Repairing a chipped finish

[Jono Bolton]

Apologies in advance for the guitar content. I'm putting together a Telecaster and the heel of the neck is a very tight fit. Whilst trying to remove the neck from the pocket, I managed to pull off a pretty big chip at the edge of the pocket. The chip came off intact, and it's currently being stored in a safe place. Is glueing it back in place once the rest of the work is done a viable option, or am I looking at having to get some matching paint and building up the layers from the bottom?

 

[PaulThePlug]

I'd glue it in... if that fails it's Nail Varnish time..

[neepheid]

If it came off in a whole chip then I'd say yeah, superglue that bad boy back on.  Then maybe eke out a bit more room in the pocket with some sandpaper perhaps...

[simonlittle]

I did once try to superglue a little chip back in place on my Precision and I must say, the results didn’t look great. It is still there 8 years later though…

[neepheid]

It's quite a big chip - as long as you don't overdo the glue (as in not having glue squeezing out the sides - a small amount will do), and use tweezers or similar to put the chip back in place then it'll look ok - you'll still see the edges of the chip, of course.  Practice dry fitting it first.

[BlueMoon]

Great advice above. Unless you are sure that the neck will never come off again, the next time it does……..likely the same thing will happen! So, I’d advise as a parallel action, to sand the tight fitting neck and address the cause of the issue as well. 
 

 

[Jono Bolton]

The chip is glued back in place and doesn't look too bad; we'll see how it holds up. The neck is going back and I'll just have to try and exercise some patience (not my strong suit) to find the right one.

 

Edited October 2, 2024 by Jono Bolton