Any woodworking guru's here?

[Monkeyleg]

Today I received a used guitar from a major retailer. I may or may not keep it, depending upon whether they're willing to reduce their price because of problems with it.

There's three nicks in the edge of the top as shown in the photo below. Is there a way to fix those, or at least put clear finish in the dents to bring them up, then smooth them out? There's some other flaws, too. I can't believe someone would take such poor care of a beautiful and expensive instrument.

[brimic]

[Northwoods]

You can fill the nicks with epoxy and then sand it to match the contours and then apply some finish to it.  But you'll always be able to see them.  To fix it so it looks like it was never damaged is probably not possible.  If it could be done it would be extremely hard and would take a woodworker that was a master at matching grains and then blending the new finish with the old to make it look original.  But the problem there is that old and new finishes, even if they look right at first, never age the same so the repair would eventually become obvious if the guitar is much more than a few years old.  If it's basically new or just a couple years old the existing finish might not be aged enough for that to matter.  If it's a 20+ year old guitar though the only way around that is to fully strip and refinish the whole piece.

If it was me I'd either get the price adjusted to reflect the condition, or return it.  If I kept it I'd consider the nicks as part of the package and never try to fix them.  Maybe make up some story about a wild concert to a convention of 20-30 year old professional cheerleaders to explain the damage.

[K Frame]

Depending on the value, it's something that should be done by an expert luthier. I would think the last thing you'd want to do would be to fill it with a random epoxy and try to sand it. You'd be most likely looking at a shellac build up. Properly done, the repairs should be virtually invisible.

[charby]

Depending on the value, it's something that should be done by an expert luthier. I would think the last thing you'd want to do would be to fill it with a random epoxy and try to sand it. You'd be most likely looking at a shellac build up. Properly done, the repairs should be virtually invisible.

What Mike said.

Also if instruments get play a lot, they are going to get their nick, scratches and bang from use and accidents. Look at the favorite playing guitars of a lot of famous musicians, they are usually pretty worn in appearance.

[Monkeyleg]

Thanks. I got this for $1400. New they're around $2500 to $4000 depending upon the wood used for the top. I like this one because I haven't seen another like it. Most are too gaudy.

I'm really particular when it comes to my toys, so leaving it as is isn't an option. None of my guitars has any more than really fine scratches from polishing. Fortunately, the marks on this one aren't where I'd see them when playing. It's a poly finish, and the guitar is 10 years old, so I think I could build up the dings with a similar polyurethane.

The bigger issue is the electronics. They're really screwed up. If Guitar Center will give me all new replacement parts for the electronics, then I'll keep it. The pots are worn out, and some wiring is broken. I've never seen anyone repair a break in a wire that's looped by soldering it to another piece of the wire in the loop.

[Gewehr98]

You need to abuse it a tad more to bring the value up. 

[Scout26]

or like this:

[RevDisk]

Thanks. I got this for $1400. New they're around $2500 to $4000 depending upon the wood used for the top. I like this one because I haven't seen another like it. Most are too gaudy.

Take it to a professional. Doing DIY finish fix on a $1400-4000 object is not very sound. It's not hard, but it should only be $100 ish to fix unless they need to recoat the entire guitar.

[tokugawa]

That there is why binding on the edge of an guitar is a good idea. Anyway, for me it would be a non issue, as any guitar that gets played a lot is gonna get dinged. 'specially if it is played right, late at night, with lots of partying going on.  
Anyway, each to their own- the electronics is probably not a big dollar fix- The finish ding is a case of how good do you want it? A little clear finish with a tiny brush on the chipped area will make it less noticeable, but  for an as new look it is going to take some work- it may take a whole new finish to get it perfect. you start sanding and working it too much and go through the stain now there is a really noticeable flaw.  

 The real question is this - do you love the way it plays and feels?  I have a very nice dreadnaught in my shop, 40 years old, with a hundred crunch marks that needs a new neck- it is gonna cost me a weeks work if I do it, or $1500 for someone else to do it- to me, it will be worth it because I love the guitar.

 How does it sound?

[KD5NRH]

Take it to a professional. Doing DIY finish fix on a $1400-4000 object is not very sound. It's not hard, but it should only be $100 ish to fix unless they need to recoat the entire guitar.

This.  Personally, I'd try a fill with thick CA, applied one layer at a time until it's above the original level all around, then MicroMesh sand all the way to the silky smooth 12000 grit, and polish with PlastX.  Doing that by hand would take a long time, but I always had good luck with it on the lathe at 3600RPM, so I'm thinking a trim sander would do fine.

[Monkeyleg]

You need to abuse it a tad more to bring the value up. 

It's funny how much replicas of that guitar sell for. The makers usually start with a new guitar and then beat the hell out of it, very carefully, to make it look identical.

SRV had some nice guitars, but always preferred that one to all the others. Sometimes I think he played that guitar as a way of saying, "look what I can do with this piece of junk".  I've known some shooters to do that.

Having a pro do it would be very expensive. I've asked. The shop in the next city over wants $150 to $200 to buff a body out, with all of the hardware already removed by the customer. I think if I use a fine brush and built layers slowly I can get an idea as to whether I can do it. If not, I'll just live with it.

[RevDisk]

It's funny how much replicas of that guitar sell for. The makers usually start with a new guitar and then beat the hell out of it, very carefully, to make it look identical.

SRV had some nice guitars, but always preferred that one to all the others. Sometimes I think he played that guitar as a way of saying, "look what I can do with this piece of junk".  I've known some shooters to do that.

Having a pro do it would be very expensive. I've asked. The shop in the next city over wants $150 to $200 to buff a body out, with all of the hardware already removed by the customer. I think if I use a fine brush and built layers slowly I can get an idea as to whether I can do it. If not, I'll just live with it.

That's a VERY reasonable quote for the whole body refurb.

Otherwise, yeah, do what KD5NRH said. Slowly, carefully and plan on spending 10-20 hours total on the work. A pro could do it in half that time with the right supplies and equipment.

[KD5NRH]

Otherwise, yeah, do what KD5NRH said. Slowly, carefully and plan on spending 10-20 hours total on the work. A pro could do it in half that time with the right supplies and equipment.

Any hobby shop should have 3-4oz bottles of thick CA for $3-10, depending on brand.  Never seen that it really makes a difference what brand.  Get a small spray can of accelerator too, but don't spray until each coat sets for a couple of minutes, or it can haze.  Without accelerator, you'd be looking at doing a coat and waiting a few hours to cure.  Filling anything more than a really shallow scratch that way can take days.

[lupinus]

Consider this.

An honest ding just looks like it's been used.

A bad DIY repair job looks like your a cheap bastard with a guitar that looks like it's been used. Do you want the guitar equivalent of poorly done unpainted bondo on a nice car?

I'd vote leave it alone until you feel like paying someone to do it, unless you just have an instinctive need to tinker with it. In which case, go slow and try not to screw it up.

[tokugawa]

One other PIA potential is if someone polished up the guitar with something like a silicone polish-don't want any "mold release agent" in the ding you are gonna fill. 

 KD5NRH- how do you determine lag time between CA application and accelerator to keep the CA from boiling?

[Monkeyleg]

That's a VERY reasonable quote for the whole body refurb.

That's not a refurb. That's taking a buffing wheel to the body and polishing it. I can do that myself.

One other PIA potential is if someone polished up the guitar with something like a silicone polish-don't want any "mold release agent" in the ding you are gonna fill. 

That's what oil and silicone remover is for. You can get that at NAPA or another store that sells professional auto body supplies.

I'll try a small, out-of-the way ding. If I can't fix that to look really good, then forget it.

[Gewehr98]

You do know that within a day or two of fixing it, you're gonna ding it again?

[Northwoods]

Any hobby shop should have 3-4oz bottles of thick CA for $3-10, depending on brand.  Never seen that it really makes a difference what brand.  Get a small spray can of accelerator too, but don't spray until each coat sets for a couple of minutes, or it can haze.  Without accelerator, you'd be looking at doing a coat and waiting a few hours to cure.  Filling anything more than a really shallow scratch that way can take days.

I remember when you could accelerator that was 1,1,1 trichloroethane.  That stuff smelled goooood.

[Monkeyleg]

What's "CA"?

[Northwoods]

What's "CA"?

Cyanoacrylate.  AKA superglue.  You can get it various viscosities.  What most people think of as Superglue is the really thin stuff that cures in seconds.  But you can get thick CA that can take an hour to cure.  The thicker it is, the stronger it is, but the harder it is to work with.

[RevDisk]

Cyanoacrylate.  AKA superglue.  You can get it various viscosities.  What most people think of as Superglue is the really thin stuff that cures in seconds.  But you can get thick CA that can take an hour to cure.  The thicker it is, the stronger it is, but the harder it is to work with.

I refuse to muck with actual cyanoacrylate unless I have acetone handy. I learned that one the hard way.   

[Northwoods]

I refuse to muck with actual cyanoacrylate unless I have acetone handy. I learned that one the hard way.   

That thin stuff especially makes it really easy to glue fingertips together or to whatever you are trying to bond.

[lupinus]

That thin stuff especially makes it really easy to glue fingertips together or to whatever you are trying to bond.

Fingertips nothin, try taking a piss.

[RevDisk]

That thin stuff especially makes it really easy to glue fingertips together or to whatever you are trying to bond.

I have cheap latex gloves for some stuff, more expensive Venom nitrile gloves for anything sensitive.