Finish/Cosmetic repair?

powe6563 · #1 April 1st, 2006

I recently dropped my acoustic/electric Ovation-style Guitar and it chipped the finish at the base of the body. It was in a gig bag and it only fell about a foot to the ground in a parking lot but that was enough to do it I guess. The guitar has a photo finish, at least that's what I've been told. The finish (which looks like a thin plastic coat or sticker?) has chiped away around the place where the guitar hit the ground. I wouldn't care if te surface underneath wasn't white, but you can really see it and it's right were my strumming arm rests while playing so I'm worrued it will get worse. Does anyone know what to do or how much that kind of repair would cost me. Here's a pic to help with description

Guitar.jpg

This is what the listing said when I baught it on ebay
It has a ceramic under saddle piezo electric bridge pickup and passive tone and volume controls. The guitar is finished with a beautiful Emerald Green quilt top laminate. The back and sides are constructed of an ABS plastic roundback or bowl design.

allthumbs · #2 April 1st, 2006

Consider this
http://www.elderly.com/brand/ACC_john%20pearse.html

powe6563 · #3 April 1st, 2006

That would definately cover it up! I don't know how it would look on it but I'll keep it in mind in case I can't afford to get it fixed. How do those things attach to the guitar?

allthumbs · #4 April 1st, 2006

Self adhesive I think.

Ultimate Garage Band · #5 April 1st, 2006

I don't see the damage in that pic at all.

powe6563 · #6 April 1st, 2006

Sorry, I should have been more specific... that's a stock photo from ebay. I'm at work and don't have a pic of the dammage right now, but here's a doctored pic of the stock photo to show what the dammage looks like. The quality got worse by editing but you can still tell what I'm talking about.

guitar dammage.GIF

Ultimate Garage Band · #7 April 1st, 2006

Ahh. Well, if it's all in the black portion of the guitar and it's small enough, you can use black fingernail polish to do some minor touch ups. That's just black lacquer in a tiny bottle w/a tiny brush. You'll not be able to get it as smooth as a spray job w/o a lot of sanding and then polishing though.

dann · #8 April 10th, 2006

i have got the same problem on one of my acoustics but the damage is right on the bottom of my guitar- please let me know how you get on whether you fixed it yourself or bought one of those arm rests as i dont know what to do with mine

powe6563 · #9 April 10th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by dann

i have got the same problem on one of my acoustics but the damage is right on the bottom of my guitar- please let me know how you get on whether you fixed it yourself or bought one of those arm rests as i dont know what to do with mine

I've been rather busy this week so I haven't had a chance to fix it yet. I do believe that some black nail polish will do the trick though. It depends on your acoustic's finish and general look as to wether the nail polish or arm rest would be a good Idea. If the dammage is on the bottom, I don't think the arm rest will do you any good. It would work for mine, but I don't personally like the way it would look on my guitar. I found a laminate repair kit on the internet when I was looking for answers. It was one of those "As seen on TV" products:

http://www.seenontvproducts.net/fixachip/index.html

That may be a better fix for you if your acoustic has a wood finish. If the nail polish doesn't please me I will prob try that before I pay someone to fix it. Hope this helps!

737blues · #10 April 10th, 2006

Quick one for you UGB. My fernandes strat copy has a half-inch chip in the finish where the lacquer has broken clean away, exposing bare timber. The guitar has a three tone sunburst and the chip is right on the edge, so it's virtually black. (Very warm browny-black) I know that the appropriate finish's are available in the USA but since I'm living in Australia and they are nitrocellulose based products, getting them here is a big (expensive) problem.

I've done a fair amount of research via the web and know about suppliers like the Guitar ReRanch so please don't waste any of your time on this. I'm really just asking if you know of anything off the top of your head as it were, that I can use as a substitute and which might be more readily available? Hopefully, a bit more permanent than the nail polish, (eg. General hardware or paint shop product)

Ultimate Garage Band · #11 April 11th, 2006

No, not really. I'm not saying there's not a product; I'm just saying I'm not aware of it. You could still go w/the fingernail polish; it IS lacquer.

737blues · #12 April 12th, 2006

Thanks UGB, guess it wouldn't do any real harm anyway.

USGold · #13 April 13th, 2006

Are you sure the finish is cellulose based?-many guitars use a varathane type finish these days-can you contact the manufacturer for specifics?

737blues · #14 April 16th, 2006

Sorry, just seen this.

Yes, the guitar was built sometime in the late sixties to early seventies. And no, unfortunately Fernandes put it in the too hard basket. (As in we only want to sell you a new guitar) I have a long file of communication with them, both US and Japan, regarding obtaining original decals for a replacement, but original neck I managed to procure. I will one day have to put it on because I've got some pretty badly worn frets which won't take too many more dressing jobs.

Thanks for the input though USGold.

USGold · #15 April 17th, 2006

a neck can be refretted-it takes a tech but worn out fret wires don't mean you have to change necks.