# Can you "bondo" a guitar?



## tripguitar (Dec 9, 2013)

i got a free gibson les paul special yesterday. yup free. but here's why it was free:

1 - missing a tuning peg.
2 - strung upside down (previous owner is a lefty)
3 - paint removed
4 - woodburned octopus (done by the owner... not an artist) on the face of the body
5 - chunks of wood missing from other woodburning activities (he put like cuts and gashes along the edge of the face of the body, and cut off about 1/2 an inch of the horn)
6 - poor staining and/or clear coating... cant tell
7 - neck pickup was replaced with a chunk of motherboard cut to the size of a pickup. no function, just silly aesthetics. kinda cool... but i want a neck pickup.

So here's why i ask about bondo, i'd like to sand the whole guitar down, fill in all the woodburning crevaces, ditches, and divits as best as i can, then prime and paint the guitar so it looks new again.

Would wood-filler be what i would use? or is there some other filling substance that would work better for bondo-ing a guitar? is actual bondo an option?

Thanks in advance!!


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## sehnomatic (Dec 9, 2013)

Sand down and use bondo. Both wood filler and bondo will just rip out if just applied to the paint. Bondo has a rather strong grip in metal and raw wood.

Make sure to sand any woos burns before using bondo. 

Honestly the only reason you should be using wood filler is if the guitar isnt getting a solid finish.

+1 for bondo after stripping.


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## will_shred (Dec 9, 2013)

Pics? I'm really interested in seeing this abomination. Especially if you can restore it to it's former glory.


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## sage (Dec 9, 2013)

Yup, Bondo will work fine. I have a friend who is a professional painter. He has a client who gets all of his guitars airbrushed. Dragons, clocks, skulls, all kinds of stuff. He likes having the tone pot removed. Josh puts a little backing over the hole, fills it with Bondo, sands it down, and paints it as though it was never there. The fix looks seamless when done properly. The only thing is, Bondo is heavy, so if you have a lot of fill to do, it will come out a bit heavier. That being said, if you build it up properly, you can probably even Bondo out the missing bit of the horn.


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## jtm45 (Dec 9, 2013)

Check this guy's Repair Gallery out!
He seems to do work on really messed up Vintage Fender bodies mostly and he uses wood pieces and facia's and the results are fantastic.
I would imagine you'd end up with a much better sounding guitar if you used wood rather than large amounts of filler or Bondo.

Check it out;
JW Black Guitars | 2013


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Dec 9, 2013)

Yea, bondo will work fine. Sand down the defects, get the entire surface sanded to raw wood, and use gloves so you dont handle it with bare hands and get oils off your skin onto the wood. Brush all the dust off really well then apply the bondo in layers. Let it cure at least an hour after each application, sand it smooth between applications. I say it'll take more than one application just cause in my experience you have to build it up and sand down until it gets perfectly level. After that its paint. I recommend automotive paint for the best finish. Theres loads of info on the web for painting, you should read as much of it as you can.


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## tripguitar (Dec 9, 2013)

Thanks for all the advice guys! this is great info. I'm really slow with projects like this but hopefully once (if) i finish i'll post pics again!


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## tripguitar (Dec 9, 2013)

moar pics


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## tripguitar (Dec 9, 2013)

i just occurred to me that i will probably need a new nut too... damn it.


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## Randy (Dec 9, 2013)

I've used bondo on a couple older guitar projects of mine. The general understanding is that the bondo doesn't "shift" to the same extent that wood does; which is not a good thing.

I sanded down a Charvel and accidently flattened part of the sculpting on the back (where it leads down to the heel), and used bondo to remold the part. The spot I patched has held up perfectly for the last several years.

In the other instance, I used bondo to fill the "ears" of the passive routes on my BCR when I converted over to EMG routes. After a couple years of shrinking/stretching from humidity and temperature changes, you could see the outline of the route starting to show up again.

How it holds up over time varies a lot depending on almost innumerable factors, so it's a shot in the dark, really.

I had an old pro recommend using epoxy to me because it's relative elasticity is supposed to match the shifting of the wood more. HOWEVER, I tried epoxy on a couple of project and they also showed signs of shifting after a year or so.

In the end, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance it'll hold up or shift and come through. Even if it shifts, some sanding, filling and top coat will take care of it. I did that in both instances where the gaps showed back up and they never came back.


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## dougk (Dec 9, 2013)

Here's what I'd suggest:

Veneer it. Bondo is great for what it's for but you'll be looking at an awful lot there and bondo tends to be good for minor spot filling at best. Wood is a variable medium and a large surface tends to run the risk of cracking, cancer or delaming. 

What I'd so, sand it as much as you can, plug any extra holes. Get a thin sheet of veneer, cut it to fit around the neck, glue it down, trim the excess off, sand the edge then seal and finish like normal. This will be the least likely to witness line later and if you are going a solid color, no one will be the wiser even if finished with lacquer. 

Almost any filler will show witness lines eventually which is why you want to pick your battles where you use it. This instance, I wouldn't go for it. 2k Urethanes will be your best choice if you want to avoid any shrinkage or lines in the future.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus (Dec 9, 2013)

lol the circuit board is kinda neat looking...


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## yingmin (Dec 9, 2013)

Is it weird that I wouldn't refinish that guitar?


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## Eliguy666 (Dec 9, 2013)

I would totally keep it that way.


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## tripguitar (Dec 9, 2013)

Eliguy666 said:


> I would totally keep it that way.




I'm starting to think the same thing after reading these comments.

maybe just new tuners and a new pickup.


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## Eliguy666 (Dec 9, 2013)

That should by nice. I've had good experience with Seymour Duncans and heard good about BKP and Lace. Thinking of getting a deathbar for an upcoming build, but that probably isn't what you want in a Les Paul.


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## Cloudy (Dec 9, 2013)

Dude that thing is rad I wouldn't touch the finish XD


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## Eliguy666 (Dec 9, 2013)

Maybe sand the neck down. The paint does look like it might be uncomfortable/


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## Nile (Dec 10, 2013)

Looks far better than what I was imagining.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Dec 10, 2013)

What lefty gets a regular Les Paul?  

I've never refinished a guitar or used bondo on one, etc. but I do see the risk in filling that large of an octopus-shaped area on a guitar due to the shifting and all


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## dedsouth333 (Dec 10, 2013)

How deep is the carving? Bondo is only made to be applied about 1/8" thick (on vehicles anyway).


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## gclef (Dec 10, 2013)

dedsouth333 said:


> How deep is the carving? Bondo is only made to be applied about 1/8" thick (on vehicles anyway).



Not necessarily true. I had a friend that literally sculpted a convertible '40 Ford pickup hot rod from 55 gallons of bondo. Ha. He needed a supercharger to offset the weight.

The truck just shattered when he wrecked it.

oh, and all the bondo cans were welded together and decorated like a totem pole.

good times.


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## angelbear (Dec 10, 2013)

damn that guitar didnt even get a courtesy lick


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## tripguitar (Dec 11, 2013)

added a poll because i really dont know what to do with this thing!! help me out guyz


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## guitarfreak1387 (Dec 11, 2013)

keep the carvings, fix everything else, learn to do 8 finger tapping, epic win


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## sage (Dec 12, 2013)

After seeing the pics, I'd leave it as is. Too much work. Enjoy your free guitar.


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## JStraitiff (Dec 15, 2013)

Looks like a fun project. The stain and octopus are ugly as hell. The whole thing smells like the 1970s haha

I would start by sanding down the whole thing and taking off that finish. Then you could use a dremel tool to get into the crevices of the octopus. Once everything is bare wood fill it with a mix of wood glue and wood shavings. Then go ahead and refinish it however you want. By the time you're done that thing will look nice!


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## HighPotency (Dec 15, 2013)

Only thing I don't like about it is the chunks taken out of the upper part of the body. 

You don't have to worry about the bondo not warping along with the wood- if your body is warping that much, you have bigger issues.


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## Darkstar124 (Dec 17, 2013)

tripguitar said:


> Thanks for all the advice guys! this is great info. I'm really slow with projects like this but hopefully once (if) i finish i'll post pics again!



oh my god I want it just as it is let me love it


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## Riffer Madness (Dec 17, 2013)

You can adjust the flexibility with the hardener to filler ratio.

I considered using it on a guitar and never ended up doing it, but my plan was to premix the bondo with "washed" sawdust before adding the hardener.

I would "wash" the oils out of the sawdust with ethanol, strain it, air-dry it, and then *carefully* oven dry it in an electric oven or better yet, a cheapo "toaster over" outside somewhere safe _after the alcohol has completely evaporated naturally._

This *might* give a tighter bond or help stop some unforeseen curing issues. Maybe better tone then straight bondo, and would likely be stronger than using unwashed sawdust.

An alternative *might* be to just make a thick paste out of sawdust and wood glue, adding a solvent like ethanol to make it more workable. Id make sure to pound whatever i use in there tight with a mallet, and leave excess goop and just plane it off after curing.

Putting small screws sideways in the trem route before filling *might* help with future flex issues.

*Just know that ive never actually tried any of this, and im a not a luthier!.* Please dont explode cuz id feel guilty 

These are just a few untested ideas ive had over the years.

Good luck with the project, and if you decide to use any of my weird suggestions, at least test em out first before possibly ruining your guitar


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## Dethyr (Dec 17, 2013)

tripguitar said:


> i just occurred to me that i will probably need a new nut too... damn it.



You just got a FREE Les Paul and youre cranking about a nut? haha cmon now


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## ZXIIIT (Dec 17, 2013)

I'd leave it as is and just upgrade the bridge pickup, new tuners and nut.


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## tripguitar (Dec 19, 2013)

Dethyr said:


> You just got a FREE Les Paul and youre cranking about a nut? haha cmon now



well i only crank because the nut is one of those parts i dont know how to replace/install.

i think i've made up my mind. im going to agree with sage. it seems like a bit much to re-do the entire guitar. i think i'll replace the bridge pup, silver hardware, nut, and tuners. then i'll tickle that octopus right good.


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