Chips/Dings on Instruments

[glocke]

Curious how some of you guys feel about finish damages to new instruments.  My own carelessness caused this chip in the finish of my new Fender Elite Jazz bass...its the top ocean turquoise bass .  I've really only had it a month or less, so thats why it bothers me so much and Im giving serious thought to taking it to a local luthier (Jack Romano) to have it repaired.  My guess is that while he will do a good job, it will still be noticeable but not as noticeable.


More than a few people have said to just leave it...that I'll get more (as an FYI over 10 years of 20-30 gigs a year with my Alembic SCSD and not one mishap that resulted in damage to the finish).


Than I look at an instrument like the one shown below my bass, and I think that leaving it actually isn't that bad of an idea. 




Thoughts? 

[edwardofhuncote]

That should be an easy touch-up for a qualified repair shop, but unless you are sure it won't ever happen again, I wouldn't worry over it. I do know how you feel - I'll never forget the first good battle scar my Martin D-16H got... it bugged me for months, until it got another one, then another. I'm sure one day it'll happen to one (or all) of my Alembics too, no matter how fanatically careful I am. So long as it doesn't affect function or playability... que sera, sera.   

[keith_h]

As for me I'm the type, a bit of OCD, if I were to have it fixed I would still know it was there no matter how good of a job was done to patch it. So with that is mind I'd just leave it. Also if you play the bass regularly based on the location it is in the area your forearm will wear off the finish anyway.

[gearhed289]

That seems really minor to me. I would try to find a closely matching nail polish or model paint (or mix a couple to get the right shade) and put a little drop on there. Or just leave it.

[pauldo]

I come from the school of; the chips/ dings etc. are characteristics added to the instrument while we journey through life.

^^^ that also may be my lame justification for not being able to keep things "looking" nice.  Which is why I also proclaim that function supersedes form....

Paul (who has absolutely given up on wearing white clothing)

[Twocan]

The first cut (ding/dent/scratch) is the deepest. From this point on, you'll care less about how it looks and more about how it sounds and plays. Consider it liberating.

[gtrguy]

I'd go find a blue Sharpie marker and daub the spot, but I am a slob at heart!

[cozmik_cowboy]

My thoughts? I think I want that Jaguar!
When I was first married my (then only) guitar sat in a stand beside my desk in the bedroom. One day She pissed me off so bad I kicked the desk chair - which, of course, fell into the guitar.  Did not, fortunately, go through, but it did put a big honkin' dent in the top in the lower treble bout.  Made me sick at the time, especially as there was only one person to blame (OK, yeah, at the time I yelled Her for making me mad enough to do that, but c'mon - only one, right?). 
Right now, though, I can turn my chair away from this desk, and there it is in it's stand, screaming from it's dent "Hey, don't be such a dickhead, fool!"

Peter (who has managed to keep the rest of them in pretty good shape)

[peoplechipper]

The first mark always sucks; I was like that with a new bike even before I started playing...and that was mountain bikes, so ya know the first scratch was days away! my Alembic has way more marks on it than when I got it but way less than it should have( good finish/luck?) and my Ricky is getting scratched from my bracelets but who cares until you try to sell it of course...I actually like beaten-on instruments, they usually have more personality; my melody Maker is a perfect example...

[glocke]

my Alembic has way more marks on it than when I got it but way less than it should have( good finish/luck?)

I think the finish on Alembics must be pretty robust, more so than the paint on Fenders.  I gave my SCSD a good look over and aside from swirl marks in the finish, I only see one ding up by the headstock.  I'm careful, but Im not that careful.

[pauldo]

... screaming from it's dent "Hey, don't be such a dickhead, fool!"

My Distillate has similar witness marks from being a fool...  no one to blame but the guy typing this.  :-/

[CaseyVancouver]

I say leave it alone.

Metallic paint is very hard to match. If they get it perfect, a couple of years down the road the paint colour changes. For sure don't use nail polish as it changes colour super fast, red turns to pink. Here is my '81 precision with every chip caused by myself on gigs. Oh well, it's done a lot of gigs.

[glocke]

I say leave it alone.

Metallic paint is very hard to match. If they get it perfect, a couple of years down the road the paint colour changes. For sure don't use nail polish as it changes colour super fast, red turns to pink. Here is my '81 precision with every chip caused by myself on gigs. Oh well, it's done a lot of gigs.

yeah, I'm almost over it now..It really messed me up for the first few days because not only in 30 some years of playing it's the first time I damaged the finish on a bass (i've always been super careful with my stuff, during set breaks basses always went back in the case, was always aware of my surroundings, etc), but I had just bought the bass and wasn't really intending on using it heavily for gigs, i just liked the color.  Thats changed now and I guess it will be making it's debut at an upcoming gig. 

I'm really not into the relic'd thing either, so who knows.  Maybe after a few more years and a few more paint chips I'll just send it out to get it refinished.

[richbass939]

I guess if it REALLY bothers you then fix it. 
I always thought that if I buy something to be played, dings and wear marks will happen.  I agree with Twocan: "Consider it liberating."  This may sound weird to you all, but I always felt a sense of relief when the first ding happened.  There was an initial "Drat", followed by a feeling of "I'm glad the inevitable has finally happened.  Now I can stop worrying about it."
Rich

[elwoodblue]

I'd put a coat of something over it just to keep moisture and dirt from making it
bigger.