Bacchus Woodline517 AC BGP | Part 4

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Repairing the Finish

Dear readers, here's the final post on this gorgeous Bacchus Woodline517 AC BGP five-string bass. As received, a couple of issues needed to be addressed, amongst them; excessive neck relief and a grimy fretboard. However, what troubled owner Enche Nodi the most was impact damage on the back of the oil-finished instrument, to the right of the belly cut. The finish had cracked on both sides of the point of impact, exposing raw ash.

The Damaged Area

What was I to do, then? This was not your run-of-the-mill heavy poly finish, but a very thin hand-applied mixture of black stain and oil. Going in with guns blazing would only make matters worse, of that I was sure. And, if I removed too much of anything, it would be impossible to restain the affected area to match the rest of the back. After careful thought, I decided to begin repairs by darkening the exposed wood with ColorTone Dark Walnut Liquid Stain.

ColorTone Dark Walnut Liquid Stain Applied

The stain was applied over two days, and after sufficient drying time, the areas in question had darkened sufficiently. This allowed me to to proceed to the next step, which was filling the cracks with super glue. And so, over the course of the next three days, layer upon layer of super glue was patiently built up; resulting in raised ridges that resembled scar tissue.

Cracks Filled with Super Glue

Once the final layer of super glue had cured, it was time to slowly scrape and lower the raised ridges using Frank Ford's Razor Blade Trick. In this way, none of the areas surrounding the filled cracks were touched. Scraping was followed by final leveling with needle files, and scuff-sanding with 3M Scotch-Brite Pads to smooth things out.

Alright, then. With the repaired areas sufficiently blended into their surroundings, I could move on to the final step, namely, sealing. Now, as this was an oil finish, the most compatible sealant on hand was Minwax Antique Oil Finish. Three light coats of the oil were applied in total, with a day in between each coat to give the oil sufficient time to cure. No polishing ensued, but simply a gentle buffing with chamois cloth.

Minwax Antique Oil Finish

In Between Coats

Finish Repair Completed