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Paint repair


J.Clark

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Paint repair question. I have an old black and red Scepter that’s in great shape overall for a 30 year old guitar. Primarily because it’s been in its case for the last 20 years. There’s one scrape of the paint that bothers me though - luckily it’s on the back side. I’ve searched but there is very little out there as far as instructions go in the repair of a paint chip. I’m also concerned with using an incompatible product over the existing finish type.

Does the community know what specific form of paint was used on the early Scepters? Is there a recommendation for this type of repair? 

 

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Do you have a clear pic of the scrape?  We could definitely assist with some of the extensive knowledge/experience around these parts!

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Post a pic of the scratch. There are a few members here who can help you out. 

If it was my Sceptre, unless the scratch has actually compromised the finish in a bad way, I’d leave it alone. You’re lucky: most Sceptres are pretty chewed, hard to find one in primo condition. 

 

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It’s probably the lighting. I had to use flash to get a decent photo of it and the red in the photo doesn’t look right. It would be better to use daylight to illuminate but that would need to wait - it’s dark when I leave for work and dark again by the time I get home. I don’t think there’s even a hint of metal flake in the red or black. 

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Man, that's down to the meat, wood looks a bit compressed too.

I'd use a tiny bit of wood filler and red, black and clear ReRanch nitro paint pens. The nitro will bond.

But that repair almost needs a skilled hand to be honest with you... a skilled paint man can make that repair look absolutely flawless.

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I suppose I’m lucky it’s not worse i.e broken headstock or some nasty rash on the front. 

We used to practice in a little rental space in an old warehouse that was divided up for bands. Our drummer had a full acoustic set that was triggered to a drum machine. Add in two 12 track recorders and everything else we stuffed in that little room... needless to say it was a nest of cables running everywhere and one of the guys tripped and knocked over my guitar stand.

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On ding/dent repair ... I make sure to assess people's expectations on finish repair before I take on those tasks. Totally invisible repairs that can pass all tests an OCD-plagued client's eyes and fingertips might execute are pretty rare, and anyone who comes in with those tendencies and sought results, I usually don't take the job because neither myself nor anyone else will likely be able to please them. Go into the task with an appropriate mindset and reasonable expectations as far as results - this is a patch, not a pro refin in both the task itself and $$$ investment. Considering the depth and scope of your gash, taken on as a first-timer DIY job at that, I'd say undetected from a few feet away would be a win.

I've used the ReRanch and StewMac touch up pens with very good results. I've also had good fortune matching vivid colors like that Italian racing red with the Testors plastic model car and plane enamel paints in the tiny little bottles. I haven't had compatibility issues to date. Whichever route you go, you'll have to patiently build up the color in a few layers over a few days of multiple applications. It doesn't take many layers of color to get rich color, and we let the clear be the crater's "fill". Also, thin layers will stay in the "craters" of the dings and also help you maintain the line where the red and black meet when it comes time to make that distinction. I'd do the red first and then the black, with some nice pinstriping tape with an exacto and a fresh blade for it handy to get as crisp a line as possible when it comes time to remove that tape.

For the clearcoat, StewMac sells an "aged clear lacquer" touch up pen ("aged," not "amber," the latter is too orange for this task) that may be just hued just enough to match any subtle yellowing your topcoat has acquired over the last 30 years. "Aged" or a true "clear" is for your eyes to assess. Again apply patiently in layers, like a layer a day, and gradually build up flush to a very, very subtle mound within the crater. DON'T use the lacquer pen tip as the "brush," it is too difficult to control the flow and you will at some point gloop out a blob of lacquer that will create a big mess and more headaches. I warm (not "cook") the paint pen in a pot of water on a stovetop so it will flow thinly, extract a glob of the lacquer into a tilted small glass baby food jar and apply with a small artist brush. After the clear layers are down, let it cure for a least a week so it doesn't smear or drag during leveling and buffing out. For that process, I'd first wetsand briefly and GENTLY using nice auto finish grade 400, 600, 800 and 1000 grit wet/dry paper, then use SM's micromesh pads going through all the fine grades, and then close it out with a soft cotton cloth and Formula 1 Scratch Out, a easy to use poor man's 3M Finesse-style polishing compound available at any chain auto parts store.

The wetsanding and micromeshing in particular are where you can erase your previous work (literally) and basically make or break this job. Look for videos on wetsanding guitar finishes on YouTube to get a better idea of the process, preparing and using your wetsand papers, what you will see occur during wetsanding (clouding), and potential pitfalls. And if you want to get some experience and confidence, go get a beat up pawn shop cheapo electric and practice wetsanding on that first!

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Thank you all for your feedback particularly Jeff for such a detailed and thoughtful response. 

I have no problem taking my time with this and allowing for small steps. 

As I understand it the nitro repair paint will chemically bond to the existing nitro.  How far into the cracks will the semi liquid extend to solidify the damage? Should I mechanically remove any damaged paint that has not already flaked off or would that just create a bigger mess? Is there something that would help to emulsify and penetrate those cracks as part of the initial surface prep? One of Dan’s videos at stewmac used a very thin superglue to penetrate finish cracks -would that be appropriate or would it mess with the bonding of the new paint?

I’m not expecting a flawless finish but I think getting this sealed up and smooth is an appropriate goal. The red is probably going to be impossible to match for me (I’m red-green colorblind). Unless I enlist my wife’s eyes and I don’t want her thinking I’ve completely lost my mind. I wouldn’t have an issue with the repair just being black as long as it’s structuraly sound. 

Thanks again!

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For a repair kinda guy to do that, the true only cost is TIME. Time to heal. Time to build up the layers, etc.

To have it done by a pro, the cost would be minimal, the cure times involved to do it correctly would be long.

You could do it as mentioned above, you will have mixed results.

Lacquer finishes, lacquer finish repairs, kinda heal themselves. using "other" mats with aged lacquer will yield a mix bag finish repair.

with any small repair, like yours, I always state that, since your eyes have seen what is, what was, your eyes will always gravitate to that area,

scrutinizing that area knowing what it was beforehand.

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In my experience with a CA glue clearcoat repair, it works best on shallow clearcoat dings on flat surfaces. On edges and bevels, it's very hard to keep the CA glue in the target area as you build it up and then it's delicate and difficult to shape a non-flat surface with the taped razor blade without tearing all or part of the patch out or chattering it. Since the original finish is nitro and nitro typically kinda dissolves or melts into and cauterizes itself, and because of those CA challenges I mentioned, I think the nitro pens are the better option for the topcoat.

Murkat Jay was spot on - time and patience. This is the kind of job that you'll do a little every day or two for a couple weeks if you want satisfactory results.

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Looks like someone was HUNGRY.  As others have said, this will take a while.  I am OCD, but I also have realistic expectations. I have repaired some stand rash issues on nitro finished guitars, which were just in the clear coat. Even those can take a while to get right.  You can save yourself sometime by using a razor with some scotch tape to help scrape down the area after the nitro has dried for around a month. Go slowly, taking off a little at a time. Then it's gonna be a lot of exacting sanding. You will probably want to get a full set of grits, and maybe get some little wood blocks to attach them to.

Just remember that you can always go back and take off more if it's not flat, but you can't easily put it back on.

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