Steaming dent out of finished wood surface

[PeteyPower16]

I have read that it is possible to steam dents out of wood using a wet washcloth and a soldering iron.

1. How hot should the soldering iron be?

2. Can this be done on finished surfaces (glossy or satin poly finish)? Or only unfinished wood?

3. If yes, how does one proceed without damaging/melting the finish?

It seems like a risky proposition…

Thank you for sharing from your experience!

[Fathand]

I have only done this during the building process before the finish. My first spruce top build was a flat top mandolin and I got dents in it from screws and the like on the work bench.

For a deep dent, I start by filling the dent with water and let it sit for a while maybe repeat. If that doesn't fix it, I lay a wet paper towel on the dent and use a clothes iron on it.

Hard to say if water will penetrate your finish. Maybe if the dent cracked the finish it might and an iron or steam might melt the finish depending what kind it is. Maybe try just filling the dent with warm water first.

[difalkner]

I've done it dozens of times on projects and on guitar tops (my Guild F-512). Here's a video I made a few years ago on the process I use -

[Glen H]

I have done before finishing and after using a flat tip soldering iron and wet t shirt rag. It works as imagined on unfinished better but does work after finish is applied also. I have to guess that there is enough residual moisture in the wood to work after finish.

[phavriluk]

soldering irons are effective but being so small and so hot, there can be problems.

A good tool for dent steaming is a heat shrink iron used to apply model aircraft covering material. Nice area, controllable temperature. I think the twenty bucks spent on one of these is cheap insurance considering what it costs to undo finish damage on a guitar.

Go slow and carefully. Practice first on something other than the guitar.

[mb propsom]

I've never seen or heard of the wet rag and hot iron method working on any type finished surface. In order for that method to work, the moisture has to be absorbed into the wood fibers for the heat to create the steam that causes the compressed fibers to expand. That isn't going to happen through a hard finish, especially one like poly. And there certainly shouldn't be sufficient residual moisture in the wood of a finished guitar to create the steam needed.

[Glen H]

http://frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/...steamout1.html

[mb propsom]

Well, I'll be darned. Can't argue with Frank Ford. He's one of the master repair people. Of course, not everyone has his touch. And his system does go beyond just the soldering iron and wet rag.