Finishing question

The Achilles' Heel of Luthiery
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smklassen0977
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:16 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Finishing question

Post by smklassen0977 »

I got a kit solid body bass guitar that I started putting together. Recently got the electronics working, leveled and dressed the frets, cut out the headstock, located and relocated the bridge a few times.. now I'm starting to think about finishing. Through the whole process I managed to put a few screw driver dimples in the body, a few old bridge screw holes, and other random tool marks.. I'm not too worried about it as I plan to put a solid color on the guitar body. Just wanted to make sure I used the right stuff to fill the mistakes.. I managed to get my hands on some grain filler too but I haven't tried applying it yet.. wanted to make sure I filled the holes and dents with something suitable as I've never used grain filler before. ...looking for recommendations..

Thanks!
Scott Klassen
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ruby@magpage.com
Posts: 1564
Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 8:03 am
Location: Chestertown Maryland

Re: Finishing question

Post by ruby@magpage.com »

First thing to try is a damp paper towel and a soldering iron on each dent. If they are truly dents that don't have severed fibers, they may expand back up to the proper level. There are many things you can fill dimples and holes with - thickened epoxy, Rock Hard Water Putty, superglue and sawdust, Titebond and sawdust. You may have to do a couple of applications to get it right. And if the wood doesn't have open grain, you don't need grain filler
Ed M
JLT
Posts: 296
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:13 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA USA

Re: Finishing question

Post by JLT »

Just out of curiosity, Scott, where did you get the bass kit from, and how much did it cost?

And once you've got it together and are playing it, let us know whether you're happy with the product or not.
smklassen0977
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 7:16 pm
Location: Cleveland, OH

Re: Finishing question

Post by smklassen0977 »

Thanks for the reply, Ruby.. I tired the glue + saw dust.. it filled okay. I'm looking for a product of sorts that'll do the trick.. I know I've used something to fill in chips from saw cuts on plywood..can't think of the name at the moment. I'll check out the rock hard water puty.


JLT - I got the kit for Christmas.. I think it was from ebay - ~$75. It was the perfect price to experiment on.. and if I screwed it up I wouldn't be too disappointed Here's a similar one that is a jazz bass clone. Same type of "quality" components (which aren't horrible) that I got in the p-bass kit: https://www.tomtop.com/p-i1135.html
I put it together unfinished so far and thought the pickups sounded pretty good.. I'm more of a jazz bass player and wanted a p-bass to mess with.. I did replace the pots and wiring because the ones they came with I pretty much destroyed when first soldering.. probably overheated a lot of the components and had a difficult time getting rid of the hum.. after putting in copper tape in the control cavity and behind the pickguard it removed the hum.
Scott Klassen
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