Nitro dings

[air_leech]

I did a search and only found out threads about touching up dings in Poly with nail polish but none about doing the same practice with Nitro.
would this work with Nitro too or will it dissolve the Nitro because of the acetone in the nail polish?

[202dy]

Most nail polish is nitrocellulose lacquer. If a matching color can be found it is the perfect remedy. Nitro is unique in that top coats melt into the preceding coats. It makes the finish essentially one coat. The problem is that nail polish is relatively thin. It does not drop fill quickly. It can take days to build up enough material that can be cut down to match the surrounding level. A good trick is to leave the the lid off the container for a few days. This allows some of the thinner to evaporate. The resulting mix is thicker and can be dropped into the ding with out significant flow out. Cure time can be as long as a month. Your patience will be rewarded by a significantly harder finish and ease of working. Once the fill has cured, grind it down and rub out as usual.

[knuckle_head]

Letting Nitro thicken is a decent idea - but don't do that to an entire can. If you are drop filling you are doing things single drops at a time and you won't need that much material.

Once your fills top out beyond the finish surface I'd suggest using a razor blade or a microscope glass slide and scraping down to flush (don't try to shave down to flush - use an angle that is nearly perpendicular to the surface you are leveling to).

I strongly suggest practicing this on something other than your bass first - getting the angle right never happens the first time.

[jrfrond]

Because nitro melts-in 100%, it is the easiest finish to repair. The fact that it IS repairable, most times invisibly, is why quality instruments are finished with it.

Nail polish, as mentioned, IS most nitro lacquer, but often blended with other ingredients that make them relatively soft even when cured, and getting a build will be difficult.

For small dings, I usually use medium or thick Super Glue, which, quite handily, will ALSO melt-in with nitro lacquer and cures MUCH quicker. For colors, you can mix Super Glue with dye powders and Japan colors.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by jrfrond

Because nitro melts-in 100%, it is the easiest finish to repair. The fact that it IS repairable, most times invisibly, is why quality instruments are finished with it.

Nail polish, as mentioned, IS most nitro lacquer, but often blended with other ingredients that make them relatively soft even when cured, and getting a build will be difficult.

For small dings, I usually use medium or thick Super Glue, which, quite handily, will ALSO melt-in with nitro lacquer and cures MUCH quicker. For colors, you can mix Super Glue with dye powders and Japan colors.

Good points.

Dye powders will harden solid when used with low viscosity, water thin CA glue. Thicker glue will accept the powder and cure a bit faster than it normally does.

[jrfrond]

Originally Posted by 202dy

Good points.

Dye powders will harden solid when used with low viscosity, water thin CA glue. Thicker glue will accept the powder and cure a bit faster than it normally does.

You're correct, and this is why the thin stuff is out of the question, because it can and does flash-cure when you add some substances to it. It's always good to test the combination first to make sure you don't end up with a mess on your hands. Nitro, on the other hand, just doesn't care.

If you are touching up metallics, a GREAT source is Dupli-Color auto touch-up paints. Many times, ESPECIALLY with Fender, metallics are scooped-up and renamed from stock auto lacquers. In the early Fender days, sometimes the names were left intact. Many times, you can get close enough for rock & roll. The unfortunate fact is that metallics are rarely invisibly repairable, even if you get the original lacquer from the manufacturer.

As long as we are on the subject, here is a site you'll want to scope out:

Konig North America Touch-Up and Repair Products

[202dy]

Killer resource. Highly recommended.

[jsbass]

Leave it there for the added mojo. Dings are good.

[air_leech]

Jsbass, dings are indeed cool mojo but not when they are on the back of the neck.

the dings are small so I'll go for Nail polish.
how much should I wait between layers?
how much time should be given to the polish to cure?
whats the best way to level the bumps in the polish? the japanese/xacto knife method? steel wool? sanding paper? keep in mind it's on the back side of a round neck.

[air_leech]

I took the plunge and applied nail polish to the dings and dents on the back of the neck.
I let it fully cure and then sanded with .400 grit sand paper and a touch of tap water over the area and the touch ups where sanded smooth.

the small dings are completely gone, I really cant find them at all now and the bigger ones are almost unnoticeable and will be completely removed in a second sanding session.

when all is finished some buffing with cloth and a touch of GHS oil will bring the shine back.

I'm even more impressed with nitrocelluloise now than before.
great stuff.

[Jerry J]

Originally Posted by air_leech

I took the plunge and applied nail polish to the dings and dents on the back of the neck.
I let it fully cure and then sanded with .400 grit sand paper and a touch of tap water over the area and the touch ups where sanded smooth.

the small dings are completely gone, I really cant find them at all now and the bigger ones are almost unnoticeable and will be completely removed in a second sanding session.

when all is finished some buffing with cloth and a touch of GHS oil will bring the shine back.

I'm even more impressed with nitrocelluloise now than before.
great stuff.

I've got a few bumps on the back of my F Bass neck which is nitro. I'll give this a try. What is GHS oil?

[air_leech]

GHS Fast Fret.
basically a string/fingerboard/fret oil but seems to have a slight polishing effect when rubbed onto the nitro finish IME.

[Jerry J]

Originally Posted by air_leech

GHS Fast Fret.
basically a string/fingerboard/fret oil but seems to have a slight polishing effect when rubbed onto the nitro finish IME.

Thank you! I've seen it before but have never used it. I'll check it out.

[air_leech]

on a second inspection the Fast Fret doesnt polish back to exactly the same level, under neon light in certain angles I can see the dull areas.
I guess to completely even the finish out one will have to use some sort of polishing product or just the old fashioned way of playing the hell out of the bass till the nitro is shiny again.

[202dy]

Originally Posted by air_leech

on a second inspection the Fast Fret doesnt polish back to exactly the same level, under neon light in certain angles I can see the dull areas.
I guess to completely even the finish out one will have to use some sort of polishing product or just the old fashioned way of playing the hell out of the bass till the nitro is shiny again.

That is because it is oil, not polishing compound. Oil has absolutely no effect on a lacquer finish. That is, unless you like the feel of stuff on the neck. The same feel can be had from eating pizza and neglecting to wash one's hands before taking the stage.

When it comes to rubbing out, 400 grit is pretty coarse stuff. The usual routine is to progress from 400 to 600 to 800 or 1000. From there, it is typical to go start using automotive rubbing compounds. Meguiars #2, followed by #9 and #7 respectively will bring the repaired areas to a high gloss. If a matte finish is desired, it is common to stop after 600 or 1000. Some use 0000 steel wool to degloss their necks.

[air_leech]

thanks 202dy.
frankly the dullness is purely cosmetic, I cant feel it when playing and it's hard to even see it.

while we're at it - I have a can of Fender Mist & Wipe Finish Enhancer by Meguiar's.
do you know if that stuff is suitable for use on Nitro?

[202dy]

Originally Posted by air_leech

thanks 202dy.
frankly the dullness is purely cosmetic, I cant feel it when playing and it's hard to even see it.

while we're at it - I have a can of Fender Mist & Wipe Finish Enhancer by Meguiar's.
do you know if that stuff is suitable for use on Nitro?

It will not harm anything. Try it. Without seeing the instrument it is impossible to comment on gloss potential. Judging from what you've said, there are a few steps in the middle before the match will be spot on. The caveat being that when employing abrasives, no matter how fine a grit, with enough rubbing you can burn through anything.