I dinged my rib... Not horrible, but I notice chipping..

[davidw72]

Hi guys, I looked for a few minutes for a similar topic so I wouldn't waste your time, but I couldn't find an exact match..

My bass nicked my amp and the rib got chipped.. It's only about an inch long and it didn't puncture the bass or anything, but I'm noticing that little shreds of wood are appearing in my case every now and then from things rubbing against the 'exposed' wood.

I was wondering if there was a proper way to seal it or protect it somehow, so that it doesn't get deeper. It doesn't have to look perfect, I just want to stop the damage. Would this be difficult to fix?

Thank you

-David (L.A., California)

[sound of bass]

Pics.?

[davidw72]

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. it's a small sliver.. but i'll post pics so you can see

[visa]

happened to the bottom of my bass, i covered it with black tape and nobody can really see it. plus it doesn't splinter or anything anymore

[SBassman]

Pics would definitely help. Does the area need paint, too?

If it doesn't, I'd probably just seal off the area neatly with tape, and use some wipe-on finish. [at least a few coats worth]

[davidw72]

the pictures:









I'd like to stay away from using black tape or duct tape or something.. it doesn't have to look gorgeous.. mainly I want to stop it from chipping more than it already has, but I don't really like the idea of nasty sticky duct tape on there. Thanks for your tips guys, I appreciate it.

[SBassman]

I'm not a repair expert, but again, my two cents would be:

- Mask off the area with masking tape

- Lightly sand it just a bit to smooth it out - first coarse, then fine

- Up to you - but, consider getting a Minwax stain finish that matches. Even if it's not the exact color, I imagine it will look better than the raw white wood. Wipe that in. Let dry.

- Then several coats of wipe-on poly.

All of that stuff you can get at a home store - Home Depot, Lowes.

Let us know what you do and how it goes.

[Matthew Tucker]

if you sand it you will make a mess.

better to use tape over it until you can get it to a luthier for a proper fix.

A proper fix would involve cutting out the damage along the grain lines down to the purfling. then gluing in a matching piece of wood. Then cut it flush, sand and revarnish the area.

[davidw72]

Thanks a bunch for your advice guys.. when you're saying to cover it with tape, exactly what type of tape are you talking about?

Thanks,
david

[Matthew Tucker]

low-tack masking tape, or electrician's tape, or something you can remove later without pulling off the varnish. ordinary masking tape will harden after a week or so and gets hard to remove. If it looks nasty that's good, cos it will make you want to get it fixed!