chip repair

[green swirl]

I am a brand new member. Just bought an ASAT with a green swirl body and Birdseye Maple neck and fingerboard. Neck made in 96 and body 98. 3 bolt neck plate in black and black bridge and control plate. I would like to fill 2 chips of about 3/8 each (near bottom strap button) with green and black and then clear....then polish out. I have model plane paint by Testors that match the color perfectly. It is enamel I believe. Can I use this and then what type of clear after that. I do not think 2 chips warrant $300 a gallon for 2 part poly urethane clear. I know the repair will not 'burn in' to the existing clear properly but I just want a level surface with approximate color scheme. Surely somebody has experimented on a few chips but just not on a swirl paint job. Your experience and expertize would be fantastic.

[Craig]

I am a brand new member. Just bought an ASAT with a green swirl body and Birdseye Maple neck and fingerboard. Neck made in 96 and body 98. 3 bolt neck plate in black and black bridge and control plate. I would like to fill 2 chips of about 3/8 each (near bottom strap button) with green and black and then clear....then polish out. I have model plane paint by Testors that match the color perfectly. It is enamel I believe. Can I use this and then what type of clear after that. I do not think 2 chips warrant $300 a gallon for 2 part poly urethane clear. I know the repair will not 'burn in' to the existing clear properly but I just want a level surface with approximate color scheme. Surely somebody has experimented on a few chips but just not on a swirl paint job. Your experience and expertize would be fantastic.

It might be helpful if you could post some pics showing the chipped area. Hopefully member Fred Finisher will see this. He worked in the
paint department during the Music Man and early G&L era. I bet he would be able to provide some help.

[Philby]

If you go to the StewMac website there is a step by step guide there by master repairer, Dan Erlewine. I'm on my phone right now so can't find the link. The final clear is super glue which you take down to level with a very sharp razor blade followed by increasingly fine wet and dry paper used wet. The final steps are polishing with auto polishes of different grades. I tried it on a fairly large chip on my Legacy and it works great.

[Fred Finisher]

Welcome Green Swirl,
Philby is right about fixing it with CA glue. It can be done to look very well if you have patience. I can give you a couple of tips when working with the glue. First make sure you use a glue with heavy viscosity if you are trying to fill a deep chip. The trick here is to make sure you don't get any air bubbles in it. It is better to do it over time with multiple layers of the glue than to try to fill it in one try. Once you have reached level or slightly above to the surrounding surface, you will want to let it air dry hard. If it stays full or above, then you will want to hit it with accelerator to cure it before you try to sand it or scrape it. Do not hit it with accelerator until it has air dried or it will crystallize and you will need to chip it out and start over. Once it has been cured with accelerator, you can sand, scrape and buff it. I would also keep the amount of paint you use to a minimum because the glue will be adhering to it and if it is too thick, it can pop loose. Once again drying time is important because the two products are dissimilar and can react to each other if there isn't enough drying time. Before you try it on the guitar, put the paint on something else and practice on it before you attempt the guitar. I hope this helps,
Fred

[green swirl]

Thanks Philby and Fred Finisher for your quick response....you are great.!!!!
1. By heavy viscosity do u mean "GEL"?
2. How do u tell what viscosity each has + where do I find it locally
3. Is there a number system for viscosity?
4. As I first asked..."will the model enamel work in the chip to add color...or should I look for automotive paint(type, name, manufacturer) for best compatibility
5. What is the accelerator for crazy glue you talk about? (name, brand etc)
6. Drying time for paint before crazy glue? Dry time between crazy glue coats? Dry time before doing mechanical level and polishing?
7. I have seen the razor with tape demos...this repair is curved for some of the chip but finishing can still be done with wet dry and then buffer polishing

[Fred Finisher]

Green Swirl,
You're welcome. The CA glues come packaged differently from different suppliers. The product I use comes in several viscosities from thin to gel. I buy it in pints from Starbond in LA but I wouldn't recommend going through that much trouble for it. Stew-Mac has what you need to do the repair and they also have the accelerator. As far as whether or not the Testors paint will work, that needs to be tested first. If it doesn't, what you will need is some silver powder and Phthalo Green tint. This is a guess based on the "green swirl" description. Both of those should be able to be mixed in the CA glue but remember that the tint goes a long way. A tiny drop will turn the glue super dark green and also compromise it's ability to stick and harden. Once again, test it first. Dry time will be something else to test. As soon as it is hard to the touch, you should be able to apply another coat. Just make sure that you spray the accelerator after it is completely filled because once the accelerator is on the surface, it will harden the glue on contact. You also want to be careful when buffing because too much heat might cause it to separate. You should be able to do a good job with a soft cloth and hand rubbing if you sand it with micro sand type paper. Hope it works out well,
Fred

[green swirl]

Thanks Fred Finisher for the tips. I sort of knew I was not going to get the supplies locally. I checked around today with no luck. The swirl is black, dark green, and brighter green.....no silver. I'll probably have pics to post long before I get supplies from Stewmac and do the repair. I tried the model paint in green and black on test wood. I'll hit it with some crazy glue tomorrow. This may give me more confidence to go forward. I'm glad you told me about the accelerator as I have not heard that before. I'm pretty certain I can pull this off now if the pretesting turns out. Thanks again. Watch for pics this week of the new to me guitar. udaman Fred

[Fred Finisher]

No problem, Stew-Mac delivers right away here in the states so hopefully there won't be a problem with Canadian shipments. If you run into a problem with the paint or liquid tint, you should try using powder dye stains. Mohawk (Behlen) as well as a few other companies sell them and they are great for mixing into glues and epoxies. A little goes a long way with those too.

[green swirl]

I think you are bang on about the 'dye and glue only' technique. Why introduce too many variables. There is a place here that has Mohawk stuff so I'll check tomorrow. Also, the hobby shop where I got the paint is likely to have thicker Cyanoacrylates (CAs) after checking repair sites on the web. Bob Smith Insta Cure Plus Gap Filling CA Glue was one I saw under hobby shops in Canada....check today or tomorrow.
By the way I posted a URL of the 'neck pocket dating' in the ASAT. My tech took it all apart and took the photos and sent them to me. He still has the guitar so no guitar pics for a few days. Maybe you can explain the mystery

[green swirl]

Thanks Fred Finisher and Philby for your input: I finally took the plunge the other nite and swirl dabbed the chips with bright green enamel paint from the hobby store. The chips went down to the black undercoat so the green showed against it just like the rest of the swirl. 2 days to dry before D-day and the CA glue (medium thick from the hobby shop). I masked around the chip with electrical tape to build a little dam. The chips started on the front but rolled over the edge to the end of the ASAT by the strap button. This forced me to dam it. The CA was dropped in and waited for a bit before lightly coating with accelerator. One chip was perfect on the first try. The other chip needed another shot of CA to build up the transition from front of the guitar to the side (edge). I actually used a flat file at first while the tape was still in place. Sanded with 400 with tape still there. Fine finished with 800 up. Power Polish with swirl remover and carnauba. Beautiful job! Tnx to you both!

[Philby]

Great news! Doing it yourself makes it even better.

[FZTNT]

Still no picks? I am interested in this type of repair and hope you did some documentation of it.

Tom

[Elwood]

FZTNT, Here's a good vid in case you haven't seen it.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVScFJoe24[/video]

[FZTNT]

Thanks Elwood, I did see this video a while ago but this guy is a pro. I kind of wanted to see what results a first timer might achieve as I would be exactly that. I have done a lot of refinishing of things and fixed some dings in cars but something as sacred as a guitar finish is another story.

Tom