Fix scratches and dents on the body

[Stefano]

Hi to everybody,

I need your help in order to solve a little dude that I have. I have stripped all the body of my strato and unfortunatly I've discovered that the scratches and dents that were visible on the paint are deep and affected the bare wood. So... my question: how can I fix that? Is it sufficient to cover them with the prepared for the wood (I don't know how to say that in english... but it's something that you need to use before the paint) and paint? Or is it better to sand them before? Which product may I use in order to cover them?

Thank you!

Stefano

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

If the paint you plan to use is opaque (non see through), you can fill the dents with either with a wood dust and wood glue paste, CA glue or wood putty. Let dry overnight and sand. A wipe of shellac or two over the repaired areas may help to avoid any weird reaction of the first coats.

If your finish is transparent, then you need to sand the dents, because any repair will show up through the finish.

[Mark McLean]

Have you tried steaming the dents out?  If it is a defect where the wood fibres are intact but compressed they are likely to jump back up again with steam and heat.  Place a wet cloth over the dent and then apply heat and mild pressure over the cloth for about 20 seconds (use a soldering iron, or a clothes iron).  You can reaply the heat numerous times times if needed, just don't let it dry out and burn.  It is amazing how quickly a dent will disappear sometimes with this method.  But if the wood material is actually missing (e.g. a gouge rather than a dent) you are going to need to fill it. 

As usual, Mr Ford has a great little lesson on this at Frets.com

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Finish/SteamOut/s...

[Greg Mirken]

Fender often used Bondo.