broken body

[Peg_legs]

My beloved Spector was unfortunately in the way when drunk leprechauns knocked over a stack of PA speakers and split the body all the way through. The two pieces are still together with enough room to squeeze in some tightbond. So here's the question.. should I split it all the way apart so that the glue can cover all surfaces, or leave it together and use a syringe to get the glue in and clamp it? It has a clear finish over curly maple which is cracked and will be removed. my plan is to dye it and some sort of oil finish. thoughts?
Should also mention that the 2 cracks do not connect. pics below

[gbarcus]

Originally Posted by Peg_legs

Should also mention that the 2 cracks do not connect. pics below

Do they come together if you squeeze it back together with clamps?
Also, don't pull it apart, you'll never get it back together correctly.

[Peg_legs]

they come together with a lot of force. I'm really hoping it can be saved

[gbarcus]

Personally, I would get as much glue in there as possible, clamp it up and hope for the best.
In my own experience, redoing a factory finish such as this one can be very frustrating. That coating is thick and very hard. You may get halfway into it and start regretting you started.
If I were you, I would fill in the chipped areas with some thick CA glue once it is glued back together. This way if filling in the chipped areas all to pot, then you are no better off than you were with your original plan to pull the finish.
On trick is to take a razor blade and run it at a very low angle to remove the excess CA glue that is protruding from the repaired area. Also, don't use an activator, as you could get bubbles in areas where you need to add a lot of CA glue.

[Peg_legs]

thanks for the help!
Would you use CA glue or tightbond to glue the body back together? The pictures don't show how bad the finish is. Most of the finish is cracked all around the body. I was planning on dyeing it to hide the breaks as much as possible.

[gbarcus]

I would use Titebond to glue it back together. CA glue has a very short open time and could harden before you get a chance to get it all in and clamped.

[Peg_legs]

Thank you for taking the time to help me!
It's glued and clamped now

[Beej]

Peg, dyeing that body after it's glued will likely only succeed in really emphasizing the repaired cracks. I'd try to repair the finish in your shoes. If it's just a clearcoat, you can scuff sand the whole thing after it's glued and re-clear it with several coats before wetsanding and buffing. Probably will hide it better than a dye or stain job, especially if you were planning on applying the dye/stain directly to the bass.

If you're planning on suspending the dye in a clearcoat, then disregard my advice above, that would probably do it...

[Cy_Miles]

you can mix a little water into the titebond to thin it just a little so it will wick into the crack better.

build some padded cauls that fit the body so you can apply as much clamping pressure as you can w/o damaging the body.

[Peg_legs]

Thank you all for the help.