Acetone staining on nitro

Elwood

Hey folks,

I've seen a Gibson LP where someone has used acetone to remove marker pen from the nitro. It has done the job by left a tide mark.

To properly sort it I presume a full refinish would be required. Aside from that is there anything that could be done to improve it ( other than putting a sticker over it!).

Fatfingers

Could you not cut it back and repolish it?

Elwood

Fatfingers said:

Could you not cut it back and repolish it?

I've no idea, can that be done?

paulnb57

Costs very little to try.......

impmann

You try some gentle use of T-cut to blend it back in.

Elwood

paulnb57 said:

Costs very little to try.......

What does?

I don't own the guitar . . . so I can't try anything . I'm just looking into what could be done to rectify a previous owner being a loon. 

Any experience opinions?

octatonic

Some 0000 wire wool might sort it out.
I had a guitar with some nitro burn that softened the finish and managed to fix it with wire wool.

Corvus

It depends how bad it is and whether it's just the lacquer affected or if it's a solid colour, etc etc. T-cut might work, or similar cutting compound. Might need local sanding before polish. Might need a localised refin/repair.

Elwood

Is a localised refund actually possible with nitro?

It's black so would be easier than a burst.

Corvus

Nitro melts into nitro, but black is not easy, it shows every tiny thing clearly.

Deadman

Elwood said:

Is a localised refund actually possible with nitro?

It's black so would be easier than a burst.

I've done it twice this week on the back of a Les Paul (two scratches down to wood) and you can't tell at all now. As long as you follow a few relatively simple steps it's not that hard to do. However! If you're in any doubt whatsoever don't just dive in as you could make things worse.

If it's just a simple case of removing ink I'd try t-cutting it first. If it's gone any deeper I'd then try some light abrasion, using micromesh, 3200 grade. Then T-Cut again. If that didn't work I'd be doing the above.