CA dent repair

[Jerry Ryan]

I'm still learning.... I used tips from here on repairing small dings in a soundboard with superglue. I cleaned the dents with naptha, filled with layers of thin superglue, scraped it smooth with a razor blade, sanded with naptha using/ 800 then 1500 & 2500 paper and buffed it. Looked great, BUT there were white specks on the interior edges of the dents, now buried in the fill. What did I fail to do?

[Bob Webster]

The white specks probably arose from the CA kicking off too fast, in reaction to who-know-what in the dents. Did the top come in contact with water just before you filled with CA?

In any case, you may be able to clear it by contacting the fills with TINY amount of acetone or MEK applied directly to the fills. MEK might be the better bet because it it somewhat less volatile than acetone.

Best of luck,
Bob

[Jerry Ryan]

Bob:


No moisture at least in the 2 weeks I had it.
I'll get some MEK for the next time...which is sitting in the shop waiting. I sure have been adding a bunch of supplies to my evolving repair bench!

Thank you!

[FRANK]

not by much Bob as far as volatility between MEK and acetone

[Nick Anthony]

bob's right.... you also could have put too much ca glue on the fill at once....ultra thin coats is the key..as the ca kicks the bubbles caused by outgassing can get stuck in the ca causing bubbles and white spots. good rule of thumb is if it puddles it's too much and i mean puddles at all. it should be as thin as paper. also if you are using a pump bottle of kicker you might try using an airbrush or aresol can, they have a much more even atomization of the chemical and won't cause the ca to cure to quickly

[Jerry Ryan]

Nick,

Thanks for the tip, yes I did fill it full with a dome..... glad it wasn't my guitar! I have been learning on mine or salvage guitars I've bought. One dent had the lacquer finish in it still and the other was a gouge/scrape with raw wood showing. I did get a tip to put a coat on lacquer in the scrape before using CA for the fill. That worked, the color of the wood in the scratch and the original next to it matched.

Again, thanks for taking the time to advise a rookie.