Dings/ nicks...

[bass_snake]

Hola folks,

Just wondering if you guys use anything to protect the dings on your basses. I know that they' re beautiful and adds personality to your bass. But I just don' t want them to get big. What do you guys put on it if there' s any.

thanks,

Fred

[tstone]

Well, first of all, I try to be careful, and I have leather bumpers on the treble side. But you know how it is, every once in a while a door swings shut on you or something...

So I bought a few 2 oz. bottles of tinted oil varnish from International Violin and mixed up a color that closely matches my bass. Whenever I get an oops that shows any bare wood, I touch it up with an artist's brush. Doesn't make them disappear, but at least they don't jump out at you. Of course I'm talking about small nicks and chips, not large areas of missing finish.

[Matthew Tucker]

not all dings are beautiful!

On a ply edge like that I'd soak a bit of hide glue into the ding to make sure it's sealed then sand it a little before retouching.

if you're retouching scratches or dents or chips it usually looks better if you use a darker shade very sparingly. sometimes a texta pen can be a good colour match followed by a bit of shellac rubbed in.

[bass_snake]

Thanks guys. Would it get worse if I didn't do anything about it?

[Matthew Tucker]

That edge will catch on carpet and eventually pull chips off the edge. The bare neck will be fine.

[bass_snake]

Thanks y'all for the input. Really appreciate it!

Fred