So I began the process of repairing the Xotic I have been banging on about in the 'repairs and technical' section...  Just spent about 40 mins stripping the bass down to the body and from there you can get a much better idea of the damage.   Luckily, there is no structural issues (I was concerned that there might be some cracks in the control cavity but luckily there are none).    Thanks to @Andyjr1515 for the advice, I will be starting off tomorrow with a heat gun and