Fixing Finish Chips
Source: Guitar Finishes
Fixing Finish Chips:
If you encounter finish chips on some of the more contemporary poly-based finishes, which are basically hard plastic, you will see pieces of the finish that drop off in chunks. These repairs are often necessary to the corners or the edges of the guitar peghead that usually sustains the most damage exposure.
Tools and Materials Required:
Q-tips
Behlen Behkol Solvent
Medium Viscosity Super Glue
400 grit Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
600 girt Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
800 grit Silicone Carbide Sandpaper
Colortone Stain As Required
Micro-Mesh Abrasive Sheets
Dab Behkol Solvent:
Take a Q-tip and dab some Behkol Solvent on the chip. After doing this you will get a good idea of how the repair will look as if a clear finish were applied to it. Allow the solvent to finish for a few seconds. Analyze the appearance and if you need to adjust this, not is the time to add some color to the repair. I prefer to use the Colortone series of stains that is available from StewMac, as they carry the most common colors available for guitar repair.
As mentioned above, with these poly-based finishes, you will find that more often than not the color will chip off along with the plastic finish itself. Therefore you will likely need to brush some Colortone Stain on the repair area. Mix colors together to get as close a match as possible.
Super Glue Fill Step:
Next once the stain has had a chance to dry, take some medium viscosity Super Glue #20 and brush with a small brush or a toothpick and fill-in the area. Even though this is quick set glue, you will need to let this glue set for several hours at this thickness to setup properly and preferrably overnight.
Sand The Repair:
Next cut narrow strips of Silicone Carbide Sandpaper in grits of 400, http://tinyurl.com/600siliconecarbid and http://tinyurl.com/800siliconecarbidepape. Start with the 400 and pull along the repair by applying light finger pressure. Do the same operation with 600 and then 800 grit sandpaper. Take care not to sand too long with each strip as it cuts quite quickly. Use each grit for about 20 or 30 seconds.
Next wet some strips of Micro-mesh abrasive sheets. Start with the 1000 grit and progress up to approximately 12,000. This micro-mesh will do the polishing at the same time as sanding. Take your time and you should wind up with a smooth, shiny repair where there were ugly chips before.
Tags: fixing wood chips, guitar chip repair, guitar finish, guitar finish repairs, how to fix chips in guitar finish
