Deep gouge in mahogany neck, should I repair it, can I repair it?

[Ironwolf]

I was putting this in the guitar stand, missed just slightly, It bounced a glancing blow off of the body edge of my PRS 594 .
I can't find a hint of damage on the PRS body.
But the LP neck took the brunt of the injury. PRS wins the battle.
I really don't notice it when I'm playing, it has not affected the tone or playability, but occasionally when I look at it. I'm wondering if I should take a razor blade and cutaway the edges of the urethane and maybe sand it.
I found somebody saying that you should put some water on it to swell the wood grain back up.
I was also considering should should I take it to a luthier. that probably seems like a good idea.
I used to install oak cabinets so wood putty in the finishing nail holes, before the urethane seems to work.

what does everybody else do when they damage their neck? and finish? I feel like it'll look like this with no real changes for 10 years probably.
so does it need stabilizing or repair? or can I leave it be?

 

[László]

That ding would undoubtedly drive me crazier than I already am, so I’d have it repaired. The old luthier’s trick of putting a damp cloth on the ding, and heating it with a soldering iron probably won’t work, given how deep that nick is.

I don’t think leaving it alone would harm the guitar, though.

I really hate guitar stands! Accidents waiting to happen is all they are!

 

[Huggy Love]

Unless you are going to repair it, or get repaired pro, it wouldn't be wise to mess with it until you do so. If it doesn't stand out when you rub your thumb against it that's cool, and I don't know what the rest of the guitar looks like, if it's a beauty LP and you want it to be perfect, that might help you make the decision.

It looks like it's down to the wood, I do pro level repairs so I would do it myself (if it were mine) but I must warn you, that kind of repair is very hard to do. Getting the putty & finish level with the original takes some skill, I myself would have to spend a couple weeks to get it right. Get a luthier if you're not experienced and be prepared for a stiff price. Sorry, don't want to be doom & gloom but I want to be honest with U.

 

[Ironwolf]

That ding would undoubtedly drive me crazier than I already am, so I’d have it repaired. The old luthier’s trick of putting a damp cloth on the ding, and heating it with a soldering iron probably won’t work, given how deep that nick is.

I don’t think leaving it alone would harm the guitar, though.

I really hate guitar stands! Accidents waiting to happen is all they are!

the Hercules stands are much better, it was one of the cheap $9.99 Guitar Ctr. stands
I was horrified at first, I thought, now I have to sell the guitar, and go buy another new one. but for some reason, because I almost never see it, I keep forgetting about it. truly out of sight out of mind.
Additionally After seven LPs attempts, each one getting progressively better, I'll definitely never find one this good again, the tone of this one is really quite fantastic and epic,
so yeah I think I'll take it to Gary Brawer, I'm guessing $200-$300? I just kind of feel like maybe I could do it myself.

 

[Huggy Love]

I think I'll take it to Gary Brawer,

Gary does any work on my guitars that I don't do, like refrets, he's the best.

 

[merciful-evans]

If it was mine, and the feel of the neck didnt bother me, i'd leave it.
Guitars will get a ding and scrape from time to time. Well, the working ones will anyway.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

If it was mine, and the feel of the neck didnt bother me, i'd leave it.
Guitars will get a ding and scrape from time to time. Well, the working ones will anyway.

Me too! But I’m a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of procrastinate! So what do I know?

 

[rugerpc]

Fix, don’t fix. Doesn’t look like it would make a difference to the tone, etc. either way.

I’d probably fix it, ‘cuz it would nag me, even while it was in its case at home and I’m at work...

If you don’t fix it, you do need to trim away the lifted finish and feather the edges so it doesn’t get snagged on something and lift more.

 

[László]

One good thing about a nitro finish on an LP is that a nitro touch-up “melts” into it, making for a simple finish repair with very little wet sanding needed. So if you filled it, you could probably make the repair smooth as glass, though I’d take a good guitar to a pro just because.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I’d trade it to someone for a PRS and classify the ding under “mojo”.

 

[alphasports]

There are some great Youtube vids on this kind of repair essentially using a technique of multiple layers of superglue to fill the hole and a flat razor blade to scrape, level and finally buff. Yours is a bit of a beast as a first attempt at home repair, but it can be done and the results are astonishing. Here's a sample vid but there are lots...

 

[squirrel211]

I was putting this in the guitar stand, missed just slightly, It bounced a glancing blow off of the body edge of my PRS 594 .
I can't find a hint of damage on the PRS body.
But the LP neck took the brunt of the injury. PRS wins the battle.
I really don't notice it when I'm playing, it has not affected the tone or playability, but occasionally when I look at it. I'm wondering if I should take a razor blade and cutaway the edges of the urethane and maybe sand it.
I found somebody saying that you should put some water on it to swell the wood grain back up.
I was also considering should should I take it to a luthier. that probably seems like a good idea.
I used to install oak cabinets so wood putty in the finishing nail holes, before the urethane seems to work.

what does everybody else do when they damage their neck? and finish? I feel like it'll look like this with no real changes for 10 years probably.
so does it need stabilizing or repair? or can I leave it be?

My kid hit my PRS CU24 with a piece of metal and put a very similar gouge into the neck at the bottom of the neck, between the 3rd and 4th frets. The gouge was actually into the rosewood fretboard, right on the shoulder/corner of the fretboard.

I don't notice when I'm playing, so I just left it!!!

 

[jxe]

thought this was going to end with ‘...and i don’t miss him”.

My kid hit my PRS CU24 with a piece of metal and put a very similar gouge into the neck at the bottom of the neck, between the 3rd and 4th frets. The gouge was actually into the rosewood fretboard, right on the shoulder/corner of the fretboard.

I don't notice when I'm playing, so I just left it!!!

 

[László]

thought this was going to end with ‘...and i don’t miss him”.

Hahaha!

 

[squirrel211]

thought this was going to end with ‘...and i don’t miss him”.

LOL's!!!!

I was recently thinking about selling that guitar and grabbing that Goldtop PRS DC22 Ted from Willcutt, but when I thought about that gouge on the neck, I actually remember it fondly! I've been playing my Crook T-Style almost exclusively since I got it, but I think I'm going to put the CU24 back into the rotation....

* My initial desire for the custom made guitar was to get a PRS Private Stock HBII, but I had a negative experience with the dealer, which lead to me getting the Crook. Mr Bill was super-terrific to deal with, and the Crook has my late daughter's footprints on the back.

 

[Parralax view]

I had a substantial ding of "Budweiseritis" on the lower bout of my McCarty, in the binding that I lived with for about 3 yrs. When I took it in for a set up and bone nut, I asked it he could repair it. He was hesitant but said if I didn't like it, it was on him...he used the simple superglue float method and you cannot even tell it was ever there.. 35 bucks.

 

[jxe]

warren beatty or jacques lacan tho?

 

[JJJ]

You can fix those, and if it is a nitro finish any repairman who is able to shoot it could probably cover it up nice and smooth again like it never happened.

Those dings are pretty common I do see a lot of them. I mean this in a friendly way but it's lucky it's just a ding and your Gibson's headstock didn't fall off

 

[Ironwolf]

You can fix those, and if it is a nitro finish any repairman who is able to shoot it could probably cover it up nice and smooth again like it never happened.

Those dings are pretty common I do see a lot of them. I mean this in a friendly way but it's lucky it's just a ding and your Gibson's headstock didn't fall off

that's extremely true, if it didn't slow its velocity and bounce and change direction off of the other guitar. I think it actually would've snapped the headstock off.
true that. I truly don't seem to notice it until I change strings or something

 

[gush]

I have a hit on my cu24. Back of the neck 12th fret area. Was putting my guitar away after a show and noticed it. My guess, one of the guys was wrapping mic cable and XLR end hit it.

It drives me crazy and ticks me off.