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Taylor Guitar Top Dings
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Author:  Mike OMelia [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Taylor Guitar Top Dings
I am not sure how this is happening. But suddenly I have four guitars from four folks in my shop that need various repairs. But, I am not a repair person. idunno

OK, the latest one is a really nice Taylor OM that fell off of a stand and recieved 4-5 nice dings on the top. Each ding apears to have "cracked" the finish. I realize that this is a polyester finish. Let's see if I know anything at all. :) Use steam to attempt to raise the dents? This assumes the finish has a crack. If no crack, then what? Puncture it?

Assuming the dents rise, then use superglue and a schedule of micromesh up to high grit? Then compound and buff?

Mike
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Btw, my first response was "so?"

Dents happen. I really do not want to do this. And if it is in the slightest bit risky... forget it.

Mike
Author:  jac68984 [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 5:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Taylor Guitar Top Dings
It is the slightest bit risky.
Author:  B. Howard [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 6:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
I have had good luck steaming out dents in lacquer finishes but not so much with the uv stuff on Taylors. The polyester is no where near permeable enough. Even with cracks in the finish you just can't seem to get enough steam under it to do any real good. I don't even try and steam those anymore I just do a CA drop fill and that's that for them.
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
B. Howard wrote:
I have had good luck steaming out dents in lacquer finishes but not so much with the uv stuff on Taylors. The polyester is no where near permeable enough. Even with cracks in the finish you just can't seem to get enough steam under it to do any real good. I don't even try and steam those anymore I just do a CA drop fill and that's that for them.


Brian, or anybody for that matter, do you have any before and after pics of a UV polyester repair with CA? (guitar top)

Mike
Author:  Stuart Gort [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Sort of curious.

The first thing I'd think to do is get on the phone and see if I could get through to someone at Taylor to see if they might suggest a method. This kind of approach is hit and miss but it's probably worth trying.

They use a U.V. polyester but they might suggest a catalyzed system that would be compatible for patch repairs....but polyester can be pretty hard to get a nice feathered repair done and polished without witness lines. I expect the only guaranteed way to deal with it would be to do the whole surface over.
Author:  B. Howard [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
I have seen some Taylor authorized repairmen using UV cured material for the fill and spot curing with a small UV wand. I have also seen others use CA as I do. Here are some before and after pics of one such repair. As you can see it is a fairly average ding with a hairline crack around it. Worth noting is the squiggle that looks like a sap pocket in the first pic at about the 3/4" mark on my rule. That is a factory repair, most likely filled during the initial finish process and not after the guitar was finished. In the next pic from another angle you can see the hairline around the ding. I tried to steam this one out, thought the crack would let me do it, no luck. The next one shows the repair at the worst possible angle. In that one the hairline now looks like a pubic hair in the finish because the poly will not melt back together. Nothing you can do about that, it's the nature of the finish. Like an old mentor of mine used to quip " once a patch, always a patch!" The last shows it in the most favorable light. You can see how the factory repair looks right next to mine.
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Brian, I think my guy would appreciate your aproach as opposed to leaving it dinged. I also thought your description of the result was funny but apropos. :)

So, once cured, do you scraped with razor? (rounded corners) Then, do you use micromesh?

Mike
Author:  B. Howard [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Wiping on some activator and letting it evap off for an hour or so seems to help with minimizing witness marks and speedin the cure. On deeper dings I generally plan on 2-3 light fills to bring it up to level rather than all at one shot.
Author:  B. Howard [ Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Todd, I've heard others mention padding on CA, I tried it once and had a sticky mess. I do brush it on at times, fretboards mainly. Was wondering what type of pad you use and any other tips. CA is definitely the go-to repair for lots of finish work., especially on the lower end stuff. Guys with nice stuff will usually wait for a lacquer drop fill to be finished.
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Todd Stock wrote:
Scotch tap the edge , leaving just enough open blade to take the glue down...rounded corners still allow the scraper to go too far. For stuff on the edges, scotch tape only one end of the scraper and run the other over the edge to level. 600 grit on blockt o level, then 1200 and buff. Don't know how many of these a week I do, but it's not a problem to charge $25 per. One thing to watch is allowing the CA to properly harden...as it cures, it shrinks, and if you can leave the repair for a few hours, you'll get a much better result and and avoid witness lines or sunken areas.


$25 per ding or per guitar? :) The one I'm looking at has 5 dings.
Author:  MikeyV [ Fri Nov 30, 2012 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Taylor Guitar Top Dings
Does this CA drop fill technique work well on varnish finishes? I'd imagine.

I have a guitar or two that got dinged before I even strung them up...They're still really new, so I'd like to try my fill chops on these.

thanks.
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