Official Luthiers Forum!

I've never seen any mention of this on the forum but I'm sure most of you already know this. After leveling my rosette today I had acquired a couple of significant dents in my sitka top. (Forgot to use a caul under my spring clams Lesson learned). However, I used an old furniture making trick and it worked like a charm. Used the corner of a clean cloth wet with distilled water, laid it over the dent, slid a half heated flat tipped woodburning pen over it a few times and absolutely no sign of the dings. Worked like a charm.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Yeah Ron,thats a neat trick. I steam out small dents with my soldering iron. Same as your method and it works just fine. Thanks

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

I have three clothes irons, I find them for about 5 bucks at garage sales. They even helped with some compression issues on my last rosette where I tried too hard to put in a purfling line. I too have used these, with a wet cloth underneath, for years in furniture and cabinets. My wife likes that I don't destroy her's anymore. Especially when I am ironing wood tape!

Shane

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Canada

Yeah, an iron works great on furniture. You can really have fine control with the woodburning pen on delicate areas, though.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Do you have to refinish? Doesn't the steam adversly affect the finish?

If the guitar is finished you need to remove the finish in that area for the steam to expand the wood fiber. If I am repairing one or two small dents in a finished guitar I fill the dent with thin CA. Then after the CA has cured for 24 hrs, I make a scraper out of a single edge razor with scotch tape on the outter edges and scrape to near flush. Sand to flush with 400-1200p or micro mesh mini pads 2400-6000 then buff it out. Or I use lacqure sticks. but I have to say I like the CA on newer guitars better.MichaelP38623.4130208333

Bob, this was on unfinished wood. I've never tried it over a finish. I suspect that would require a lot more thought and care. Michael sounds like he knows how to deal with it.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Michael,
you can't use words like "renoveteh" on this forum. ONLY Lance is allowed to do that!

I know... fast typing "remove the". Just at first thought Lance came to mind so I had to post this...Just Kidding!

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

[QUOTE=Dave-SKG] Michael,
you can't use words like "renoveteh" on this forum. ONLY Lance is allowed to do that!

I know... fast typing "remove the". Just at first thought Lance came to mind so I had to post this...Just Kidding![/QUOTE]

OOpps pardon!!!! my French-Polish

[QUOTE=MichaelP] If the guitar is finished you need to remove the finish in that area for the steam to expand the wood fiber. If I am repairing one or two small dents in a finished guitar I fill the dent with thin CA. Then after the CA has cured for 24 hrs, I make a scraper out of a single edge razor with scotch tape on the outter edges and scrape to near flush. Sand to flush with 400-1200p or micro mesh mini pads 2400-6000 then buff it out. Or I use lacqure sticks. but I have to say I like the CA on newer guitars better.[/QUOTE]

I am quoting myself to mention one more thing about this process. Clean the area well before drop filling. if you have a good clean area the liklyhood of wittness lines are small, but if even the smallest dust particals (within reason) are on the surface when you drop fill you will get wittness lines. Also, do not touch the CA drop fills to test if hard. Give them 24 hours. Yes it will harden in mins., but give it time to cure fully and it will buff out as an invisible repair.
DO NOT USE ACCELERANT!!!!!!!!!MichaelP38623.4315856481

I french polish my guitars and frequently I have to remove dents. I use an old soldering iron and T-shirt material that has been dampened. One of the problems with french polishing is inevitably the guitar will pick up a small dent or two as I'm doing all the polishing, usually on the soundboard. I don't bother removing the fp, I just steam over it. The fp softens, and the steam will penetrate, but then I usually have to sand the spot lightly and go back over it with fp. No biggie, really.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live