Ouch! .. ding...

[Ric_MEL]

Dunno how it happened.. it's a total mystery. I handle my 620/6 FG like a newborn..

the other night I see what I think is a piece of lint or something hanging on backside tip of the lower horn.. and to my horror ... it's a chip out of the finish ! !
However this happened, it sure happened easily.. as I know I didn't bang or clunk it on anything. ( no kids in the house, my wife never touches my guitars, .. etc )

so.. now that I've accepted it.. I guess I have to subscribe to the notion that it's "character" ( see, I've NEVER cottoned to "relic" finishes adding anything to a new guitar.. but I digress )

The nice dark red finish has chipped off.. and what is exposed is very light, almost white in color.. so I'm assuming is right down to the maple wood ..

What do I do, to minimize the damage ? While I'd love to cosmetically fix it.. I assume I should finish the area off with something to guard against any moisture issues, etc.

I'll attach a couple photos to try and illustrate.. and any help appreciated.. 8-(

620ding_1.jpg

620ding_2.jpg

[stringsncords]

BUMMER! Dings drive me crazy, too.

Since RIC doesn't offer touch-up paint for situations like this, your best option is the closest-matching nail polish that you can find. You can do it yourself, or find a luthier who's adept with wet sanding; a few coats of the nail polish combined with wet sanding the finish may come close to the result that you want. My guess is that you hit the guitar on a case latch - I've done it.

The good news is, that shade of nail polish should be relatively easy to find.

Good Luck!

[sixtwentytwelve]

This inspirational thread will point you in the right direction:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=384810&p=480472&hi ... lo#p480472

[scotty]

Find a suitable colour that matches dark FG in Nail-varnish im sure your Mrs wont mind you rummaging through her makeup drawer.Give it a couple of coats then a good old Zymol and it will be fine.

I see bob has already posted that above also...

[Grey]

Unfortunatly, you can't drop-fill the CV finish on Ricks like you can with a nitro guitar. Any fix will be noticeable, and you already know it's there. Best option is to leave it and deal with it.

[antipodean]

Unfortunatly, you can't drop-fill the CV finish on Ricks like you can with a nitro guitar. Any fix will be noticeable, and you already know it's there. Best option is to leave it and deal with it.

Really? I thought the "over filling" with an appropriate match nail varnish followed by careful sanding and then polishing would pretty much do the trick. I had always thought the problem would be getting a match for the fireglo - a total pain to match up, and impossible in a transition area. Metallic finishes are also a problem to match up....

I've had clearcoat issues that have been patched up undetectably (if that's a word....). The FG problem on the same guitar was unmatchable...

[scotty]

Best option is to leave it and deal with it.

I dont agree the ding is in a good location for a touch-up with nail varnish, its on a edge and can be touched up to look 100% better.

[Clint]

I've drop filled Rics with both nail polish and super glue with no problem. Well, the super glue needs a lot more sanding and buffing but that's beside the point, nail polish is what you're looking at here. The best news is that the ding is on the back edge, so you really could leave it alone if you wish. Or if you end up doing a less than stellar job, no one will ever see it.

[Ric_MEL]

Thanks everyone.. I'll head down the nail polish route. If I can get the color close.. and level it to the surrounding area reasonably well. . it is on the back side.. so it won't be hugely noticeable. It's worse than a ding on a new car.. cause a car is just a car.. and this is my RIC!

I know I'll have incurred a hit on resale value.. cause it's no longer "mint".. so I'll need to keep it: FOREVER!

I'm going to guess that location is a trouble spot on RICs with sharp horns.. ie. the 620, 330 and 350
.. as I noted: it's almost silly how gentle I am with it.. from it's case to me sitting on my chair in my living room
.. ( not gigging, or hauling it around at ALL )

[Clint]

...so I'll need to keep it: FOREVER!

Well, you were probably going to do that anyway.

[jingle_jangle]

I have had nothing but success with the drop-fill method. Sometimes I will use lacquer (for onesies and rush touch-ups) and other times I use catalyzed varnish. I've gotten away from super glue for pre-UV Ricks, as it's much harder than the CV and generally shows traces when buffed. It works well on UV-cured material, which has a surface much closer to the super glue in hardness.

One more tip: There are two things that need be done with a chip down to the maple (and this is a chip, not a ding--dings are small dents in the finish which don't show bare wood). The first thing is to match the color, the second is to provide a glossy protective surface.

You don't have to specifically use nail polish for the maple touch up to get it to look Fireglo. You can use artist's oil or acrylic paints, or even hobby enamels on small chips such as this. You're covering it with waterproof lacquer, so go for something that's easy to mix and easy to match. Oil colors dry the same shade as when they're wet, but acrylics color shift although the reds are fairly close in shade between wet and dry. If you use oil colors (you know, the ones in tubes), you should add a bit of cobalt drier so they set up overnight--otherwise it's a long wait until you can drop-fill with clear lacquer to level the surface.

Lastly--a small chip like this is an easy task compared to something a quarter-inch or larger. The larger the chip or ding, the more difficult the task is to make it undetectable.

When I bought my mahogany 430 back from Kira a few months back, after she'd removed the Tune-O-Matic bridge and replaced it with a proper Rick one, she had filled the extra holes with dowel, and touched up the color with lacquer, then added a bit of matching grain with Prismacolor artist's colored pencils. I couldn't see the patches until I got so closer my eyes wouldn't focus...Kira used to be in the art/antiques restoration biz, so she's the master of small touch-ups, and this unconventional method worked very well.

There are all sorts of ways to skin a cobra. Below, Randall explains. ADULT LANGUAGE WARNING!

[cjj]

Don't know how long that will last, even with the "warning", but the narration is hilarious...

[Ric_MEL]

OK.. so I get some nail polish ( or oil paint mix ) to initially cover/paint the exposed maple.. for color.

and then re: step 2 - provide a glossy protective surface.
" wait until you can drop-fill with clear lacquer to level the surface."

what exactly is the clear lacquer that I should get/use ? to drop/fill. ( ie . Brand, specifics )

Sorry if this assumed/easy but I don't have any painting finishing materials.. so I'll need to go get it, and want to get just the right stuff.

Then I assume the drop fill is a repeated apply/ let dry process to build up the gloss cover over the painted maple.
then if necessary wet sand with a very fine grit sandpaper ( I noted your small plexi block comment in the other thread )

.. then zymol.

tnx.
M

[jingle_jangle]

OK.. so I get some nail polish ( or oil paint mix ) to initially cover/paint the exposed maple.. for color.

and then re: step 2 - provide a glossy protective surface.
" wait until you can drop-fill with clear lacquer to level the surface."

what exactly is the clear lacquer that I should get/use ? to drop/fill. ( ie . Brand, specifics )

Sorry if this assumed/easy but I don't have any painting finishing materials.. so I'll need to go get it, and want to get just the right stuff.

Then I assume the drop fill is a repeated apply/ let dry process to build up the gloss cover over the painted maple.
then if necessary wet sand with a very fine grit sandpaper ( I noted your small plexi block comment in the other thread )

.. then zymol.

tnx.
M

OK, rereading, there's a mistake...I should have said Wait until it's dry before you can drop-fill with clear lacquer...", etc.

You're correct on the drop-fill process and function, EXCEPT--don't use a sanding block of any kind on that horny-tip chip. Use a small piece (1" square )of wet or dry (2000 or 1500), WET, and use the meaty part of your thumb to back it up, so it conforms to the tip better. A block will wear through immediately and give you flat spots. Randall would not approve!!!

[Clint]

There's our new catchphrase, "HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE"