Tried to fix a ding and messed up

[wyldelife]

Hi.

Got a ding in my neck yesterday. It was really deep, so I panicked and wanted to fix it right away.
I took a hairdryer to the ding, because I remembered that heat could bring it out (of course I didn’t remember the steaming method).
The dent was flushed out, but it caused two bubbles in the finish on the back of my neck.
So I created a new problem.
I decided to sand my neck with 1200 grit sandpaper to even out the bubbles. When the bubbles burst, it went right down to the wood. So when I sanded everything flush, I’m left with two spots of exposed wood.
What would you recommend me doing? I’m thinking about the exposed wood, can it be detrimental to the neck? I don’t care so much about visuals, I just want my neck to be safe.

 

[Subterfuge]

ouch ... I would recommend taking it to a Pro ..

 

[Canman]

Me personally...I'd just leave it. I don't mind if my guitars get a little dinged up.

If that was my guitar, my thought process would be...those exposed spots will be fine. Consider how many old guitars are beat to heck and have plenty of exposed wood, and they're just fine.

 

[Dilver]

What guitar is that? If it’s nitro, you build up a few layers of nitro on those bare spots, strip sand, use different grits of micro mesh and at least you won’t feel it. If it’s poly, same thing, just use cyanoacrylate.

 

[Uncle Vinnie]

. . . and buy a new one

 

[CB91710]

ouch ... I would recommend taking it to a Pro ..

+1

Sometimes the best tool in the toolbox is the checkbook.

 

[Peter M]

Natural play wear is much easier to live with than a flubbed repair job. Take it to a luthier.

 

[DavGrape]

Let it grow.
Let it blossom.

 

[beerbelly]

Is that finish 'TV Yellow? If so, that might be tricky for an amateur to touch up.

 

[wyldelife]

What I’m wondering is: is the wood in danger of being ruined? I’m not looking to fix the cosmetics.
Do I need some Tru Oil on the open wood areas to protect it from moisture or is it okay?

 

[LtDave32]

Yellow with white undercoat, TV yellow, yes? If so, a complex finish to spot-repair.

If you're not concernened with appearance and just want to cover the wood, then some brush-on clear nail polish will do it. Or drop-fill with pure, uncut lacquer, sand, fill, sand, fill, etc.

If you want it to be invisible or mainly unnoticable, you'll need to take it to a real pro, not a "tech", and have the pro work his magic. -and pay accordingly.

 

[LtDave32]

What I’m wondering is: is the wood in danger of being ruined? I’m not looking to fix the cosmetics.
Do I need some Tru Oil on the open wood areas to protect it from moisture or is it okay?

Little spot like that, no worries. We see untreated wear spots every day that have been there for years.

 

[wyldelife]

Little spot like that, no worries. We see untreated wear spots every day that have been there for years.

Thanks man! That eased my mind! I’ve sanded it in a way that makes it “invisible” to my left hand, so I can’t feel it while playing.

Really appreciate The Godfather of this sub forum chiming in. Thanks a lot man!

 

[smk506]

Just to piggy back a little, even with the nitro finish missing, there’s still grain filler and sanding sealer covering that wood I’d bet.

 

[goodvibes]

I believe StewMac has lacquer pens in TV yellow. I've had good success using these before to drop fill dents/dings/scratches. It is a tedious many step process of fill-sand-fill-sand........ If the spots are not lower than the surrounding finish it will not work very well. Good luck.

 

[Subterfuge]

What I’m wondering is: is the wood in danger of being ruined? I’m not looking to fix the cosmetics.
Do I need some Tru Oil on the open wood areas to protect it from moisture or is it okay?

mine is dinged down to the bare wood in a couple of places and I did use a very thin coat of tru-oil, you can't really tell it's even there .. it just makes the wood look a little bit darker and smoother vs. raw wood and it definitely protects IMHO

 

[moreles]

Is that finish 'TV Yellow? If so, that might be tricky for an amateur to touch up.

Someone with experience and good color-matching ability could probably do a good job restoring the finish there, but to be honest, most people would end up making it worse and worse and worse -- which you have discovered for yourself. So unless you are willing to pay for a repair (and a lot of self-declared repair people won't necessarily get this right, either) you would do well to listen to the "live with it" crowd. Depending on your body chemistry, you may have no problem with the bare wood getting cruddy, but if you do, I would recommend cleaning it and wiping a thin -- thin, thin, thin -- pass of finish just over the bare spot.
TV yellow is a beast because even if you color-match perfectly when doing the repair, the colors will likely age differently over time, almost always in an ugly way.

 

[Rogueaverage616]

Honestly..i feel your pain…but the absolute best thing too do, is just leave it alone…take a deep breath..and leave it

If it must dissapear, then find someone that is a pro at finishing…im really into the DIY too, and am learning how to make Nuts, and stuff like that, but finishes is were i draw the line, and will not attempt…

As a matter of fact…i was completley Gutted, when i went to use that stuff at Stewmac, that you use too fill in nut slots? It comes in 3 little jars of different shades..and you sprinkle it in the nut slot, then touch it with super glue, and it fills a nut slot, that was cut too deep?

Soo, my first USA strat, i got when i was 14 or so, my 1997, Fender Jimi Hendrix Woodstock Mirror strat..

I attempted to fill, the (G) string nut slot, as it was cut too wide and deep from the factory…Soo i made sure i masked it off too hell…because i did not want to remove the Nut, as i was afraid to (CHIP)..the finish, and i thought that i had it in the bag..

(Thin) Super glue…..

So i gently applied some of the nut slot fill,into the slot..then Gently went to apply a drop of super glue, to the slot…

And it squirted out of the bottle like water, and of course ran under my top notch mask job…the guitar is a 1968 Reissue at heart soo…

Im going to have to live with it, until i can have it fixed

 

[LtDave32]

Honestly..i feel your pain…but the absolute best thing too do, is just leave it alone…take a deep breath..and leave it

If it must dissapear, then find someone that is a pro at finishing…im really into the DIY too, and am learning how to make Nuts, and stuff like that, but finishes is were i draw the line, and will not attempt…

As a matter of fact…i was completley Gutted, when i went to use that stuff at Stewmac, that you use too fill in nut slots? It comes in 3 little jars of different shades..and you sprinkle it in the nut slot, then touch it with super glue, and it fills a nut slot, that was cut too deep?

Soo, my first USA strat, i got when i was 14 or so, my 1997, Fender Jimi Hendrix Woodstock Mirror strat..

I attempted to fill, the (G) string nut slot, as it was cut too wide and deep from the factory…Soo i made sure i masked it off too hell…because i did not want to remove the Nut, as i was afraid to (CHIP)..the finish, and i thought that i had it in the bag..

(Thin) Super glue…..

So i gently applied some of the nut slot fill,into the slot..then Gently went to apply a drop of super glue, to the slot…

And it squirted out of the bottle like water, and of course ran under my top notch mask job…the guitar is a 1968 Reissue at heart soo…

Im going to have to live with it, until i can have it fixed

Once that thin CA glue hits something, that's it. It instantly digs in. Even if you wiped it off a split-second later, the damage is done.

Whip tip is the way to go on that. More controllable.

 

[Rogueaverage616]

Once that thin CA glue hits something, that's it. It instantly digs in. Even if you wiped it off a split-second later, the damage is done.

Whip tip is the way to go on that. More controllable.

I screwed up royally…this is the one i panicked about ..maby a year ago? And immediately tried to ask you for help?

You told me what to do, but…as this story was a meant to tell the OP, DONT TOUCH IT..lol…what i know, is that finish repair..painting is an special art form,

Im good at certain things…but im wayyy too Anal for that..My OCD, would cause issues, thinking , this spot is still too high…this is like this…i always ended up over doing it and destroying the finish, on things i painted in the past.As far as painting something from the start, ive done pretty good, but as far as repairing something like this on a guitar? Not a chance

Oh well