Guitar scratch remover?

ET-Phone-Home

Hey guys, I need to pick your brains for a minute as I've been trying to find an answer on google for hours now but to no avail.

I've got a Ibanez Pro540 Radius, which if I'm not mistaken was built in 1987. As this is quiet a old guitar she has a few (ok a lot) scratches which are pretty deep
and quiet a lot of buckle rash at the back (thankfully not too deep). Now normally I wouldn't mind scratches as they add character to the guitar but these scratches seem to be made
with a sharp item like a knife or something rather than just normal wear and tear ??? >☹ Like someone was trying to make it into a Nemo or something ? >☹

The paint is black with a red finish going around the contours of the body, like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ibanez-1987-Pro540-Radius-Body-Excellent-shape-540R-/160630305866?_trksid=p4340.m185&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC.OPJS%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUA%26otn%3D5%26pmod%3D150640789092%26ps%3D63

I just need to know if there is anyway of sealing the scratches without having to strip and re-paint it,
which will cost just over 4 grand ??? ??? as I got quoted today.

I thought of maybe stripping the paint myself and just leaving the guitar in it's bare wood state and just stain it, as I love to see the natural
grain of the wood on a guitar, but then realized that the body is basswood and as basswood has very little to no grain I'm not sure if this
will look ugly?? I also want to re-do all the wiring and replace the pickups so I really can't afford a re-spray at the moment.

ParadoximA

I've been quoted half that for a strip, sand and repaint before, but that price could be unique to your guitar (and my price could have been unique to mine...). Get hold of Andries from the Fretshop, http://www.thefretshop.co.za/ , I've seen his two most recent custom guitars and the paint jobs are amazing. I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules by naming him in particular - apologies if I have.

slyd

Also . . . talk to Neon Ghecko, their business is "finishes", besides axe-building :?

nicovlogg

If you want to fix a scratch yourself, clean it up with acetone, then drop fill some superglue on it. Once hard, you can wet sand it down and polish it. That should fix pretty much any sort of minor blemish (only on polyurethane though)

singemonkey

Arjun told us about some magic mojo juice to make guitars look like new. If his Sterling is anything to go by, it works.

AlanRatcliffe

Depending on how deep the scratches are, normal polishing compounds can work wonders. Even with deeper scratches, they will at the very least smooth the edges and make them "softer".

ET-Phone-Home

Hey guys, thanks for the all the info so far, and for doing it so quickly as well ?

@ ParadoximA: Thanks man, just sent him a PM now, maybe he can help me out. Glad that he is in ~~Kempton Park~~ Benoni because I work in Glen Marais so it's not too far. ?

@ slyd: If all else fails I'll definitely give this a try, Thanks man ?

@ nicovlogg: Magic Mojo Juice? I'll PM him quickly and see what that stuff is or where I can buy it.

@ Alan Ratcliffe: Thanks Alan, could you maybe recommend a polishing compound for me?

arjunmenon

Hey there,

Further to what Singe mentioned, i used the Meguair's Scratch X 2.0 on both my guitars and it works well for minor scratches (a la pick scratches etc.)
It doesn't work for major dings, where you've actually gone through the finish.

ParadoximA

ET Phone Home wrote: @ ParadoximA: Thanks man, just sent him a PM now, maybe he can help me out. Glad that he is in ~~Kempton Park~~ Benoni because I work in Glen Marais so it's not too far. ?

Woah hold on - Andries's shop is in Faerie Glen Pretoria, and I don't think he's on guitar forum, so you've PMed someone else! Seems you have even more options than you thought you had ?

ET-Phone-Home

Arjun Menon wrote: Hey there,

Further to what Singe mentioned, i used the Meguair's Scratch X 2.0 on both my guitars and it works well for minor scratches (a la pick scratches etc.)
It doesn't work for major dings, where you've actually gone through the finish.

Hey Arjun, thanks man. Will check that out as well. The scratches on my guitar are close to the wood as you can see some of the wood colour coming though
the cuts. But the actual damage itself is quiet narrow. It's almost like someone took the sharp point of a knife and dragged it though the paint. So it's not very
wide but it's pretty deep.

ET-Phone-Home

ParadoximA wrote:
ET Phone Home wrote: @ ParadoximA: Thanks man, just sent him a PM now, maybe he can help me out. Glad that he is in ~~Kempton Park~~ Benoni because I work in Glen Marais so it's not too far. ?
Woah hold on - Andries's shop is in Faerie Glen Pretoria, and I don't think he's on guitar forum, so you've PMed someone else! Seems you have even more options than you thought you had ?

Sorry man think I got the forum member names a little mixed up :-[ I meant Neon Ghecko's shop is in Benoni ? Ye it's good though, rather have more options than less ? Glad we have so
many knowledgeable members here who are willing to help out ? 8)

ET-Phone-Home

I will try post some pics of the damage when I can find some time, that would probably help a lot more than me trying to explain it ?

arjunmenon

ET Phone Home wrote:
Arjun Menon wrote: Hey there,

Further to what Singe mentioned, i used the Meguair's Scratch X 2.0 on both my guitars and it works well for minor scratches (a la pick scratches etc.)
It doesn't work for major dings, where you've actually gone through the finish.

Hey Arjun, thanks man. Will check that out as well. The scratches on my guitar are close to the wood as you can see some of the wood colour coming though
the cuts. But the actual damage itself is quiet narrow. It's almost like someone took the sharp point of a knife and dragged it though the paint. So it's not very
wide but it's pretty deep.

I don't think the Meguair's would work in this instance.

AlanRatcliffe

If the scratch is deep, then drop fill it with (good quality) superglue as nicovlogg suggested. Sand from 400 to 1000 grit waterpaper, then buff with medium and then fine polishing compounds (I have colortone, but any brand will do).

ET-Phone-Home

Hey guys, thanks again. I will definitely remember all this advice. Think I'm going to buy an el'cheapo guitar and scuff it up and try out all these techniques, just
to practice and see what works the best. Would love to do this kind of thing for a living but for now I'll just have to start practicing on my own and learning from you guys ?

So I took the guitar to Neon Gecko this morning ( what a awesome bloke ? to see if he could maybe just patch up the cuts in the paint but unfortunately most of the them
are close or down to the wood so he suggested we rather re-spray and start anew ?

So my old lady ? is going to be in his capable hands for the next few weeks. Now we just have to decide on the final paint scheme and then start, can't wait though ?
This being the first guitar I've had custom sprayed I'm super amped!