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Damaged my bass.........gutted!


Leen2112
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I cannot believe what a complete twat I've just been. After tonights practise we took away the gear we will be using at the next gig. So I zipped my bass (Ibanez 1205 VNF) into my strap on case and loaded my other stuff on a trolly and headed out to the car park where my bass suddenly fell out the bottom of my case! Hitting the ground and falling right down and comming to a stop with a nasty crashbang!
On inspection I think I've got off lightly as It was probably me who never zipped it up completely. The damage is many chunks and dents on the back of the body where the stones and chips embeded themselves, you would never notice from the front, but I will. I tuck my shirt around my belt buckle for f's sake. I adore this bass. I was very lucky with a bass a few years ago that when sold It gave me the cash to buy this from new.
Would there be any way to repair the pot holes? Filler??

Cheers Leen.

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Do not panic. A good luthier will often work wonders in this sort of repair...and it will be money well spent! As a furniture maker I would always AVOID using wood filler (nasty) unless absolutely necessary. The 1205 is a wonderful, natural finish bass...I love mine so feel your pain.

Often a wet cloth and a hot iron can work wonders on the dents that aren't too bad. Good luck!

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Hey Leen, you're lucky it's a timber bass, not a painted body. You can do a lot of the repair yourself. What you need to do is sweat the wood back out. Don't use filler.

First clean the debris out of the holes. Use a toothbrush if necessary, or something... whatever.

Then plug in the clothes iron. Mrs Leen will tell you what it looks like :P

Get a soft, old cloth and a bowl of water. Dip the cloth in the water and put a small piece of the wet clot over a dent and get the tip of the iron and heat the cloth/dent.

Doing this will normally cause the wood to swell and the dent will recover. If not go find a Stanley knife and take a look at the dents and cut the wood WITH the grain. DON'T go across the grain. Just do small cuts, don't go hacking at it. Then steam the wood with the cloth/iron again.

When the wood has swollen back out you'll need let it dry out. When dry you need to sand the wood to get rid of any rough bits. Finish it off with really fine grain paper (at least grade 350, finer if you can get it). Sand it WITH the grain, not across it. After this it'll look a ton better than it did.

Finish off by re-applying the finish - oil or lacquer; whatever it has already. But get the proper stuff for wood furniture, not car paint lacquer. And NOT paint-on varnish or it'll look cr@p.

PM me if you need more info

Then meet me down the pub and buy me a beer.

Cheers

Rich

PS (if you live anywhere near me I'll be happy to meet up and give you a hand)

Edited by Grangur
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[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372373135' post='2125143']...PS (if you live anywhere near me I'll be happy to meet up and give you a hand)
[/quote]

Good evening, Rich...

Just to point out, despite your very generous advice and offer...

Location:[b][i]Herts/Essex[/i][/b]

Location:[b][i]Fife[/i][/b]

:unsure:

...Ain't it always the way..? Well done for proposing, that man, though...

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Damn. (You don't see folk's locations when you're using the mobile version on a phone) With patience and a little persistence he should be able to get the result though. Even if the dents dont completely recover he wont have to sand it as low.

A good place to get wood lacqure from is www.morells.co.uk. for an Ibby I'd use natural matt lacqure.

Edited by Grangur
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[quote name='Leen2112' timestamp='1372365612' post='2125001']
..... I tuck my shirt around my belt buckle for f's sake....
[/quote]

Thank God, I thought it was just me :)

Good luck with the repairs, I know I'd be gutted if it happened to me - not a big fan of the road worn look.

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[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1372400194' post='2125199']
Damn. (You don't see folk's locations when you're using the mobile version on a phone) With patience and a little persistence he should be able to get the result though. Even if the dents dont completely recover he wont have to sand it as low.
[/quote]

Thanks for the tips, these dents etc are deep and many, I'll give it a go but would feel safer giving to a pro.

Edited by Leen2112
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  • 3 weeks later...

It's a working tool and will get knocks.
Once you get too many, you get it refinished..unless it is valuable and will increase..
and start again.

If the bass is made of decent material, someone will be able to make a decent job
of fixing it up.
At least you know it can stand being dropped... .. and you'll learn to carry it properly..

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I've done Grangur's damp cloth + iron (albeit a soldering iron) repair on a couple of natural finished guitars now and it really works. One of the repairs was on an MM neck and after I'd done it you could barely see it and certainly not feel it. Give it a go, go slowly, taking your time and I reckon you'll be surprised and pleased.

JTUK makes a very valid point about it being a tool, if it still performs as required, then it's not the end of the world, just a dent (no pun intended) in its resale value.

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Hey![size=4][quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1374078384' post='2145073'][/size]
I've done Grangur's damp cloth + iron (albeit a soldering iron) repair on a couple of natural finished guitars now and it really works. One of the repairs was on an MM neck and after I'd done it you could barely see it and certainly not feel it. Give it a go, go slowly, taking your time and I reckon you'll be surprised and pleased.

JTUK makes a very valid point about it being a tool, if it still performs as required, then it's not the end of the world, just a dent (no pun intended) in its resale value.
[/quote]
You doubted my word!!!??? :o
How could you?!?! I used to repair solid oak furniture. I've sweated dents out of all sorts of pieces of furniture. Not done many on basses yet , but I've just been lucky so far.

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[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1374174144' post='2146168']
Hey![size=4]
You doubted my word!!!??? :o
How could you?!?! I used to repair solid oak furniture. I've sweated dents out of all sorts of pieces of furniture. Not done many on basses yet , but I've just been lucky so far.
[/quote]Not at all Sir, just giving your post the old +1. It amazes me that this works as you'd think that once the wood dried it'd go back to its previous, damaged, form, but not so. Organic materials are amazing are they not?

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Thats a very good tip from Grangut. all my instruments are painted finish at the moment but thats a definite tip for the future! Cheers!


As others said though, As long as its still working, and the big dents dont have sharp edges then I'd be tempted to try not restore it back to former glory, but accept it and move on! Genuinely roadworn gear is cooool!

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My daughter, a long time ago (aged 3 at the time) decided my USA Strat should become reliced ...... Despite a polyurethane solid colour finish thicker than an orange skin, the damp tablecloth and iron technique removed significant amounts of dents. I have also used the same method on a very beaten Yamaha bass neck (poly finish again). The dents that can be removed are surprising.

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[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1374078384' post='2145073']
I've done Grangur's damp cloth + iron (albeit a soldering iron) repair on a couple of natural finished guitars now and it really works. One of the repairs was on an MM neck and after I'd done it you could barely see it and certainly not feel it. Give it a go, go slowly, taking your time and I reckon you'll be surprised and pleased.
[/quote]

A couple of weeks ago I was careless and rested my Stingray against the amp while I was trying to plug some cables on the back... and the bass fell.
Ouch!
The back of the neck has now two dents. Not huge... but noticeable. It's a maple neck, oil finished... I remembered this technique and it's tempting me to give it a try, but I was a bit worried about messing with damp cloths and heat on the neck of the bass...
Hmmm... shall I?

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[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1374174144' post='2146168']
Hey![size=4]
You doubted my word!!!??? :o
How could you?!?! I used to repair solid oak furniture. I've sweated dents out of all sorts of pieces of furniture. Not done many on basses yet , but I've just been lucky so far.
[/quote]

How about dents on the back of an oil finished neck (MusicMan Stingray)... any danger?

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