Question on fixing stractched headstock?

[JoshuaJay]

I'm usually overly careful about bumping my guitar into things but today the inevitable happened.

The headstock scratched against a brick wall, I've got a picture of the damage here:

As you can see it's just in the corner and it's pretty minimal but I want to fix it, any simple solutions? They 'knicks' not scratches, they are deeper then just a scratch.

Any help appreciated.

 

[oldrockfan]

there are a few ways to fix it so I will just list a few that I know others have used. Some are not great but just a quick cheap fix while others will blend in and make it very hard to spot the damaged area.

1. get color chips from a guitar place like stew mac and do a drip fill on it. Instructions are online and it will be very hard to see after done correctly.
2. scuff the area and reshoot the nitro paint and clearccoat. Will look great but alot of work.
3. order a color matched guitar finish pen from a guitar shop and slowly fill the area in. Will look good if you take your time and fairly easy to do.
4. get some black nail polish and slowly fill in the damaged area using a toothpick. Will be hard to notice if done carefully in layers. I've used this method more than once and it turned out fine for my needs.
5. black sharpie to hide the nick. Will pass from a distance but still pretty easy to see if you are up close.
6. black crayon rubbed into the effected area. Little better than the sharpie method but still a marginal repair.

 

[Col Mustard]

Why not just live with it? This is how a guitar is supposed to look.
Maybe I'm an old warhorse or something, but all my instruments have
gotten scratched and worse. I confess, that if something scratched my
prized SG, I'd be upset, but I'd also prolly take it in stride. After all, my
SG isn't for sale. Not till they pry my dead cold hands off it. So my daughter
will get it, scratches and all, after I can't play it any more. She can sell it
or have its scratches lovingly rubbed out, or let her son play it (my preferred
option)... "Wow, my Grandpa's SG! it sustains forever and sounds so cool..."
he won't mind a little belt buckle damage, or a nick from an obsessed fan
or a little lipstick on the headstock... *grins.

but these are great ideas for fixing it too, Thanks ORF!

 

[Tantrum]

It sucks but I would probably just roll with it if I was gonna keep it. Fix it if you like but if you play out the knick will probably have friends sooner or later.

 

[dbb]

[quote author=Col Mustard link=topic=20666.msg248900#msg248900 date=1274552749]
Why not just live with it? This is how a guitar is supposed to look.
Maybe I'm an old warhorse or something, but all my instruments have
gotten scratched and worse......

but these are great ideas for fixing it too, Thanks ORF!
[/quote]

I'm with the Col. - just let it go. I try to take great care of my guitars but after years of gigging they do get a few scars from use.

Hell, people pay extra for Fender to artificially wear the "Road Worn" series of guitars.

 

[AxRab]

Gives it charactor, now its broken in!

People pay alot of money to have that look............

Custom shops are making $$$$$ hand over foot with that look, now you know their secrets!

Remember the ripped up Levi craze of the 80's...... People were paying out their nostrils for em just like they are for guitars now days.

Play it and look at it like a badge of honor!!!

 

[Blackie]

..........A brick wall ?.........yeah that is a rough hard surface.
Why normally I use that to file down a shank.....is not good for the headstock of a guitar........you should be more carefull !

 

[Pearly Gator]

ORF has it right.

Nitro is hard to find in a lot of states. The secret is to go to a place that sells nail polish. (I take the wife with me to prevent odd looks.) Read the ingredients on the bottles and get the ones made with nitrocellulose. You can get many colors and even mix up custom shades.

Nitro is very flammable. Use due caution.

 

[sneakerpimp]

yeah, i would just touch it up a bit to make it less noticeable, add 'finishing'... and live with it.

 

[Mayfly]

I cosmetically damaged a beautiful Standard just !! one week !! after buying it new during a careless installation of straplocks :BangHead:
Of course, I was mad with myself for weeks afterwards and even tried to fool myself the guitar would never be the same again.
...but I still haven't done anything about it, and of course the guitar is *more* than it was, aging beautifully. These things are to be played IMO and not babied. So get upset, but let the instrument roll with the punches. Beauty is more than skin deep.

Interestingly I had a 150-year-old violin restored last year. The experts left playing scars on one outer edge of the body (they did a superb job on scratches elsewhere on the instrument) because it "added character".

 

[MKB]

+1 on leaving it as it is. If you are going to play the heck out of it in front of an audience, it's going to get dinged again. Maybe fix it though if you are keeping it as an investment and don't intend to play it very much (in order to maximize the resale value). The first day I played out with my like new ES-333, our sax player whirled around and took a gouge out of the Gibson logo on the headstock with his horn. I wanted to kill him. But since then it has gotten many more road scars along with the fret wear. It's my guitar now as I know where every dent and scratch came from.

I once had a sparkling new J-200, bought the first year that Gibson ran the Bozeman plant, that had to be 1999 or 2000 or thereabouts. It was this perfect vision of curly maple, but it was so nice and beautiful I couldn't bear to play it, so I sold it. I have regretted it ever since. If it was used with a few dings, I would have kept it and played the fool out of it, it would sound great with 20 years of playing on it now. I have since stopped getting new guitars, and have learned to cherish the used beaters I get off ebay.

 

[dbb]

[quote author=MKB link=topic=20666.msg250369#msg250369 date=1279053033]
+1 on leaving it as it is. If you are going to play the heck out of it in front of an audience, it's going to get dinged again.
...I once had a sparkling new J-200...if it was used with a few dings, I would have kept it and played the fool out of it, it would sound great with 20 years of playing on it now. I have since stopped getting new guitars, and have learned to cherish the used beaters I get off ebay.
[/quote]

You said a mouthful!