Fillin' holes

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

What's a good material for filling screw holes and other minor dings in a guitar body? I'm looking for something that won't disintegrate completely if anything is eventually srewed into the same area.
Finish (color) matching can come somewhere down the road, because a lot of the imperfections may be covered by new parts (output jack plate, etc.), but I'd like the new screws to be rooted in something reliable.
Thanks.

--
Doug C.
"Duct tape: the Handyman's Secret Weapon." -- Red Green

[UnklMickey]

fillin' holes?

i seem to remember a few weeks back, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were doing a pseudo-mercial about how great it was to have their cracks filled with caulk. guess that could work on holes too.



seriously though, Doug, i think maybe a 30 - minute epoxy might be pretty strong. obviously you'd want to mask the area to prevent any excess from getting on the finish. and use something to poke it down the hole while it's still nice and runny (this is starting to de-rail again isn't it?), like maybe a toothpick.

if you could think of something less viscous that would soak into the wood more, but still be strong when it hardens, that would be a plus. i just can't think of what that might be.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

unklmickey said:

if you could think of something less viscous that would soak into the wood more, but still be strong when it hardens, that would be a plus. i just can't think of what that might be.

It dawned on me that I have a copy of Dan Erlewine's repairs book, and I broke that out. It turns out he uses "Hot Stuff Super T" in various consistencies. He didn't mention screw holes, but does use it for cracks and dents.
I s'pose a small shot of the thin stuff would soak in to the sides of the hole at least a little before it set up. (That stuff is fast.) Any hole that goes clear through the wood could be dammed with something on the inside. (Maybe that's where the duct tape comes in.) Then maybe some of the thicker type would serve as the actual "Bondo" for the hole.

I'm finally at a stage in my life where I try to work slowly and carefully on most projects.

[Runewalker]

I absolutely knew this thread head would call to the Unk like flies to a fresh pasture product.

Thanks for coming through Unk.

The Dan Erlewine book I have talks about min or hole repaired thusly:

obtain a hardwood dowel
put it in a pencil shapener.
superglue the hole, insert the end of the sharpened dowel and snip or slice through the stub with a utility
razor blade.

I fill larger holes in neck heels with a dimentional dowel and tightbond wood glue. The reason I like that approach, which requires drilling, is that you get a larger surface area for the glue and dowel to contact, securing a more ridgid bond. (watch it unk). The pencil point inserts a cone into the hole and the primary wood to wood contact is the perimeter of the hole cylinder. but you may not want to drill a pilot hole into the body. They do make dowels as small as 1/8".

one other issue with the dowel approach is that you put end grain in a horizontal grain surface, so theoretically that could reveal itself under a finish. The good thing though about thin super glue is aborbs into the end grain turning it into a solid material, so this issue may not be .... well.... an issue.

RW

The only thing I would caution...

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

runewalker said:

The only thing I would cauton

Yes? Yes?
I already know the one about "the three things a man should never do until he's sure all the superglue is off his fingers," so . . .

[bam]

maybe a 30 - minute epoxy might be pretty strong

whoa, not that one; they're not good as screw points.
the superglue+dowel idea is a good one;

one other issue with the dowel approach is that you put end grain in a horizontal grain surface, so theoretically that could reveal itself under a finish.

grain is not an issue for a screw point, right ?

.. Teflon tape or wood epoxy fillers could do, too, but in my experience with wardrobes, they're too weak.

[Mini-Strat_Maine]

Okay, thanks for all the ideas, guys.