Help! Need Finish Repair Advice. '08 Seafoam Mira.

[VisionVox]

Hi Guys. I purchased a beautiful '08 Mira in Seafoam Green from an online source earlier this week. It is perfect in all respects with the exception of one ding. The ding has raised a flake in the finish that if caught on a strap or shirt sleeve might easily pull off leaving a hole. I have a reputable luthier lined up here in Portland to look at it / repair it. All I want is for the flake to be sealed / glued back down and finished off smooth (no color work).
Questions:
1. What is the name / nature of the finish on this guitar? (is it V12 or Pre?)
2. What can you tell me about it that I can tell them to insure the very best repair short of sending it back to the factory?
3. Is there any advice you might provide with regard to technique / process that I can give to them to insure the best job possible?

Many thanks!!!

 

[alantig]

It's pre-V12, and I'm pretty sure it's poly.

Not sure what the best way to fix that would be, but it looks like a couple staples from a staple gun would keep it in place! :flute:

 

[Huggy Love]

You won't be able to tell a luthier or finish pro how to do a job, they will tell you what they can do, and you can accept or not what they suggest. I know, I used to be one.

The usual pro job would entail using a sea foam green lacquer stick, heated up to fill the crack and secure the chip back against the body. Then it would be fine sanded and buffed and (hopefully) it would be unnoticeable, but I had that done once before I ever even thought of working on guitars and the results were far less than satisfactory to me. It was an easily seen scar even from a distance.

Your problem is on the edge and fairly intact so to me it's easy & hard at the same time, here's what I'd do, but then again I've done a bit of repairs and you might not want to try it. Anyway, I would get my hands on an exact match in some auto touch up paint or even nail polish (if it's a dead-on match) and fine sand any raised pieces of that crack, fill the crack with paint(it will act as a glue), let it dry a few days, rub off any excess with #2 mirror glaze *by hand*, do a 2nd application to the crack if a scar still shows, repeat the previous hand rub step, then (if it's good & even) you can put a light coat over that, let dry, and do the rub step till it looks even with the rest of the finish. After that you can take some car wax to it & buff.

I've repaired many guitars that way and avoided having to use a lacquer stick or spray booth. Again, I worked for a guitar company and ran the repair bench for a couple years long ago, so I have some experience, but I plan to do the same operation to my 408 in frost blue metallic. Trouble is, finding a match to that color is a ton harder than finding a good match for seafoam green. If I can't find a match I won't be able to.

Hope this helps and doesn't scare you off of getting it done pro (still a decent option), good luck with it!!!

 

[Brad737]

Poly is VERY difficult for spot repairs. If you just have to get it touched up, IMHO you HAVE to send it to the PTC. Good luck!

 

[VisionVox]

Thanks guys
The chip came off today and is gone.
There is now a missing piece of paint 1/8" 1/16".... nice dark wood shining through.

It's going to the experts...
I submitted my application for repair to PTC moments ago
Any guesses on what this is going to run me?

 

[László]

Any guesses on what this is going to run me?

Less than One Million Dollars.

Just a guess, of course.

 

[wardog]

If I had to guess, a refin is not in order so $$$. More toward the below 300. I hope this is a modest guess.

 

[Ol'Lefty]

I would have used wax-paper, a clamp and medium super glue. That would give as invisible as you can get short of the factory spot re-finish they will do at PTC. I have done it several times and on such a "clean" lofted chip it usually works quite well. It would have necessitated going to the ubiquitous fancy nail salons to get a good color match- you would spend a mint at the cosmetics counter buying enough bottles for mixing to match. You would still have to glue the lift down and then use the nail polish to fill in any rough spots. However, nail polish is usually nitro lacquer and that would not necessarily be compatible with the PRS finish- you have now chosen wisely.

 

[DarkPenguin]

I'd have just glued it down and forgot about it. Or at least glued it down until I got a few more dings and then worried about touchup. Relic guitars are all the rage.