neck gouge

[henryrobinett]

Guys! I have a strat that's my kick around strat. It's better than that. But I have this kick or gouge in the neck. Any suggestions for getting rid of it? Wood putty? Then lacquer? Damn.

I saw the post about the fretboard and thought I'd ask. It's a pretty good guitar otherwise! I just try and ignore it.

Thanks for any forth coming tips!

[wintermoon]

does your hand contact it when playing?
if not I'd probably leave it alone, but drop filling w/lacquer and sanding w/fine micromesh sandpaper is the way to go if it bothers you.
some people use crazy glue.

[henryrobinett]

My hand definitely comes in contact. It's uncomfortable but livable.

[randyc]

I also recommend that you leave it alone unless it is a serious detriment to playing. If it IS a problem, then fill the ding with a compound that can be removed in the future. Check with a knowledgeable paint store employee, cabinet-making shop - maybe even the local hardware store for recommendations.

Cheers and good luck !

[jazzrat]

If it's not a collectors piece I would definitely stabilize it so it does not grow.
I have had good luck drop filling this kind of wound with super glue or clear nail polish.
You should overfill which will take more than one application and make sure it's dried hard.
I would then scrape it flush with a razor blade. (tape either side of the blade leaving a center section exposed
just a little wider than the drop fill), then wet sand with successive grits and polish.

[Scot Tremblay]

I've used the thick CA glue with good results. I'd also advise to fill it in layers, don't try to fill with one application. I've had experience with the thin CA where a thick application created heat as it kicked off and actually causing more damage. I've not had that happen with the thick but I've always layered it so may have avoided that happening...just a consideration.

Once the glue is hard I finish as jazzrat suggests.

[Patrick2]

I would disagree with those who suggest "leaving it alone, unless it bothered you". The very fact that you're asking about it verifies that it's bothering you. The location of the gouge is such that unless you use the guitar exclusively for cowboy chords, (somehow I just do see that as your style of playing . . lololol) your hand is going to come in contact with it. So, then it becomes compounded as a mental and a physical drag . . and therefore a distraction. I know for a fact that when you're playing that guitar, even if you're not in the position where you would feel it . . . you're thinking negative things about going to that position and feeling that wound. It'll play on your mind . . there it's a distraction whether you're feeling it or not.

The collective advice given by wintermoon, jazzrat and scot tremblay is definitely the way to go, if you decide to DIY. However, if you really like the guitar even as a knock around beater . . my suggestion would be to take it to a competent tech, knowledgeable of wood repairs, not just electrical and set up stuff . . and have them do the repair. It'll cost you probably less than $50 and you won't even be able to see it . . . let alone feel, it when the repair is completed.

[PTChristopher2]

100% agree with Scot, who (unusually for the web) writes like he actually has done the stuff on which he comments.

Stay away from thin CA unless you are a real expert with the material, in my opinion.

My favorite thicker CA these days is Gorilla Brand. It has a very slight amount of flex to it even when 100 cured.

Use it in layers and Scot says. Never use an accelerator which can lead to bubbles and extreme brittleness.

In any case, this is quite fixable and to an extent that looks quite good as well.

Chris

[Doctor Jeff]

Check this out - Stew Mac always the go-to place to fix guitars:

STEWMAC.COM : StewMac Brush-on Super Glue

[henryrobinett]

What is "CA glue?"

[wintermoon]

crazy glue

[henryrobinett]

Ok. Thanks.

[Scot Tremblay]

What is "CA glue?"

Oh sorry Henry, CA is just luthier shorthand for Cyanoarcrylate glue or as wintermoon replyed "Crazy glue". Although Crazy Glue is actually a brand name but...that works too

[PTChristopher2]

If I may add:

I suggest not doing any of this unless you have some idea of what you are doing.

CA is great, but has its features that are worth noting.

CA will significantly soften and swell nitrocellulose lacquer. So the Stewmac "motivational speaker" comment about being faster than drop-fill can be extremely misleading. CA in contact with lacquer can be a superb thing, but requires care and experience to get good results.

Thin CA is very thrilling. I mean the really thin CA from specialty suppliers. It is crazy thin, with extreme capillary action and a scary-fast kick time. It is not quite as extreme as the Eastman 910 that had people gluing eyelids shut and teeth together. But I would only use thin CA for extremely deep and micro-narrow cracks in polyester or polyurethane finishes.

For top layer finish touch-up, thin CA can be far more active than you may expect. It can and will "melt" lacquer. It will also run all over the place in what can seem like unexpected ways.

I suggest staying with the slower medium CA products.

Also, the love for the commercial interests of Stewmac notwithstanding, you will be in for a true thrill if you just start brushing CA on a ding.

I suggest careful and gradual filling of any hole/ding/gouge. Then careful leveling with the original finish (which will have different surface hardness, so leveling is tricky).

This can be fixed with a superb result, but not necessarily by buying Stewmac's "You can do it! All I see is untapped potential in this room!" product and sloshing it on.

In my opinion. Been there, done many CA fixes over 4+ decades, (which may only mean I have made a mess of things in quantity)...

Chris

[PTChristopher2]

Oh, and if Alain Listini from France is out there - It was not my idea to have that guy slosh CA all over the new ES-347 ding. When he called me and said it looked like "Mount Saint Helens" I was almost as upset as you were.

I suppose the Mt. St. Helens part dates the actual "incident" to quite some time ago.

Chris

[Patrick2]

If I may add:

I suggest not doing any of this unless you have some idea of what you are doing.

CA is great, but has its features that are worth noting.

CA will significantly soften and swell nitrocellulose lacquer. So the Stewmac "motivational speaker" comment about being faster than drop-fill can be extremely misleading. CA in contact with lacquer can be a superb thing, but requires care and experience to get good results.

Thin CA is very thrilling. I mean the really thin CA from specialty suppliers. It is crazy thin, with extreme capillary action and a scary-fast kick time. It is not quite as extreme as the Eastman 910 that had people gluing eyelids shut and teeth together. But I would only use thin CA for extremely deep and micro-narrow cracks in polyester or polyurethane finishes.

For top layer finish touch-up, thin CA can be far more active than you may expect. It can and will "melt" lacquer. It will also run all over the place in what can seem like unexpected ways.

I suggest staying with the slower medium CA products.

Also, the love for the commercial interests of Stewmac notwithstanding, you will be in for a true thrill if you just start brushing CA on a ding.

I suggest careful and gradual filling of any hole/ding/gouge. Then careful leveling with the original finish (which will have different surface hardness, so leveling is tricky).

This can be fixed with a superb result, but not necessarily by buying Stewmac's "You can do it! All I see is untapped potential in this room!" product and sloshing it on.

In my opinion. Been there, done many CA fixes over 4+ decades, (which may only mean I have made a mess of things in quantity)...

Chris

That's pretty much why I recommended spending a few bucks and letting a competent luthier type guitar tech do the repair. If I ws to attempt the repair, I'd need to have my fingers surgically seperated. Then upon return from my trip to the hospital to correct my sloppy handling of the super glue . . I'd need to take the guitar to a tech anyway . . and it would wind up costing me more money than it would have originally cost . . . due to the mess I'd make of the attempted fix! I learned a long time ago . . "if ya can't swim . . don't go in the high water."

[medblues]

Guys! I have a strat that's my kick around strat. It's better than that. But I have this kick or gouge in the neck. Any suggestions for getting rid of it? Wood putty? Then lacquer? Damn.

I saw the post about the fretboard and thought I'd ask. It's a pretty good guitar otherwise! I just try and ignore it.

Thanks for any forth coming tips!

I used the heating with a soldiering iron technique for a smaller ding on the body of one of my Strats and it helped (I was not very aggressive), it's described in one of Dan Erlewine's books and here.

[PTChristopher2]

>>> I used the heating with a soldiering iron technique

Steaming a dented piece of wood can be extremely effective depending on the actual wood and dent in question. It can also do almost nothing.

Softer woods will generally respond better. Dents that are substantially perpendicular to the grain can also swell back out pretty well, but you will also be often left with broken fibers that will take a finish repair far differently than the unbroken fibers.

So we are talking (in a web forum scatter pattern) about maybe three things:

1. - Get the wood somewhat back to its pre-ding state.
2. - Fill and re-finish to remove any left hand feel of the artifact.
And just maybe,...
3. - Make it look pretty good.

#1 and #2 are a 20 minute job. If you add #3, it blossoms into a project where you need to:

- Clean out the dirt that is on the bare wood.
- Swell the wood out asbestos you can.
- Seal the broken fibers so they do not go dark brown with the glue or re-finish.
- Carefully fill/color/level/and finish the ding. This is a multi-stage process that can require steering the color a bit for a best match.

In my opinion.

Done this sort of thing quite a few times. Also had to explain why the cost could be $40 or $240 with the same result with your eyes closed.

Chris

[jckoto3]

- Swell the wood out asbestos you can.

[cosmic gumbo]

[PTChristopher2]

Web Forum World is one weird place.

David St. Hubbins: It's such a fine line between stupid, and uh...
Nigel Tufnel: Clever.
David St. Hubbins: Yeah, and clever.

[mr. beaumont]

I got one of those on my tele...I did clear nail polish...worked great.

[henryrobinett]

I'm not at all concerned with how it looks. I'd like it to feel smooth though.

[cosmic gumbo]

I'm not at all concerned with how it looks. I'd like it to feel smooth though.

I didn't think you cared how it looked. Many luthiers and woodworkers would use auto body filler or spot putty. Quick, easy to work with, dries fast, very stable, easy to smooth. Superior to wood putty.

[henryrobinett]

Great. Thanks. Now I just have to decide which method to use.