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Hi guys, a friend of mine asked me to fix a couple of chips on his guitar. He's not in a hurry to get it back, and also not picky on the perfection of the job. He just wants me to take a crack a it.
I've built a guitar, but never fixed somethin' like this. I want to do the best job possible, how would you guys approach it?

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Just noticed this on the neck, he didn't ask me to fix this, but I'm curious to hear how you guys would approach this one too. It's only about 3/8 of an inch

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I am no expert, but I have done a few amateur touch-up like this. Here is my 2c worth, until a proper expert comes along. The dents in the neck would best be steamed (tip of a soldering iron and wet cloth or paper towel) to see if they will fill out. If a defect persists, mahogany dust and CA to fill. For the finish repair, it looks suitable for drop filling with CA glue, level by scraping with a razor blade, then sand through the finer grits and buff. There is a good pictorial tutorial on drop filling on Frets.com, and also good video tutes by Robbie O'Brien and Dan Erlewine (StewMac tips) that you could find pretty easily. Good luck! Should be fun.

That dent in the neck contains crushed wood fibers and will not steam out very well. Filler is dealers choice... I prefer solvent based Famowood type but dust and CA would work but may not be ideal depending on type of existing finish...

Before we talk about repair we need to know a little bit about what we are dealing with. So do an acetone test. Pull a tuner or strap button and touch the surface with a q-tip wet with acetone, did it mar the surface? did the finish get a little sticky for a bit? then it is a type of nitro and should be repaired with the same. If not it is a poly and can be repaired with CA or other choices depending on your comfort level. I do caution against CA repairs of any type on bare spruce or cedar as it can cause a permanent yellow-green staining of the wood .

_________________
Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Thanks guys, great advice. I'm going to take a crack at it in the next couple of weeks. I'll post picks!


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