T-Cut to remove scratches from 80's Fender?

robgilmo

Be careful with Brasso, it works by abrading the finish and then a solvent starts to soften it , I really would do it properly with some 2000 grit wet paper, no pressure, just let the paper abrade the surface. If the bottom of the scratch is still Red its doable, be aware that you have no idea how much finish is left under the scratch and is in the clear coat or down to the paint, if its down to the paint or below it forget it, you will remove the clear coat and the paint could only be microns thick.
Also, if it goes wrong it will go very wrong. 

Sometimes its best just to ignore it altogether and stop fretting over it.

JezWynd

p90fool said:

Interesting, mine would definitely be called a slab rather than veneer board as its bottom is flat, but it's not a thick slab.

This has a flat bottom to the fretboard too, although, looking at it in greater detail now, I may have overstated its depth - it's is still quite thin, though def deeper than my previous example (the metal scratchplate ver). It sounds a lot nicer too, esp. the bridge pu which is quite useable. The bridge pu had been replaced on the prev one; it was much hotter and made balancing the pu's for the middle position impossible - this one with its original pu's balances very well - Strat like tones as I mentioned before.

JezWynd

robgilmo said:

Be careful with Brasso, it works by abrading the finish and then a solvent starts to soften it , I really would do it properly with some 2000 grit wet paper, no pressure, just let the paper abrade the surface. If the bottom of the scratch is still Red its doable, be aware that you have no idea how much finish is left under the scratch and is in the clear coat or down to the paint, if its down to the paint or below it forget it, you will remove the clear coat and the paint could only be microns thick.
Also, if it goes wrong it will go very wrong. 

Sometimes its best just to ignore it altogether and stop fretting over it.

Thanks for the advice re Brasso and I take note of your last line - you are probably right. I might do a test under the scratch plate at some point to see how it reacts but I'll leave it for now. It plays so well I don't want to waste time disassembling it atm.

robgilmo

If it goes pear shaped and you damage the finish you will kick your self. You could buy some 2000 grit and practice on something else, the trick is to keep the paper flat, a small block of wood, something the size of a piece of lego, and lightly polish the surface with it, add a tiny amount of water with a tiny amount of soap in it to lubricate, It takes time so dont rush it, make sure you dont put swirl marks into the finish, when the scratch is gone it will be a matt colour, polish it to a shine with TCut. It is easy enough to do, but if you go through the finish you cant get it back. 


Some people use Brasso to repair French polish, the abrasive will scour the surface and the solvent melts the shellac , I personally wouldn't use it to repair French polish, in fact I only use it on brass.

guitargeek62

Are you sure that’s not natural crazing/cracking? It doesn’t look like scratches in those photos to me, and even poly finishes can age that way.

JezWynd

guitargeek62 said:

Are you sure that’s not natural crazing/cracking? It doesn’t look like scratches in those photos to me, and even poly finishes can age that way.

There are a few straight lines, quite short, perhaps 4-5cm in length that I think are natural marks due to age. The ones I pictured are not natural imo, they look as if a zip or similar may have been dragged across and damaged the finish slightly. To see any of them requires tilting body in the light to reveal.

robgilmo

I find a cold beer or two is really good at making scratches go away.

MLten80

would this be safe to use on my 1981 strat with the same poly finish?
 the Maui blue has turned swamp green lol

I've used meguirs cutting polish on my lesser guitars with decent success at removing light swirls. not sure I'd trust it on anything vintage 

robgilmo

MLten80 said:

would this be safe to use on my 1981 strat with the same poly finish?
 the Maui blue has turned swamp green lol

I've used meguirs cutting polish on my lesser guitars with decent success at removing light swirls. not sure I'd trust it on anything vintage 

Yes, cold beer will remove most scratches, what you do is, open a cold beer, drink it, open another, drink that, repeat the process until the scratches are gone. I am currently removing a large ding from a Telecaster, well , its almost the week end.

MLten80

*gets a stella & a cloth 

robgilmo

MLten80 said:

*gets a stella & a cloth 

Put the cloth down, step away from the cloth.