Jackson DKMG with a huge ding in it

I have just got a second hand Jackson off eBay and I got it dead cheap cos it has a huge ding (well more like hole) in the body (~2 in along the edge below the PU selector). This wont effect tone or the way it pays however I am currently weighing up options to get rid of the offending ding.

I figure there are several options:

1) get a new body
2) fill the existing hole and try to match its color to the rest of the body
3) sand the ding out and try to match its color to the rest of the body
4) sand it out and repaint the whole body
5) sand the ding out and paint it a totally different color
6) pay some one to fix it

Any thoughts ?

Dude, I'm going to move these posts to a new thread as they have nothing to do with the hole in my new Jackson !

Hope you don't mind

S

It has gone here !

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10613

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonI have just got a second hand Jackson off eBay and I got it dead cheap cos it has a huge ding (well more like hole) in the body (~2 in along the edge below the PU selector). This wont effect tone or the way it pays however I am currently weighing up options to get rid of the offending ding.

I figure there are several options:

1) get a new body
2) fill the existing hole and try to match its color to the rest of the body
3) sand the ding out and try to match its color to the rest of the body
4) sand it out and repaint the whole body
5) sand the ding out and paint it a totally different color
6) pay some one to fix it

Any thoughts ?

IMHO:

Option 1 is too expensive to do this just for looks. Option 2 seems the best option. What I would do is get some good quality wood filler, fill that sucka until it's more than flush, then sand the whole body (removing the old finish). Then, it's time to buy some paint and some nitrocellulose and spend some quality time with your axe. Brushing on paint is fine, but picky people would probably want to spray it.

Paying someone to do the above is not a bad idea (depending on how much they'd charge, obviously) because painting a guitar is a very time consuming procedure and you might not want to bother. Also, the person you pay would do the finish exactly the way you'd want it, etc. However, home jobs have their charm and you wouldn't feel nearly as bad if you ended up dinging it again!

Ok so 1) what do I fill it with (brand names please) and
2) what sort of paint / varnish do I use ?

Can I use car paint from a spray can ?

Duct tape, the ol RedGreen answer to everything !

Well, your local hardware store ought to have a few different kinds of wood filler. The wood filler is applied with a putty knife (or any type of spreading utensil) and when it dries, it'll be nice and hard. (here's an example from stewmac)



Then, you'll want to get yourself some paint and some sandpaper (according to my link below, you'll need 220 grit to prepare the wood surface, and 800 grit wet sanding sandpaper for the final finish) from that same store or a paint store.

And, I don't see why a car paint sprayer wouldn't work; actually, it'd probably do just fine, since car finishes need very even coats. I'd ask at the paint shop/hardware store just to be sure, though.



Wicked... I just found a step-by-step description of the procedure from www.stewmac.com:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/I-NITROCELLULOSE.html

The description here is the more professional way than my ghetto way.

Ahhh good old setwmac,

cheers eggman !

I vote for the sand, fill, and refinish route. That way you can make the guitar any color you want.