lacquer burn in

[Madison]

Anybody tried or know about this?
I have a LP type guitar with a good sized chip (maybe 1/2" wide).
I think I want to give it a shot.
I get the concept of the melt.
Just wondering if a soldering iron can be used and at what watt?
Plus sanding back down again?
Thanks in advance.
Peace.

[FYL]

Don't. Unless you fancy relic'ed wrecks.

What finish has been used? PU, polyester, nitro, other?

[Madison]

Have you done this?

I am not sure of the finish type.
I suppose a spray touch up after filling would be in order.

[G._Hoffman]

Burning in lacquer is not the right way to do it. 

What kind of guitar is it?  More to the point, what kind of finish is it?  If its a lacquer finish, the way to do it is to soften the finish around it, and add new finish.  You soften the finish with a solvent called Buetyl Cellosolve.  It's one of the common solvents in nitrocellulose lacquer, and the primary reducer for slowing the dry time and improving flow-out, but it is also good at softening hardened finish.  (Not surprising, as it is the usual solvent used to dissolve the resins in the first place.)

If you decide to use burn in shellac sticks (which is what those things are made of - shellac, also known as bug sweat!), the normal way of using them is with a heated knife or iron.  They are kind of a pain.  I use them to fill in under the fret ends sometimes, and I just use a little pallet knife that I heat with a propane torch.


Gabriel

[Madison]

Hi G.
Thanks for the input.
It's an 80s MIJ LP Custom "Black Beauty" copy.The finish is really thick.(sorry, I really need a good book about this subject to be specific in terminology).
I don't own the guitar, yet. Just thinking it over, if I can handle the job.
The chip is down to the bare wood.
I am guessing the chipped out area is about 1/2" in diameter.
So if it's sticks like these, burn in and sand down?
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Repair_and_touchup/Lacquer_Sticks.html
Do they spray nitro, lacquer, or something over the top after?
Too many questions come to mind here.

[FYL]

Get the guitar first, check what kind of finish has been used. If it's "really thick" it's probably polyester.

[G._Hoffman]

With a Japanese made guitar from the `80's, there is no good way to touch up the finish.  If it's black, probably the best thing to do - and it won't look great - is to color it with a sharpie (that will look fine - once you get finish over it the sharpie is a great black!), and then lay in thin coats of cyanoacrylate (super glue) to level the finish.  If you feather the edges of the finish, it will look a lot better, but you will almost certainly have a witness line. 

Personally, unless it is on the neck where it will mess up the feel, I'd leave it alone.


Gabriel 

[Madison]

>>Personally, unless it is on the neck where it will mess up the feel, I'd leave it alone.

Unfortunately, that's where it is.
Right above the 7th fret next to the fret binding on the lower E side.
Couldn't ask for a worse place.
I'll probably just leave it be.

[G._Hoffman]

>>Personally, unless it is on the neck where it will mess up the feel, I'd leave it alone.

Unfortunately, that's where it is.
Right above the 7th fret next to the fret binding on the lower E side.
Couldn't ask for a worse place.
I'll probably just leave it be.

Well, in that case filling it up with cyanoacrylate and sanding/polishing everything nice and flush makes sense.  Going overboard on cosmetics doesn't, but making it feel right is pretty important.


Gabriel