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!