psp Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I recently piked up a Gibson Les Paul 2010 RO Custom Shop in black. Love the tone and love the sound. I had some questions about possible finish fixes on the guitar. There are a couple of scuff marks and what appears to be runs in the Nitro, but only one is raised. If this not a run, is it early phases of finish checking? I have seen these lines on a couple of other guitars and don't know if they can be polished out or not? Also, what is the best fix for the ding in the neck. In the past I have used super glue and sanded smooth, but I don't want to sand through the finish What is the best fix for these issues or should I just leave them alone? Pics...Pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I would take it to a pro for it that bothers you. Super Glue your guitar. Well its yours, I wouldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I would leave all that alone. IMO, that finished has aged and worn to the point that blending in any touch up work is going to be difficult. It almost seems like it would need a whole refinish. Although maybe just a good buffing and re-shoot with clear?? Dunno. All of that would be labor intensive and costly. Super glue is a valid method for small chips and dings but it looks like you have more than that going on there. Just think of it this way, you have some Tom Murphy type aging there and you got it for free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psp Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 5 minutes ago, Black Dog said: I would leave all that alone. IMO, that finished has aged and worn to the point that blending in any touch up work is going to be difficult. It almost seems like it would need a whole refinish. Although maybe just a good buffing and re-shoot with clear?? Dunno. All of that would be labor intensive and costly. Super glue is a valid method for small chips and dings but it looks like you have more than that going on there. Just think of it this way, you have some Tom Murphy type aging there and you got it for free! Well, I bought the guitar to play rather than just hang on the wall. I don't have much experience with nitro finishes so I wasn't sure if I should even touch it. I have read some polish compound used sparingly will get out some fine scratches but I think the larger stuff I will just leave alone 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 3 minutes ago, psp said: ...I don't have much experience with nitro finishes so I wasn't sure if I should even touch it... There you go right there. I'm not very good at finish work either so I try to stay away from it. If you don't know what you're doing it's easy to screw things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psp Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 4 minutes ago, Black Dog said: There you go right there. I'm not very good at finish work either so I try to stay away from it. If you don't know what you're doing it's easy to screw things up. Isn't that the truth...a simple drop fill becomes a compete refinish in no time at all haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 No harm in trying some Virtuoso Cleaner, then polish - it won't damage anything and might get rid of some of the minor scratches. Ebony finishes are tricky because they will show even the slightest imperfection. When buffing out a deeper scratch what really needs to happen is that you move the nitro finish, and past that you move the paint underneath to fill the scratch. That is tricky and as mentioned above I wouldn't attempt it, probably end up worse than what you have now. Enjoy playing it and know that if you bang up against a cymbal or something it won't be the first ding 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 I agree with everyone who's replied, especially the super glue fix, point of no return is instantaneous, unless you are sure you know what you're doing. your best bet it try and minimize it by buffing down some of the effected areas. but I don't think you'll remove it entirely. I've had some good luck with this stuff: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Yeah, superglue will instantaneously eat the nitro finish. You won't be able to buff out those scratches without grinding away enough finish to physically blend in the high and low spots and it'll leave it scuffed. The best thing to do is probably nothing, other than normal cleaning. Just my opinion, being a little lazy about that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 yea,, true all dat. the only thing that super glue used in a drop/fill situation is on a hard poly type finish, Taylor guitars come to mind. UV Cured poly, very hard.. NOT lacquer. Where all Gibson's are nitro, it's a soft maerial, superglue will be a very bad idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 I've never personally used super glue on a nitro finish, only poly. But, I was talking with a Gibson Repair and Restoration person named Todd a while back and he suggested using it saying that they use it for chips and dings on Gibson nitro finishes. Gluboost has an awesome line of products specifically for guitar finishes including Nitro. https://gluboost.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 that is interesting stuff, thx for the link BD.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psp Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 Yes GluBoost is a great product. I didn't realize that they have products for nitrocellulose finishes. I will take a deeper look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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