Fixing a small chip in a guitar finish 

"It takes time. If you're too lazy to do it you won't get as good of results." -Dan Erlewine I believe these words can be applied on so many other aspects than "fixing a small chip in a guitar finish" perhaps in life!

You say it was years before you knew about soaking the sandpaper for twenty-four hours (3:21). You make a video less than five minutes long and now I know it as well (that and a lot more!). That's the beauty of RU-vid! Thank you.

Dan is a true master craftsman.

I realise it’s 11 years later, but huge thanks for these excellent, no-nonsense, straight to the point ‘How to’ videos Stew Mac!

You're one of the coolest cats. So many guys don't share their Professional tips, but for the guy like myself, to far to be a customer, too poor to hire the work out, but willing to invest the time into the artistry, you're just invaluable. Even, beyond that you give credit and respect to the guys you've picked up tips and techniques from. In doing so, you unknowing communicate that these techniques belong to craftsman / student, but should be carried forward in a tradition. In turn, I look for every opportunity to support guys like you when I'm looking for parts and such. Thank you so much!

"Hey, I'll reset the neck on your guitar for free if you'll also let me professionally repair these dings on the top for free."

I just tried this last night and I did everything he said to do and it really works. I'm so happy with my guitar now!

Very few videos on youtube leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. This was very enjoyable to watch.

Holy carp. I'm not entirely convinced that Dan didn't actually just switch out with a brand new guitar at some point... the transformation is just amazing!

It's insane how that super fine sandpaper made the guitar look so shiny! I once tried to sand a little chip on my guitar to get it to smooth out, I ended up making it way bigger, and really scuffing the area around the chip. Now I know that what I need to do is keep going with higher grit sandpaper!

They don't make them like Dan anymore. Awesome stuff. I could watch him work all day.

He's so adorable. I want to watch all of his videos and learn good techniques.

I've been watching these videos for days now, not even needing repairs, but I am amazed how skilled Dan is.

this guy is great! I ordered his book "how to make your electric guitar play great!" and it was personally signed by Dan. Awesome info and saved me a LOT of money learning how to do my own setups and repairs correctly. thanks Dan. I'll be a customer for life.

Wow. This guy always amazes me with his old timer skills and knowledge of guitars

I used to buy the video tapes way back when. This guy is legend.

The razorblade trick is just pure gold! Thanks man!

Man do I ever appreciate this! I have a quilted-top Les Paul that I got a small ding in the dish between the bridge and rear strap button. It didn't break the surface to where the color is gone, it just compressed it a bit. I filled it with a drop of super-glue that beaded up proud of the surface, and that's as far as I went with it because I didn't know anyone I would trust to finish the job and didn't know how to do that myself until now! I feel confident enough now to do this on a practice piece of wood before I do my Les Paul. Again, THANK YOU very much for this repair lesson!! Cheers - Luther

Thank you once again Dan! I bought a little lap steel guitar that came with a chip in the finish. I thought I might send it back but instead I will repair it thanks to this super easy method of finish repair.

THAT WAS AWESOME, DUDE!!! I'm not easily impressed, but you blew my mind! More power to you!!!

Excellent! This 70 year old dog just learned a new trick! Thanks for sharing your video.

Mr. Dan is a True Master. I Love learning from him. Bought 2 of his Guitar Repair & Maintenance books. Highly recommend.

This guy gives so much great information. I love the extra tips like soaking the sandpaper overnight and the double sided tape to attatch the sandpaper to the block! Thanks Dan! And the finished chip looks amazing too...

Wow! I am embarrassed to say that a year ago I did not know who Dan Erlewine was. OK, so now I know. We have pursued our crafts in different areas. And with what I know from fixing other "things" for many years, and seeing him at work, I offer my Deepest Respects and Thanks.

I have been following Dan's great repair advice since the early 80's and Dan has never steered me wrong. Stew Mac my be kinda expensive compared to some suppliers but I have always recieved top quality parts from Stew Mac which gave my builds and repairs quality results. Thank you Dan and Stew Mac for your years of quality service to the stringed instrument industry.

I have a 1960/70's DIA 12 string acoustic I want to repair, It was my dads guitar. This channel is giving me hope that it can be done & I will repair it one day thanks for the valuable insights that go into the various repairs.

I dont do much work on guitars but I love your videos because you have lots of cool tricks that can be applied to all kinds of woodworking and or repairs.

I love guitars, the design, the magic, the story, the sound and the art of repair it ... Stewart is the best , how can we imagine make this fix this way? Amazing

I did this on a gnarly ukulele chip today and had amazing results! It’s like nothing was ever there! Thanks, Dan.

Dan your knowledge and skills are "over the top", thank you for sharing!

Fantastic video, & fantastic delivery! No showboating or waffle, just honest facts, tips & great results. Could definitely learn a lot from you 👍

I don't even own an acoustic and I've been watching these repair vids for the past hour or so. kind of soothing

Legend. I've learned so much from this guy over the years.

Thanks, Stewart. I do the all the detail and integral color plaster repairs in a company's new high end homes. Been doing it 20 years. Any piece of information like that is a real gift to me.

This is The BEST "how to video" I have seen on You Tube ever....Thanks for being so generous with your time and knowledge.

MacDonald pulls a lot of good info together, explains it with a straightforward manner and includes ideas I can use elsewhere in my projects. Thanks!

I like people who show respect for their job. It was very useful advice, thank you!

I've been restoring antique furniture for the past 45 years. I was very impressed with you video. Thanks for showing and sharing your techniques and tips. Well done!

This man is one of the millions of workers, engineers and craftsmen who built the US into a great nation. Too bad they don't often make men like this anymore. Thanks Mr. Erlewine, for your generosity, excellent video, shared knowledge and pure craftsmanship. Good luck, USA.

I just did this repair to a guitar, and this popped up to play after I finished. Such a great trick, when you're in a pinch or don't want to replace the whole nut over one low slot

People who take that much pride in their work. 🖤👌🏻

I'm amazed at his abilities every time I see one of these videos! He's certainly correct when he says,if you're lazy,it's not going to come out right,it's tedious,time consuming,and even thought I would love to be able to do this on my guitars,I don't have the patience.

I am sure Dan heard this a million times but he is the real deal!!! He's a Jeff Beck a Jimmy Page or whoever is your legend. He is generous and kind and easy to understand. thank you Mr. Erlewine. I wonder if he has schools?

Thanks for taking the time to show your techniques on finish repair. Think I'll start with a cheap guitar that nobody cares about (although no guitar should be neglected) and try this out myself. Thanks again!

Can't tell you how much I appreciate your videos. Thank you!!!

Love that razor blade & tape trick. I'm also gonna rem to long soak my sandpaper. And you're so right about laziness & rushing makes your results suffer. It seems like every time I rush or cut a corner, I almost immediately regret it and end up rushing again to try to fix that. I'm learning that patience, research, planning and always using the right tool for the job are the virtues of guitar repair. BTW, Your videos are gold, Thanks so much!

Nice job and very good tips. One thing I've learned doing resto work on antique pinball machines: try wet sanding using naptha instead of water. The naptha works VERY nicely with the wet-sanding paper. Zero clogs, no problems & with swelling interaction with wood at all. Thanks - I'm subscribed now!

This is the best drop repair video on RU-vid.

Simply the best. My go-to dude for any repair or upgrade.

Good ol American craftsmanship right there, great video, thanks for posting.

I’m 17 and want to become a luthier as my profession and these videos are really helpful

In the middle of doing a drop fill right now, loctite super glue seems to have a good bonding ability to poly finish.. again 1000 thank you's, it's a very nice experience to do your own repairs when possible, and I'll be purchasing a lot of your guys building repair supplies as well as a z file leveling beam and the 3sided file, made my own by grinding and smoothing edges but just not as nice as the one at stew Mac..

cheers Dan just did this on a few checks on my 55 Hofner 456, works a treat, she looks brand new.

Fifty years a woodworker, forty-five an instrument maker and there's always something new to learn. I could have gone to my grave without knowing this business of soaking your wet-and-dry paper--yet if I had all the money back I spent on that stuff over the years, I'd be a lot more comfortable when and if I ever retire!

Thanks so much! Repaired the paint on my Les Paul headstock following this video and it looks phenomenal again!

Thanks for taking the time to make and post videos, along with your trade secrets new letter. Seeing repairs done helps reafirm that I'm doing things the right way.

Fantastic tutorial. I just took a nice dent out of a bear up Epi G400 I picked up for cheap. Remarkably good result on my first attempt.

You are so humble in your tutorials I just subscribed and I can't wait to see more I love it I put guitar going on 20 years and just picked up an old electric classical that needs a neck repair

As much as I love you, Steve Mack, and all your teachings on how to be your best on guitar, I've loved my scratches and Nick's on my guitars! Thank you for all your great advice! Love you!

This guy is awesome , great work here .

Thanks for your EXPERT instruction for ALL these tricks and tips.

I remember this is my second ever stewmac video I've seen.... The first one is where Dan used superglue and bone dust/baking soda to fix a deep nut slot! I love the videos and I love and have high respect for Dan....

That is one brilliant video Mr. I just love to see how people do stuff. It's usually a mixture of know-how, patience & equipment. Thank you very much.

Sir, you are such a knowledgeable professional. Thanks to you and Stew Mac for your educational videos.

Great video. That's a terrific tip, curling the edge of the razor. It acts just like the iron in a plane. Thanks.

Dan sure knows what he’s doing and shucks he makes it look soooo easy ! Bravo Dan !

I'm a Brit and I love your accent! Such great info always, you , Frank Ford and bryan Kimsey ! What a gang! Thanks !

This guy is a master craftsman - he should be very proud of himself!

Just what I needed! Thank you Dan, for the very clear and concise video on chip repair!

I have a small lacquer ding on the top of my otherwise like new '96 Guild X170. I think I'll practice on one of my old cheap guitars first but it looks like this is probably the best way to go. Glad I found this site

Very good vid, thanks for sharing. My ex's grandfather used to refinish pianos. He would use cigar ashes mixed with a bit of lemon oil for a final polish before wax.

The wet and dry strips are brilliant -and i did soak them overnight. I was repairing a small finishing blemish as opposed to a chip but whatever it worked , thanks !

You're pretty amazing! Thank you for taking the time to make your videos to show the everyday guy how to do some of these repairs. I wish I worked for you so I could learn this stuff first hand.

The maestro at work, thanks for the video Dan.

You are a master ! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! It is a pleasure watching someone like you work and express himself.

I love youtube and I appreciate every second a person takes from their life to share knowledge. I learned to play by ear like most did in the old days. I can't imagine how good of a cover guitarist I would have been and just better all the way around if I had this tool when I was learning. Since youtube I have learned every single note i played wrong for 30 years thanks to people like the gentleman that made this video and repaired a lot of appliances and vehicles that i may have thrown away and paid a crap load of money for new ones. the list doesn't end. Thank you all for taking the time to share your knowledge. Time is valuable and especially as we age.

I saw this video a few months ago and bookmarked it. I finally got around to trying this today on my Taylor. Hmmm...doesn't work quite as well on a plain wood surface. The super glue stained the wood darker than the surrounding area (I suspected this would happen but I was hoping the sanding and buffing would bring the colour back a bit). I'm still pretty happy with the results but both dings now remind me of John Boy's mole. Thanks for the video!

Dan is a son of a gun! He makes every repair look so easy

Tried this with quite a bad ding on a cheap acoustic guitar. Had already coloured in the finish with a felt tip pen (actually a good match). I found the razor blade created a fairly smooth finish so I went straight from that to a buffing wheel on my electric drill. I finished off with car body cut compound and finally auto-glym resin polish. The latter btw is the best cleaner I've found for perspex (e.g safety goggles etc). I'd just say that for a deep ding you need to let the layers dry well - I was a bit hasty and had to re-do more slowly as the glue hadn't really hardened enough for scraping. Great tips and I'm well pleased with the results.

This is the video I've been looking for. Thanks StewMac

Well explained 👏 Always cosy to learn about guitar fixes, thanks for a great video 🎸👍

Outstanding! Very useful technique. Thank you for sharing Mr Erlewine.

Amazing. I remember reading his column in Guitar Player magazine back in the 80's- just a wealth of knowledge. Thank you sir!

Being in the automotive refinishing trade I was taught this trick many years ago to rectify fisheyes in clear coat ,you can also pull of an almost invisible repair to a cracked light cluster with CA glue and I suspect it would work for repairing cracked or chipped windscreens .It is also something I use to fill stonechips prior to repainting panels

Thanks Dan! Excellent, descriptive video. I was wondering how to fix a chip in the finish.

Master craftsman.....I wish I had the patience to do work like this. I am impressed by your skills!

Very awesome video! You are probably the nicest guy in the world, very sympathic. Thanks for showing this!

the best guitar ding repair i ever saw thanks Dan

What a wonderful learning experience watching all your videos! Thank you sir!

You are a genius! I have a strat that I decided to refinish. I am an artist so I decided to get creative. I wish I had seen your video beforehand, I made the mistake of sanding through the clear lacquer into my stain... fixed with some artwork. Everything was finally coming together and I wanted to give the guitar a few more days of lacquer coating to build it up high enough to sand and buff off some hand painted fixes in the design. I guess I got a little carried away with the last clear coat and it did not like it one bit. I got a crater next to the bridge area. I figured "I'll just spray some lacquer on a plate and bush it into the hole, let it dry overnight and start clear coating again tomorrow. Wrong. It looks no different than before, maybe worse. I am going to try the superglue fill. Thank you so much for making this informative video!

What an amazing video, I appreciate each and every one of them. Very concise and perfectly done, I agree take the time to build the tools of the trade. Enjoyed the strip sanding, the filling acetone liquid color stain, and of course the superglue.

When he started I totally thought he messed that guitar up; four minutes later I was proved wrong. Great work!

Absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! Just amazing technique. I am so happy to learn something valuable here, that I will use. And you better believe I will practice on junk, before fixing spots on my 1952 Martin 000-18.

Great video. I used 3M wet/dry 800, 1000, 2000 and 3000 grit then polished out with Maguire's rubbing compound and got outstanding results. I'd advise to use a low raking light to help you see when you've completely flattened out the lump of CA glue. It made my heart sink every time I saw the ding on my Steve Patience fatboy, now I am happy again!

A video for those of us that don’t like and won’t buy “Relic” guitars! Great vid!

This video wins for the most amount of useful information packed into a mere 4 minutes.

Sweet! You can't even see it. I just put a tiny amount of paint on it, just where it's bare, or dab it with a sharpie (on black) so it doesn't catch your eye. Might be tough with a color besides black, but I suspect you could fix that too. I'd love to see how you would match the color of something like vintage blond or a sunburst! I think I'd make it worse if I tried your method. That looks really hard and would require experience and all of those items (which I do not have on hand) and tons of patience!

You are a delite! Master craftsmen are disappearing in the hustle of this era and I am honored to watch your video and it helps me in my hobby of restoring things.

I wish you would have shown a good final up close shot of the repair.

When wet sanding finishes that are not water friendly (lacquer, shellac or water base finishes) don't use water. Use turpentine, mineral spirits, kerosene or in some cases you can use paraffin oil or baby oil. It will sand without any corning or clogging - it's much safer on the finish. Also make sure you read the back of the paper and understand the difference between "P" grade (metric) or standard (CAMI). P1500 grit (metric) is equivalent to 800 grit standard (US CAMI), so don't mix your papers otherwise you could be sanding from fine to coarse.