penetrate. Another alternative might be to drop fill with CA glue. GluBoost make specialist CA fillers for this purpose.

[phavriluk]

Originally Posted by nikpearson

Taylor have used a UV cured finish for around 30 years. In many ways it’s a fantastic finish, and very tough whilst being reasonably thin, but repairs are tricky unless you have access to specialist equipment.

It may also be that the finish is intact and won’t allow steam to penetrate. Another alternative might be to drop fill with CA glue. GluBoost make specialist CA fillers for this purpose.

Or leave it alone until you bump into an expert who can offer some hands-on advice.

[BigTim]

Well ...not much luck with trying to get the little dents out.


So I have in the past sanded and refinished this sort of thing.....fill with super glued....etc.

It isn't very noticeable while playing so I am going to leave it alone.....I do have it for sale locally.


It does play and sound very good.


However, being primarily an electric player......I wasn't very keen on such matters as capo marks before.


Now I am going to be sure and pay attention to this in the future with a much closer look.