I have just discovered a chip on my American Vintage '52. The wood is exposed as a result. I am aware that this particular guitar is finished in the vintage method. Should i be worried, will I get it repaired, will it cause further damage?

Thanks in advance for any input

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Fender DG8
Fender MIM Sunburst Telecaster.
Fender American Vintage'52 Reissue Telecaster
Fender Frontman 212R
Fender Mini Twin
Fender Super Champ XD
Fender Champion 600

Hi Paulie: ouch.

If you don't like the "relic" look, then that's going to be a problem. You're Am Vintage guitar will be finished in nitrocellulose - but that isn't really the issue. Matching paint colors is fiendishly difficult, even if you have the original batch of paint to hand.

Paint changes color subtly as it cures: for example, I was finishing a guitar in nitro, thought I'd done and left it for a few weeks to dry. Then, when passing through a doorway with it on the way to buff it I banged it on a handle and put a minor dent in the paint. "No problem," I thought, since I still had some of the same lacquer to hand. I did a little touch up repair - which just didn't match, even though it was the self-same tin of paint.

In the end I just sprayed another coat of lacquer over the entire body and settled down to wait another month for that to dry.

If you have a Natural or Black finish then the issue is addressable. And clever people can sometimes achieve small miracles with transparent finishes. Anything else, it's very unlikely to be possible to do an invisible repair. Though it depends on the exact nature of the ding. Care to show us pictures, so's we can have a better idea?

In the meantime: everyone else is going to tell you to regard it as "mojo", and frankly that is your best course.

Learn to love your dings...

Cheers - C

Thanks for the response.

Its a honey blonde finish. Its on the underside of the guitar, so I guess its not that noticeable. But i am worried that it may get bigger on account of the seal being broken.

(p.s., unable to sent photos at present)

_________________
Fender DG8
Fender MIM Sunburst Telecaster.
Fender American Vintage'52 Reissue Telecaster
Fender Frontman 212R
Fender Mini Twin
Fender Super Champ XD
Fender Champion 600

Well, well. Honey Blonde is a finish that a brave luthier might just consider trying to fix. That's because with a semi-transparent finish you can dribble tiny drops of tint into the clear lacquer while it's liquid till it looks more or less right. If, once it has dried, it doesn't look dark enough or quite the right hue you can try again with another coat over the top, which is modifying the first try rather than covering it up. You clearcoat over the top to finish when you've got it as close as possible.

Have a look at this page for approximately how it might be done:

http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/ts0 ... &clk=64873

That stuff is just about achievable with semi-transparent finishes, where there is no chance of pulling it off on a solid finish.

It needs to be emphasised, that's a skillful job and I wouldn't trust it to anyone without being very sure of their abilities. I'm sure there are such people in Ireland (of course there are) but I have no idea who they might be.

Give Avalon Guitars a ring and ask if they have a very expert finisher who could help you, maybe? And be prepared to pay...

On the brighter side, if you don't want to try having it fixed, your nitrocellulose has less tendancy to flake than some finishes. (Without seeing it) there may be a fair chance that the damage won't get worse.

Cheers - C

Thanks

_________________
Fender DG8
Fender MIM Sunburst Telecaster.
Fender American Vintage'52 Reissue Telecaster
Fender Frontman 212R
Fender Mini Twin
Fender Super Champ XD
Fender Champion 600