tedmanzie Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) I don't mind a few dings in my bass but I managed to put a very ugly one on the lower horn of my 3TS p bass It is about 5mm radius, maybe 1 or 2mm deep in the black area of the colour scheme, but its rough so it doesn't look like nice wear, just looks annoying. I watched a stew mac video of him repairing a ding with superglue and sanding it down. it looked fairly easy but these things always do in the videos! Any one tried it? I wondered what to use as black filler before covering with superglue? Edited January 7, 2014 by tedmanzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Use nail varnish, I [i]think[/i] it's the same stuff as your bass is covered in anyway. Slightly overfill the dent, then smooth down when it's totally dry with some wet and dry paper that you've soaked in soapy water. Cover the surrounding area with tape first though, you may need to polish it up afterwards, very carefully with some car polish. Do you know any goths, you could borrow black nail varnish from them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I did this on a a Tokai neck that had some dents in. IIRC i did several small applications rather to fill it all at once and sanded once dry. Igot a really smooth result , In fact not only can I not feel any dinks, the only way I know where the 'repair' Is to look for the colour difference. The only problem you may have is how you colour in the dent. If its a polyurethane finish I think it wont get soft or melt when you try to colour it, but a nitro finish could soften the existing paint. I dont claim to be an expert so do a small area first.. Try and find a place on the bass where it wont show/matter and test a very small amount.There may be a bit of overspay in the neck joint or look and try behind a strap button or the scratchplate. Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) Thanks Mine is poly finish btw. Black nail varnish to colour is a very good tip, and a test area under the scratchplate is another handy hint. Stew Mac fills his ding with coloured acetone which I guess is nail varnish equivalent, and then fills with superglue which maybe is harder wearing? Video is here if anyone interested comes across the thread: [url="http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0174.html"]http://youtu.be/rTVScFJoe24[/url] Edited January 7, 2014 by tedmanzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Nail varnish is much easier to blend in and sand down, but it does shrink. Cyano doesn't shrink much, but is as hard as nails (the metal kind!) and more difficult to sand down without catching the surrounding, softer, area. Probably horses for courses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 i was going to put a few drops of nail varnish on for colour match (black) and then coat with superglue, so the sanding down will be done on the superglue. what is cyano? i can't find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1967 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 cyano = cyanoacrylate = Superglue if it's a poly finish I would colour the base of the ding with nail varnish and fill with superglue then flat and polish - you'll get a finish more consistent with the poly by using superglue as your top coat. Basically what the Stewmac vid says. Practice strip sanding first if you use that technique, because you can put a dint in really quickly without knowing it and have to start again on a bigger hole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 [quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1389174312' post='2330792'] Practice strip sanding first if you use that technique, because you can put a dint in really quickly without knowing it and have to start again on a bigger hole! [/quote] that's my worry! stewmac is working on a flat body ding, whereas mine is on the round bit of the horn so i expect this is more tricky. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 For black you could use indelible marker felt-tip pen . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 [quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1389174486' post='2330795'] that's my worry! stewmac is working on a flat body ding, whereas mine is on the round bit of the horn so i expect this is more tricky. . . [/quote] To be honest, I would start with nail varnish only and see how you get on. Then you can use a nail varnish buffing pad to smooth it out and polish it up. I think you will find superglue a bit tricky to smooth it down without digging into the surrounding finish. The horn isn't a high wear area so it should be plenty tough enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) A trick to scrape down the superglue( as it dries hard) is to get a craft blade ( or Stanley blade) and put masking tape over the sharp edges from top to bottom but allow a gap in the middle the size of the repair. That way as you scrape, the surrounding finish is only in contact with tape and the exposed blade only with the repair. Theoretically impossible to go too low with the exposed part of the blade due to the masking tape raising the height of your scraper above the level of the finish. Hope this makes sense, a picture would tell a 1000 words but that would mean going outside and its peeing down! Edited January 8, 2014 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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