Getting rid of dings in the back of the neck?

[phxlbrmpf]

My defretted Ibanez ATK has a whole load of slight dings in the back of the neck which makes playing it not that fun and I was wondering if there's a way to get rid of those. Should I try sanding the neck down and what should I use to do this? Also, what should I use to refinish the neck afterwards? Loads of thanks in advance.

[purfektstranger]

I say if they bug you then fix em. My brother is the technically minded one in the family and came up with a good sollution for my neck dings. He used 1000 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded them out. Feels great and no more dings. I think if the dings aren't too deep then it's an easy fix.

[phxlbrmpf]

Sounds like a plan, so if I use sandpaper, I won't have to refinish the neck?

[purfektstranger]

I didn't and to be honest with you, the neck felt a whole lot faster. Don't go crazy on the sanding and shape a swatch of sand paper to the neck so it sands evenly.

[Bassic83]

You absolutely should put something on the bare wood. Doesn't have to be an inch-and-a-half-thick layer of polyester or lacquer, a single coat of clear satin, or even tung oil should be fine. If you don't coat it, the wood will be able to absorb moisture from the air (bad thing!).

[LM Bass]

A good repairman (or repairwoman) can get lots of those dings out by steaming the wood. Not something you want to try at home, but in my opinion, the results are much better than just sanding it out.
LM

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by LM Bass

A good repairman (or repairwoman) can get lots of those dings out by steaming the wood. Not something you want to try at home, but in my opinion, the results are much better than just sanding it out.
LM

That's what I was thinking too. It is so simple that anyone can do it at home.

Steal someones steam iron. Set it so it barely sizzles when you drop water on it. Wet a terry towel and put about 2 thicknesses over the dent. just touch the pointed end over the dent untill it sizzles and give it about a minute between repeats. If the grain isn't broken in the depression, most if not all will pop back out. Just don't ever let the cloth get dry.

Give a dig through the search and I'll bet somebody has posted the process so it's easier to see.

[blipndub]

before all of that I would experiment with drops of water in the wood and see if the wood swells up enought to fix the dings. that might only be a short-term fix.

[PB+J]

The steam thing really works, and it's not a short term fix. It works if the wood fibers are compressed, not if they're cut or broken. You can put a drop of water in the dent, then touch it with a hot soldering iron till it steams away. it really works

Geez, don't take sand paper to it! If the steam method doesn't work, just take some crazy glue and patiently and carefully and slowly drop fill the dents. level it with some fine sandpaper when they're filled

[blipndub]

low viscocity CA glue and very very carefully.

[HeavyDuty]

How to steam a dent: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luth...steamout1.html.

He also has pages on how to drop fill (using lacquer, but the concept's the same) and other fixes.

[BuffaloBass]

Use a solidering iron and cotton cloth. Saturate the cloth with water, and press it down on the dent with the tip of the solidering iron. It works, but it depends on the finish porosity. To wit, its an old gunsmith's technique and it work's SUPER well on oil finishes ( very porous ), but not so much on poly as the neck on one of my T40's. Raised them up though.

I finsihed with some 1500/2000 wet/dry sandpaper from an automotive supply place. Crocus cloth would be OK and not cut through the finish entirely.

Its the steam action that does it, so I wonder if chipping a small pice of finsih off the ding would help the steam enter the "wound".. try it and see.

If you sanded the poly finish off the neck for speed, they would totaly pop out. stem works well for those ding/chips around the headstock. again, the finish is chipped, so the steam can swell the wood fibers back easily.

HPH.

Peace. Out.

[guy n. cognito]

I used to work in an unfinished furniture store. To remove dents in wood, we would wet the dent, and then dry it slowly with a hair dryer, being careful not to scortch the wood. Sometimes it would take several applications, but the fix was permanent. A little sanding after raising the grain made the dent dissapear.

[el_Kabong]

Originally Posted by blipndub

low viscocity CA glue and very very carefully.

CA glue = super glue?? I've fixed a couple of neck dents with super glue. Take your time and it's a good repair. No refinishing required, no accidental burns/scorches.

[pkr2]

Absolutely no doubt that a soldering iron will work but I prefer a regular laundry iron because its lower temperature is much less likely to damage the finish.

If the finish develops a "blush", or whitening of the finish, it will usually disappear when everything cools down and dries out. If it doesn't completely go away a little polish will completely clear it up.

[SteveMcB]

When I defretted my atk 300 I sanded the back of the neck as well as the fingerboard because of the same issue - didn't have to take off much, and then I used the same polyurethane I finished the fingerboard with. Worked well.

Steve

[Mingus Addict]

Resurecting this old thred to ask if any of these tips apply to an unfinished neck... I have a Warwick with an unfinished ovangkol neck. Can I use the steam repair? I'm not worried about cosmetics nearly as much as feel.

[HeavyDuty]

Steaming should work even better without a finish!

[Bass_masta16]

Use a hammer and for your finish use some duct tape!

But on a serious note;

The sandpaper should work just fine