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How To Fix a Dent In Your Guitar’s Soundboard (Martin D35)
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- Опубліковано 12 сер 2024
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In this video, Chris demonstrates how to repair a small dent in the nitrocellulose finish on a client's Martin D35 50th Anniversary guitar.
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I’ve used this trick many times and I think others should be warned: you can make things a lot worse doing this if you’re not careful (and sometimes even if you are careful). Heating lacquer with steam will typically cause it to soften, so you need to be careful in how you handle it in this softened state. One slip with the scraping tool and you’ve taken out a big divot, and sandpaper is dangerous on a soft finish too. Also, often it will absorb the moisture from the steam, causing it to “blush” (makes it look hazy), which has to be corrected with alcohol which also softens the surrounding lacquer.
In all but the best cases, you end up with a multi step repair like you’re seeing in this video. And if your guitar has colored/tinted lacquer, don’t even think about doing this unless you’re experienced in color touchup work on lacquer. It is much harder to make a colored repair look less obvious than the original damage.
Never practice this technique on a guitar you care about. And unless you’re really sure of your abilities, you will find it easier to accept the random looking damage instead of the obvious mess you can create with a failed finish touch-up.
I have been doing a research about this for almost a month. I had been watching videos like this, but your video was the clearest, funniest ,and the most honest one. So, I'm now encouraged to fix my guitar. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thank you so much. Diego from Ecuador
I see that this 150th D35 anniversary edition has maple binding. Reminds me of the D35 Anniversary edition that I brought you from Canada that had cracks on the front, sides and back and someone had tried to put a new finish on with a white wash brush ~ even dripping shellac into the sound hole and down the sides. It was truly a basket case when you first saw it. After you worked your magic and fixed all the cracks, did a neck reset, new pick guard, bridge and complete refinish, you asked me about binding it with the maple instead of whatever Martin calls that plastic that they use.... Great idea. I've had that plastic fail on two other Martins that I own and on my D41 they gave me a VERY bad time about redoing it under the warranty. The care and patience that you bring to your work is quite amazing and equally impressive. Great stuff!! These videos that you and Matt are producing have got to be gold for folks who are interested in doing this kind of work. Kudos to you my friend.
Hey guys, I love your videos. I am not a luthier or a repair man but just keep interested in your videos watching how you repair and build. You keep things simple as you’re talking to us plus you guys have fun together. Keep them coming.
I really love the spirit and soul of this guy!! I have been viewing a number of his videos lately. He is a master craftsman and with great wisdom, experience, insight and very generous in sharing it. May the Good Lord bless him for his contribution to the world of guitar repair and to all of the guitar tone chasers!!
Aww- thank you, Assaf, for sharing your unique brand of exceptionally creative guitar compositions, ways of thinking about playing; for promoting and being an advocate for all styles of music (you turned me on to listening to themes of TV shows and ad campaigns), and for grasping the essence of creative invention so you can pass it on to us. You’re easy on the eyes, you make it real personal in a good way, and it’s a pleasure to have you in my living room. I’ll be thinking of you on Thanksgiving Day.
A better choice than a household iron (bulky and heavy) is a guitar-repair- dedicated soldering iron with interchangeable tips. That provides tighter and more precise application and keeps peace with the spouse
I was just about to ask this very question. A solder iron seems a much better choice, the house iron looks a lot more cumbersome, therefore more easy to mess up.
@@user-otzlixr The dampened paper towel/cloth provides the water, which vapourizes when heated. I used this technique on the maple shaft of my favourite very old pool cue, to very good effect. The other takeaway was that I would never again let another person try a shot with it. The hothead banged the rail with the cue, when he missed an easy shot to win. I have a Hakko soldering iron, with a digital control, so I kept the temp dialed down to 225F. Enough to make steam at the very spot, but not radiate too much heat to the surrounding area
My favorite is a covering iron made for R/C aircraft. It’s basically a miniature iron with a long handle, and the one I have has precise temperature control too.
He said you can use a soldering iron to do the same job in the video did you watch it all the way through?
Randall Harris, Twooford?
You're awesome man, i've started building guitars and its all i can think about, I'm pretty sure i was meant to be a Luthier, so thanks for making your videos! They definitely help me on my journey to becoming an Established Luthier! you rock!
Great video! You've talked a bit about how real mastery is knowing how to recover when something goes wrong - I hope you'll share more of these repair videos and maybe some videos where you show how to fix a problem that comes up in the actual build process!
LOVED THIS! Best show on all of youtube. Great tips, great vibe. Keep em coming. Subscribed!
Good info! I’ve been drop filling the last few days. I did mine a bit different. I used super assilex paper. So, no water needed. Also I let my laquer sit in an open jar for an hour or two to thicken up, and filled with that. There was a tiny chip down through the color coat. Luckily I had the chip. Dropped laquer on top, it melted the crack and looked invisible. The other fills were just pinholes between bindings etc. It’s a new build, so, not repair work. Got great results
Thank you for this content maybe someday I will work up the nerve to build my first guitar. Hope you guys a blessed holiday season!
What i like most about you Chris, is the honesty from you, in all your video's :) oh and your guitar's ain't to bad either :)
Always a pleasure to watch a master of his craft at work! You are also a wonderful teacher!
Very well explained. Very important tips on the " What not to do ", so often overlooked. Keep up the great videos, we are inspired.
Really enjoying your channel. I love learning about maintenance, set-ups and repair. Very clearly demonstrated & explained. oNe LoVe from NYC
Great play by play in this one.Much respect, as a part time Luthier, and part time player, great job on this repair. You’ve given me the courage to attempt this on my Takemine. Supernatural. It has four Beauty marks like this due to the same case closing while removing it from its hard shell case.
I had a mic stand damage the finish on my 2007 Eastman and I drop filled it. For my first time doing the repair like this I’m really happy. I bought micro mesh pads off Amazon pretty cheap and used those to buff it out. I have another Eastman the previous owner really beat to death and I plan to drop fill it this winter when I have time off from performing live.
These finish repair videos are my favorites because by far my weakest skill is finish repairs. Thanks for this. Great job.
Thanks for the in depth walkthrough! I know this video isn't brand new but I'd love a follow-up talking about dings in the neck, since theres so much more contour to account for, especially around the heel and headstock transitional areas.
Luthier here, love the videos. Great repair. I wouldn’t done anything different (well kind of). I learned from an old German luthier while living in Germany back in the 70s and 1980s. Different techniques but same results!
I got stranded at an airport for 8 hours traveling home for thanksgiving, and this video made a crap day a bit better.
OMG - so much detailed work! Think I'll leave my ding where it is, or get experts like you do the fix.
I've done this a few times now. One thing I strongly recommend is 1) always sand with a miniature block (I used the flat of a popsicle stick) behind the sand paper or mesh. Dont use your finger, or else you will dig a hole in the finish, effectively. 2) stick to higher grit, like 2000 grit and up, then you wont have to ruin the repair trying to get rid of low grit scratches. 3) if you use super glue, keep in mind that the super glue will have a higher hardness than the surrounding poly, and as you sand, the surrounding material dusts away quicker than the super glue unless you have a flat sanding surface, hence the reason to sand with a very small block.
That was a great education and thanks for doing it. I have a beautiful old Guild from the 1960's that I dropped wire cutters on several years ago. I was cutting loose ends of strings after putting them on. The cutter slipped from my hand and dented the wood itself on the top, though it is maybe less than 1/8 inch wide. I have not tried repair because the wood is seasoned beautifully.
Nice work, a very interesting video. Thanks for taking the time to explain it all.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your experience. I think the discoloration came from rust on the edge/corner of the razor blade. My guess is it didn't have enough rust that you would see it but when you were digging into the grain to get that lacquer to fill in the air gap between the lacquer and the wood the little bit of rust came off the edge of the blade, hence the orange discoloration in the repair.
Luv these videos. I do minor repairs on my own guitars, mostly electrics. To be honest minor dings don't bother me, and moving to a home with low ceilings, with ceiling fans, the dings occur more often than not. It's nice to have the know how to fix these dings, If I ever decide I want to repair them. Of course, who wants to fix a guitar that is naturally reliced :)
I watched a repair on a guitar similar to what you just did. He had saved the little stoppers that hold up a window shade on a car window. The accessory. And a very small Suction cup from a fridge Thermometer. And when he placed his drop on the guitar he placed the Suction cup over the drop and plunged it into the cracked surface . It pushed the laqur into the crack.wished I could remember the video I just can't. But was pretty smart. That's just a thought for the future . He also did that with glue into a Martin pick guard Crack that had shrank and separated the wood between the sound hole and the bridge. I thought that was pretty smart as well. Great video learned a lot.
A great video lesson. Thanks so much.
Thanks, I love repair videos. To remember about 'viscosity', replace it with a synonym like 'thickness' or 'resistance to flow'. It's the only thing that works for me.
I just love your videos! Thank you for putting them out!!!
looks really great in the end! i‘d love to try this myself eventually
fascinating - can't believe I watched the entire video. Not sure I am ready to fix the ding in my guitar, but... certainly tempted to give it a try
Great video ! I did automotive lacquer repairs on cars for years, and it's kind of the same thing - sometimes you can see the repair & sometimes not.! It's a little different on cars, because of the color coat underneath, but the end result should be the same. ! Thanks!
I l earned this skill with a soldering iron with a medium wide tip; this skill works very well DON'T forget to keep lifting and looking at the results . This is very good advise !!!!
Thanks for such a useful and practical repair vid
I just recently put the lightest dent in my most prized guitar and have been wondering if there's anything I can do to raise it back up. I dented it with the dang peg puller so the finish isn't even cracked. I might be able to get away with just streaming it. Super helpful video. I really appreciate the content you guys put out! Keep it up!
Reminds me of body shop repairs. Cool stuff man. We do this on vehicles sometimes for small rock chips
3M has a nice assorted 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 grit pack for like $4 on Amazon. A microfiber and a little scratch remover from the local automotive store works great when you don't have a buffer.
Holy hell, my tele just fell over and dented the top of a very very important acoustic of mine. I was pissed and disappointed and now I am going to fix it. Thanks so so much for this video!
Very useful video, thanks guys.
GREAT VIDEO !!!! Keep em coming man !!! New subscriber too here...lookin 4ward to learning stuff !!!
Awesome video thanks for sharing. Will that dent ever come back?
Looks good. It adds character to the guitar.
Hey Chris, I’ve learned a lot from your videos, thanks very much. If you believe the fibers have been affected by a ding, is it best to just leave it? I assume if you steam the fibers up and fill you will most likely end up with a dark spot after you lacquer fill it.
What an awesome video, thank you so much! Do you know if something similar can be done with catalyzed urethane? Bourgeois and H&D use that finish and apparently it's not as repair friendly as nitrocellulose, but I can't find any detailed finish repair instructions for catalyzed urethane. Thanks!
A really cool job done!
Christophe, couple things. If you strop the razor with some green rouge, and then you use a carbide rod to fold over the edge (comme Le scrapeur) you will have a much more comfortable ride when scraping.
Also you can do Uncle Dan’s strip sanding method. Speeds things up with less collateral.
Most importantly, lose the soap and use jet dry. It’s a super duper surfactant and works like a gajillion times better.
Also, I enjoy the shit out of your videos and am so happy when I see you’ve got a new one out :)
Great job, guys! Frankly, if I wasn't looking for it, I wouldn't see it.
Question for you. Will taking the finish down cause any future problems? As much as I like the looks of the repair, I'd hate to rob from Peter to pay Paul.
Hi that was a great video .When you talk about lacquers, what exactly are you talking about. I would really appreciate your comments about what is in it. Regards from John in Australia.
Looks good man, you the man.
Thanks so much! I am the ding master😩. My taylor 814 needs ding surgery. I do it so much in that area. I will try to work up the chahones to try this
@Doug Crowe: Doug, I had Taylor repair my614C. They did a pretty fair job hiding a couple of case latch dings. I can still see them, but you have to be looking for them
@Doug Crowe: Doug, I had Taylor repair my614C. They did a pretty fair job hiding a couple of case latch dings. I can still see them, but you have to be looking for them
Great video!
Never worked on a dent on a guitar, but as a woodworker I do a similar thing with a soldering iron and applying water with a dropper directly onto the dent. Using a fine point on the soldering iron i'd steam off the drop from the dent (without touching the iron to the wood). I am wondering whether there are pros/cons to this method
I have the same exact t fal iron I stole from my wife that I got here 10 some years ago.......
Lol. Ps I am also a pool player and have some high end pool cues that have suffered some serious dings and dents and I use it for those repairs aswell. It work great also. Key tips is use some COMMON SENSE AND PATIENCE.....
I'm new to your ch and love your content. Great info as always.
The top on my 94 HD28 cracked one night due to dry conditions during the winter. I had Rainbow Guitars here in Tucson fix it, but it soon split again. Can it be fixed? Should I even worry about it? We used to use your technique to repair dents in our hard wood floors back in Iowa. Worked great!
Great tips gentlemen. I'll co-sign on the 3m trizac paper... 3m Cubitron might be even one tick better on the depth chart.
Something and about the sound of the power sander was very soothing.
my few best guitars dont have a finish, they are literally just waxed/oiled and 'oxidized' matte. so a dent is game over it if is too serious.
i like that because i think the layer of shiny lacquers affect the tone, mostly make the guitar feel weird.
do those 'repair markers' not work on these surfaces?
Hi happy Thanksgiving 😊. I saw your short on ideas about how to judge on tone. For me tone is the most important element in any instrument. That being said, tone is totally subjective. What sounds best to me may not sound best to you. Plus a dread is obviously going to be louder than an om and an om louder than a parlor, but an acoustic guitar should always sound like an acoustic guitar. Sustain, woodiness, clarity and balance. You may be able to run your sound through an EQ to check for balance between high, mids, and lows. Just a thought
How much time do u wait for the steam that u've injected into the wood to evaporate, before you begin working on the finish repair? Could waiting for the water to evaporate before attempting the finish repair help us out more? So that the raised portion may settle back down some, giving us a better outcome overall?
This was really informative. One question. This was done on a nitrocellulose finish. Would you use the same technique for a UV-Cured finish on a Taylor guitar, or does that finish need to be handled differently?
Nice repair... looks new to me...✈️✈️
Thanks for this great content!💜 can you make a Video where you Show how to Do this on a Satin finish?
Incredible !
Thanks!
Thanks guys.
Great job! I don't think it could be better than this. You did all the best techniques for this kind of work.
I'm missing better close up shots, maybe it is time for a real macro lens. Maybe a 100mm cause you don't need to be so close to the work to get the shots.
I have a "toy" (mini) iron that is perfect for this. I don't know where you buy one like it, but it's worth having. It's electric but I don't think it gets as hot as a full size iron.
I think it turned out perfect. It's almost invisible, in fact if you weren't looking for it you probably wouldn't notice it. But there is enough there to, (as it was stated in the video,) "Add to the patina".
Can you show how you made your go bar style base with the radius sometime please? How do you even calculate the distance the centre needs to be lower than the edge?
I know that if I bought my wife the gift of a new iron because I love her so much, I'd probably end up with it somewhere unmentionable! It's kind of like implying that she enjoys ironing, or that she needs to spend more time doing it. Great video though!
😂
I hear ya on that one ,my wife think the same
Would the same thing work on the Rosewood side I have a very similar Nick I have a Recorder King solid wood triple O
This is awesome. I got a couple of those latch bites on my acoustics but I never really cared much to mess with them. I see it as part of the guitars life and history and they really have no impact other than the look. But knowing how to fix them is cool.
agree, I just say every ding tells a story.
Yeah, I have four pretty big dings in my soundboard. This video is very interesting and valuable. For me, I'm now sure that I will either do nothing or bring it to a pro for repair....most likely the former.
Agreed. Part of a story
if its a shellac finish sometimes on spanish guitars, its super easy to fix as well. Similar process to laquer, just not toxic as all hell and not strong, sadly. Also you can buy small irons made for this function. like a 2 inch iron, makes it easier to maneuver.
Good job! Did you play that bad boy afterwards!?
I'm not a guitar tech, but I did put a small ding in the top of my really nice Martin. I wonder if the ding can be pulled out with a tiny but strong tiny suction device after first softening it with steam. If I find pieces of a guitar top to play with, I'll give it a try. My guitar tech already used steam to pull out another ding and it worked OK but not perfect. I'd rather leave the ding As Is than do the process described in this video.
Nice work. New sub here.
Very scary process but result is much better that was I was afraid of
Will this work on my Les Paul? It's flawless except 2 spots where my kids knocked a picture frame into it leaving 1 tiny divot and one where it actually cracked the finish about a rice grain in size
Can you do that too in a long crack nitrocellulose finish in the guitar top
Im trying to fix some chips in my epiphone acoustic guitar ive looked it up they say its a polyurethane finish ..... but when i went to get some .... there is oil base and water base ...... i dont know which one to get could you help me with which one it is thanks
I did some work on a guitar recently. I’m a do it yourself we. The damage was really old and on the guitar when I bought it. It had gone down to the wood and similar size to the ding in your video.
I fixed the ding perfectly but it seems as though the glue is going to discolor the area darkening it. Would this be normal if there was wood fiber damage beneath the ding. It looked like there was.
Should I mix some color in the super glue or keep it crystal after I recover the dent? (But the dent is not that even and still some pit there.)
This reminds me a lot of car paint & clearcoat repairs. Nearly identical processes.
Nice job man! STOPBITINGYOURNAILS!!
Chris, about how long are you spending on each grit when you're level sanding? I never know if I'm sanding too much or too little...been victim of both 🙁
Any tips on Taylor satin finish?
I have a nasty batch of pick dents around the top of my sound hole from a pretty enthusiastic strum session, would the steam treatment be enough to lift those up?
Question to all. Would a 2021 Martin GPC-16e American made cutaway acoustic have nitrocellulose lacquer? I am reading some forums that say yes, but not completely definitive. What say everyone here? I have a bookmatch separation in the top finish only. There's no crack actually, according to two guitar shops.
Nice job. Drop fill repairs are very rarely completely invisible.
You mentioned that this works best shortly after the dent. Would it still work on a similar dent (finish dent only) were the dent 15 or so years old?
@DriftwoodGuitars what’s your thoughts on Martin’s bindings? I see that this D35’s binding has been changed to maple.
Could a straight steamer work? Seems that it would work a bit better.
I think I did the same thing on my Martin with the case. It’s not as noticeable as this ding… but it was upsetting cuz the case doesn’t stay up as well
Those Evil Case bites.....
Thumbs up Chris & Matt
What kind of Martin is that with flame maple on the edge of the body?
To see the results, go to 34:25. Pretty good job, man. A clever and clean job. I do it almost the same way :-) Thank you for the video.
Will this work on a guitar with a satin/matte finish?