Neck Divot Fill

[Menehune]

My recently-snagged '96 Studio Custom has a wedge-shaped divot in the neck back at the second fret, enough of a divot that I notice it when playing. No material was removed, but given its depth, I think the standard superglue fill method is a poor solution. So I'm thinking a UV-cured resin might be a good, and possibly mostly-invisible, filler. Any thoughts on this, HF Clubbers?

[killerteddybear]

Is the finish cracked? You may be able to steam it out.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

9 hours ago, killerteddybear said:

Is the finish cracked? You may be able to steam it out.

Be careful when steaming lacquer: I've left tea-towel indentations on finishes using steam

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Oops! I was assumimg you meant in the fretboard: ignore my drivel!

[Jeff R]

Just now, Jeff R said:

For back of neck trunk, I'd drop fill w clear epoxy, scrape and wetsand flush, and buff out.

 

[Menehune]

7 hours ago, killerteddybear said:

Is the finish cracked? You may be able to steam it out.

Yeah, the Urelac is cracked along one edge of the divot. I'm afeared steaming would not only damage the finish, but also force moisture between finish and the wood.

[Menehune]

6 hours ago, Victor (Fret Friend) said:

That will likely unseat frets!

Some day I'll learn to use enough words. By "in the neck back at the second fret" I meant "in the back of the neck at the second fret".

I like that rosewood dust + CA fix for the day I ding the fretboard, and thank you for that.

[Menehune]

3 hours ago, Jeff R said:

 

An elegant and inexpensive solution. Thanks, Jeff.

[tbonesullivan]

Even without steam, heat can still pop out some divots, or at least make them less noticeable.  I have had buckle rash become much less apparent with an iron through a dry towel.

[Menehune]

16 minutes ago, tbonesullivan said:

Even without steam, heat can still pop out some divots, or at least make them less noticeable.  I have had buckle rash become much less apparent with an iron through a dry towel.

Didn't consider dry heat. Thanks, @tbonesullivan. I have an old mini heat gun with a 1/4" hose nozzle kicking around here somewhere, which is perfect for applying localized heat.

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

1 hour ago, Menehune said:

Some day I'll learn to use enough words. By "in the neck back at the second fret" I meant "in the back of the neck at the second fret".

I like that rosewood dust + CA fix for the day I ding the fretboard, and thank you for that.

Thanks for the EDITs making my comments look like inane drivel 🤣🤣🤣

[Menehune]

@Jeff R's epoxy recommendation worked out well. And now another injury: a falling object crashed into the side of the guitar, about 4 inches below the upper waist. Some Urelac cracked off, some was crushed (including the wood underneath), other finish chips separated from the wood but are hanging on. The damage is a bit over 1 cm sq.

My thought is to:

• Use thin CA to rebond what chips I can to the rest of the finish and to the wood.
• Clean off the crushed chips, wet the dented wood, and use my component-testing heat gun (very small nozzle) to lessen the dent.
• Either of:
  • Tint the wood and drop-fill with clear epoxy.
  • Tint the epoxy and drop-fill.

Sound like a good general plan? Since the original finish was tinted, I'm leaning towards tinting the epoxy. That will also let me mix up some test samples on scrap mahogany to work out the closest color match, something I can't do if I tint the wood itself.