Fix damage on WRMG?

[gregc]

I have a WRMG I've had for a long time that I *may* have recently dropped on the floor and it's sustained some damage. There's a couple of huge chips off the paint right down to the wood (the wood itself isn't too badly damaged). No idea what the paint was on these (it's the original factory solid black paint), but it's incredibly thick and plastic-y - and looks like it'll start peeling off around these areas.

I have a few ideas of what I could do, but it would be great to hear what you'd do?

[ed]

Is it glossy finish?

If glossy i would fix it with super glue/ gluboost. I have done this a few times and its pretty good. You could also use lacquer but it takes longer to dry and might take more applies.

If its down to the wood it will start chipping more in time if you use the guitar.

Also if you have the chips you could glue those in.

[john.w.lawson]

I have a WRMG I've had for a long time that I *may* have recently dropped on the floor and it's sustained some damage. There's a couple of huge chips off the paint right down to the wood (the wood itself isn't too badly damaged). No idea what the paint was on these (it's the original factory solid black paint), but it's incredibly thick and plastic-y - and looks like it'll start peeling off around these areas.

I have a few ideas of what I could do, but it would be great to hear what you'd do?

Black Titebond wood glue, sand buff done

[pianoguyy]

I'd like to turn it around and point the question right back at you...

What do YOU want to do.
Looking to get a new color on the guitar?
Does the damage bother you that much? Would you rather hide the damage or just prevent it from getting worse.

[gregc]

Some very useful insights here, thanks! Yes it's a gloss finish the chips shattered into basically dust so there's nothing to glue back in and quite a depth to fill. I'd heard of using super glue and/or titebond but - I should have mentioned - the chips are on the edges so not sure how easy it would be to contain it/build it up?

As to what I want to do, I'm genuinely undecided. On the one hand, I'd like to leave the scars but it certainly looks like the paint will continue to flake/peel and right now the raw wood's exposed which doesn't seem like a great idea. Hence the "sand off the edges and seal it" idea but I think that could look pretty bad, and if doing anything it probably makes more sense to try and fix the damage properly, The guitar already has a bunch of scuffs and dings so the 'right' answer might be strip the whole thing and refinish it (and could choose a different colour) but I can see that being more expensive than would make sense.

I did wonder about a sort of 'kintsugi' approach where I'd fill the damage with a different colour so the history of the repair can be seen but it's also repaired, with a uniform smooth and shiny finish. Again though not sure how I'd do that well on the edges?

[john.w.lawson]

The glue is to FILL the chipped area's not to glue anything back together! You could just use black dye and super glue but black titebond already has the dye in it.
You could also mask said chip area's and prime and spray and feather in the area's that are chipped.

[gregc]

The glue is to FILL the chipped area's not to glue anything back together! You could just use black dye and super glue but black titebond already has the dye in it.
You could also mask said chip area's and prime and spray and feather in the area's that are chipped.

Ah, that makes sense - but I can't find black titebond listed anywhere - and not sure what dye to add to regular CA glue?

I guess I build that up to a smidge above the paint and then sand/buff it back with progressively finer grades to micromesh, etc?

[gregc]

Also, the areas to be filled go around the edge of the guitar - so I'm not sure it would be possible to build up the superglue/titebond around the corner. I've only seen that done with dings on the flat surface of the guitar.

[john.w.lawson]

Ah, that makes sense - but I can't find black titebond listed anywhere - and not sure what dye to add to regular CA glue?

I guess I build that up to a smidge above the paint and then sand/buff it back with progressively finer grades to micromesh, etc?

Look on amazon and you just tilt your guitar at an angle and put vaseline or baby oil on the area's you don't want it to stick to then you use a utility blade to scrape it almost flush then start sanding. Amazon also sells sand paper packs that have from whatever grit you want to whatever grit you need to finish. I just bought a pack from 1000 to 6000.

Added : Here's a start https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj346vrq5h4

[gregc]

Thanks for this info and link. Maybe it would be possible to build up black superglue layer by layer - kind of painting it on in thin coats - so as to control it better around the edge? (Just imagining it might be tricky to hold the guitar at an angle and try to have it flow where it's needed!).

Also is there any merit in applying some clear acetone first, to seal the wood and the edges of the existing paint?

Finally thanks for the tip re sandpaper etc I'll take a look on Uncle Jeff's later.

[john.w.lawson]

Thanks for this info and link. Maybe it would be possible to build up black superglue layer by layer - kind of painting it on in thin coats - so as to control it better around the edge? (Just imagining it might be tricky to hold the guitar at an angle and try to have it flow where it's needed!).

Also is there any merit in applying some clear acetone first, to seal the wood and the edges of the existing paint?

Finally thanks for the tip re sandpaper etc I'll take a look on Uncle Jeff's later.

Acetone cleans and helps pull the glue into the wood and helps blend finishes

[gregc]

I'll give it a go. Thanks for all your help, appreciated.

[ed]

https://gluboost.com/

I am not saying you should buy those products they are not that cheap but they have a few tutorials up. I have used those products and they work well but you can jjust use regular super glue also. And you can buy black super glue also.

Wha tmakes super glue great imo is if you use the accelerator it saves loads of time.

[DonP]

Black nail polish and then super glue as a gloss on top. Be careful of runny super glue. If it starts running all over your guitar you'll have a mess to fix. You may have to build it up in layers. Once I get it high enough I take it down with files then sandpaper then finish compounds.

[gregc]

Thanks for all the help - finally got a chance to have a go at it. I got the gluboost stuff which worked OK, amazingly the glue stayed more or less where I wanted it (the accelerator spray helped fix it almost instantly) and bullt it up in layers no problem. Then scraped almost level with a razor blade and sanded.

My problem now is that I may have got a bit carried away with the sanding and this whole area of the guitar is now a dead matt finish. I've spent a while trying to remove the scratches and buff to a shine with micro mesh with pretty poor results - it looks like I'm now just creating a smooth gloss over a hazy mess of fine scratches... is it worth getting eg a car buffer to try an polish it up that way? Or maybe I was too impatient moving up through the micro mesh grades? or maybe just haven't put enough micro mesh hours in?

I realise this is no longer really on topic for the Import Jacksons thread, but any further input really appreciated!