Restoring heavy buckle rash and pick scratches

[noobstix]

I'm looking at picking up an rga121 which has some pretty bad wear from buckle rash and pick scratches etc but is going for a good price. If I do get the guitar I'm thinking of doing some work to maybe sand out the damage. What are your thoughts on tackling this?
Here is a pic of the worst area:

[mniel8195]

you will have to re sand it. if it was really light you could probably just use car polishing compound or old fashioned toothpaste

[anthonyferguson]

First thing you need to do is assess how invisible you want the repair to be. This involves finding out what the finish is. From the pic it looks like a regular clear coat sort of thing. When you're happy with what the finish is and you've bought appropriate amounts of it (maybe a good idea to do some tests on scraps of mahogany if you have the means) it looks like those scratches will disappear after an hour or so's sanding. Alternatively you could go the whole hog and use this as an excuse to refinish the thing!! Up to you man! The only issue, as I said, is getting the finish to match. Good luck!

[noobstix]

Thanks guys, are there any guides to sanding down a guitar? and what levels of grit should I use?
Also, are there any brands of oil or clear coat that people could recommend?

[anthonyferguson]

Start with 80, go to 120, then 240, and then something like 600 to finish it off is what I usually do. I tend to use Danish oil though, so just double check what sort of grit you need to get down to for a lacquer finish if that's what you're after.

[Wretched]

Ahh man, leave the back damage... wear it like a badge of honour! Just start adding your own ASAP.

[bob123]

Originally Posted by anthonyferguson

Start with 80, go to 120, then 240, and then something like 600 to finish it off is what I usually do. I tend to use Danish oil though, so just double check what sort of grit you need to get down to for a lacquer finish if that's what you're after.

Holy shit do NOT start with 80, 120, OR 240. Start with 400 at the most man. Clear coat restoration, not sanding through the clear!

[jordanky]

Unless that guitar has been previously refinished or something, there is no clear coat on the back of these guitars, just sealed natural mahogany. I've owned two of these and seen plenty of them otherwise and they have all been the same way.

If you want to get those deep scratches and gouges out, your best bet is either to get some color matching wood dust and work it into a filler with some type of epoxy and sand it all back level, or the quicker and much easier route would be to have a carpenter slightly plane the back of the guitar just enough to knock down the rest of the body to the deepest part of the scratches, then you'd have to re-seal it, roll the body edges again, adjust for the back plate being thicker now that the guitar will be a hair thinner, etc. I would just leave it as is if I were you and the price was right!

[noobstix]

Right so if I were to sand this down and tru-oil it...? This is what I'm after - Prestigious NG(+F)D (56k turn back)

[Necromagnon]

If wood is touched, you can bring it back with a humidified cloth posed on the area and then use an iron hot with a lot of vapor. It will rise the grain and get back at least a part of the scratches. After this, you refinish it as always (but you'll have to wait for wood to dry, obviously).

[anthonyferguson]

Like I said if you're wanting to get rid of the scratches completely you'll need to strip it right back. I can't tell for sure what sort of finish it has on, so you'll have to find out. But depending on what sort of result you're after, those scratches and knocks are deep. Bruising like that won't look good if it's filled up.