Official Luthiers Forum!

I lent my guitar to my cousin who went on a few crazy tours across the country and 10 years later I got my guitar back with a few major dings!

Just wondering if there is anything simple I can do to "repair" the damage. My intention is not to restore the guitar to a pristine condition, I'm just wondering if there is perhaps something i can pour or fill into the cracks that will dry and provide a basic seal that will prevent further erosion...

I'm not looking to apply 10 coats and sand, just a good quick and hopefully permanent fix...?

What do you guys recommend? Thanks!

You need a magic wand.

Find the Gluboost ad at the top of the home page and follow their advice. They make it look easy, I make it look impossible.

Freeman, yes Gluboost would probably be the best. They even have a yellow color that can be added to the glue. I just recently filled some pretty large chip outs on a neck using Gluboost.

If you're just trying to stop it from spreading, and really don't care what it looks like, then any kind of CA applied around the edges of the cracks will at least make it so more finish won't snag and flake off. If you're careful about not smearing the glue everywhere, it at least won't look worse.

Having said that, while poly finishes like this don't age quite as romantically as their lacquered counterparts, in my opinion this is what guitars are supposed to look like. Provided its earned honestly.

CA?

Sorry, CA is just super glue (cyano acrylate, not sure about spelling). Although there's all kinds of discussion on this forum about varying qualities, and what works best for finish repair. For the quick and dirty repair I mentioned earlier I think any hardware store brand will do the trick. For "invisible" finish repairs you'd probably want to invest in some better quality products, the glu boost stuff mentioned by Freeman is exactly that.

Also I wouldn't call what I suggested a finish repair, but rather a band aid solution in lieu of doing the proper repair. But is probably the route I'd go on a personal guitar in the condition your pictures represent.

Thanks for the suggestions, folks! Good info!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just to be clear, filling with Gluboost does require scraping, sanding, and polishing for a proper repair. It is not a "pour it on and walk away" type of product.

Ever tried the gel version of cyano acrylate? Looks like it might not level out evenly into the cracks... The liquid form might be better. We call it Krazy Glue up here in Canada.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CA is a one way ticket. If that glue boost color doesn't match (and it wont!) it isn't really going to look better. And at that point nothing short of refinish will help it.....Also, touch up work on edges and corners is 10X more of a challenge than the flat surface of the top or back.

My advice, nothing quick and cheap will look better so might as well leave it as a reminder not to lend your gear to a touring guitarist.

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I enjoyed lending my guitar to my cousin, he toured across the country 3x and had a hell of an experience and lots of success and good times, I’m sure he deliberately karate-chopped the stage with my guitar more than once but it was all part of the gig and the legacy of what they were doing. I just want to patch it up with some crazy glue so it stops cracking, etc.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Won't happen again.....

_________________
Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I'd leave it as is.

Nothing short of a refin will look better, and most options are likely to look worse over blonde/yellow.
With that finish, there is little risk of additional big chunks coming off, unless you drop it. And then any glue you applied won't matter anyway.

You just have to play with enough attitude to make it look like you earned those scars...

Your much better off taking it to someone like Brian Howard. who is a pro. Where are you located? There are decent repair people all over the country.

_________________
https://www.instagram.com/fostinoguitars/
https://www.facebook.com/PuraVidaUkuleles/