Repairing guitar finish

Is it expensive to repair a guitar? Does it cost to fix a guitar? How do you repair a broken guitar? Can a cracked guitar be repaired?

All you need is some Super Glue , a toothpick, and several grits of sandpaper (I used a little red mahogany stain too).

Glossy finish using foam polishing pads. After an unsuccessful finish repair, this guitar’s owner sent it to Dan Erlewine to fix the damage. Using a neat trick he learned from Erick Coleman, Dan builds the finish fast with films of dried lacquer. Then he polishes it with a hand drill and foam pads.

Fix a guitar poly finish with help from an experienced guitar builder and repair technician. Also, repair strap buttons that have come out and bridge holes that have been stripped by putting glue on a toothpick and applying it to the holes. When the glue is dry, you can re-insert the strap buttons or re-thread the bridge holes.

This is an extremely common, somewhat expected condition on older instruments with lacquer finishes.

Checking will vary according to the extremes the instrument has been through. As an instruments wood expands and contracts with moisture content stress is placed on the finish. A polishing agent , on the other hand , is intended to smooth out microscopic imperfections in your guitar’s finish, creating a glossier, smoother look. Polishing agents are intended to be applied to an already-clean guitar finish and can help improve hazy or swirly-looking finishes. When buffing scratches out, quite literally, finish is being removed until you are at the bottom of the scratch , making the finish a smooth flat surface again.

For heavy scratches, wet sanding often precedes buffing. CLEATS ON THE INSIDE. The next step will be for the luthier to glue small wooden cleats inside the guitar that span the crack.

These cleats are used as reinforcement and are clamped in place—using specialized clamps or, in recent years, extremely strong “rare earth” magnets—while the glue sets for maximum strength. If your ding is a nick out of the paint with sharp edges , good. This method works well on that kind of damage. If you have a dent as well, you can usually fill it with the polish using multiple coats.

Major dents and damage require filler and refinishing which is, frankly, something I’m not going to cover here. A cleaning product is intended to remove oils and residues — anything that has built up on your guitar’s finish. A polishing agent, on the other han is intended to smooth out microscopic imperfections in your guitar’s finish, creating a glossier, smoother look.

Repairing dings and scratches that are severe and go through the finish to the wood.

Filing worn frets: If frets start to develop grooves or crevices, they need a pro to file or replace them. Classic Instrument Lacquer Gloss- QT. In the majority of cases, your kit guitar will be sanded to a reasonable standard for finishing but it is recommended you check the timber over carefully first and if any repair work is required purchase a lower grit paper.

Guitar Toner Lacquer Aerosols. Any guitar finished using our kits will quite quickly develop a lovely natural patina through use of the guitar on areas of contact such as the curved armrest, bottom edge of the guitar. You can accelerate this by burnishing (rubbing until warm) the finish with some plain photocopy paper. Shellac can be applied by padding, brush or spray.

Easy to remove – Shellac dissolves in alcohol. Non-Toxic – FDA approved for food utensils and children’s toys.