Repairing a clear coat scratch in a guitar...

[AdamWathan]

Just bought this http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230353196583&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:CA:1123

Been looking for one forever, they only made the flametop w/body binding version for like a year and only sold them through MF so scoring this for $455 was AWESOME, I miss my old satin black SLSMG more than any guitar I've ever owned...

It's not mint by any means but the chips on the back and the nick on the headstock I can easily touch up with black paint or nail polish or whatever. Just this clear coat scratch on the front bugs me a little...

Anyone know how easy it would be to fix this? It doesn't look down to the wood, do you think a buffing job would at least take the noticeable white tinge out of it so it blends in with the face of the guitar a bit better...?

 

[Metaltastic]

Man that's sexy, though I agree the scratch is very noticable and annoying (mostly cuz it's white) - can't help in terms of suggestions for remedying it though!

 

[Notuern]

If you polish the living hell out of it you should be able to get it to look acceptable.
But if you really want to do a great job, i think stewmac has a kit for repairing these kind of damages(You have to chip of the clear coat entirely around that area though.).

 

[Unavailable]

Buffing it out would probably be your best bet. But you could try picking up some spray on acrylic (or whatever they usually use on these guits), sanding that area with some light grain, and spraying a coat or two on.

 

[kramer1309]

nice score... is it a flattop or arched?
the scuff looks like it messed the clear so i dunno if only buffing it would be that good.. that stew mac kit sounds like it would work better..
hope all turns out well

 

[iekobrid]

Would you happen to know what the original clear coat is made of? Polyurethane is most likely, but it could also be nitrocellulose lacquer, or even acrylic lacquer.

 

[Metaltastic]

I doubt it's nitro on a Korean (or Japanese) Jackson, only Gibson seems to be wedded to that gloppy uneven slop :Smug:

 

[iekobrid]

In my limited experience, poly is easier to apply gloppy and uneven if one isn't careful, as new coats of it just stack up on top of previous coats. Nitro, on the other hand, is self-leveling -- it melts into the previous coats, making it a helluva lot easier to drop fill scratches like this one. Unfortunately, it also stays in not-entirely-solid state for a long time, like glass, and reacts badly with the foam rubber used in most guitar stands.

 

[Metaltastic]

Hmm, maybe that's it then, cuz I've played so many Gibsons with just disgustingly cheap feeling finishes, almost like it's just glossy oil-based paint on wood without any sealer (and cracking/chipping around the fretboard :Smug: )

 

[STINNETT]

It looks chipped out and pretty rough, and I'd pretty much guarantee that it's not the sort of finish that can be dissolved. If it was lacquer, you could drop fill it with lacquer and it would melt in being potentially invisible. It's more than likely poly, which you'll really never get an invisible repair in. You could make it look a lot better though.
You can drop fill it with clear lacquer or even superglue, then level sand and buff out the area afterwards. There is probably lots of info out there about drop filling that will walk you through it step by step.

 

[AdamWathan]

It looks chipped out and pretty rough, and I'd pretty much guarantee that it's not the sort of finish that can be dissolved. If it was lacquer, you could drop fill it with lacquer and it would melt in being potentially invisible. It's more than likely poly, which you'll really never get an invisible repair in. You could make it look a lot better though.
You can drop fill it with clear lacquer or even superglue, then level sand and buff out the area afterwards. There is probably lots of info out there about drop filling that will walk you through it step by step.

Cheers Will! Yeah not expecting to get it looking like new by any means, but if I could somehow get the "white" out of it and have the blemish blend in a little more that's more than good enough for me... Will have to see it when it shows up, maybe I can find a place locally that refinishes furniture or something that might be able to help me out.