Re: Ding in finish, please help...

Pastor, the first thing you need to understand is that the chances of
making this ding completely disappear, as though it never occurred,
are virtually nonexistent. Some damage will still be visible, even
with the best repair possible.

The only way to completely cover it would be to have a dark sunburst
finish shot over the top, which would cost a lot to do and would
change the appearance of the instrument entirely.

But if you stay with a natural clear finish, there will still be a
mark on the guitar's top, now and forever after.

Okay. Now, take a deep breath, and let's move forward.

The chucklehead who grabbed your guitar and damaged it almost
certainly has NO idea of the value of your Goodall. He sounds like
the sort of person who learned three chords and two rock and roll
riffs while still in high school, and has never progressed since.

To him, an acoustic guitar is an acoustic guitar, and a Costco Yamaha-
in-a-box is probably what he thought your guitar compares to.

So what I suggest you do is this:

First, find a local reputable repair tech who can do the work, and get
a written quote for what the job will cost. Make a Xerox copy of the
quote for your little pal.

Second, find a catalogue or a webpage with your same Goodall or a
similar model with - and this is important - the price of the
instrument clearly visible on the same page. Make another Xerox or
print it out, again, for your little pal to look at.

Third, pick a moment when you can walk up to the guy, give him the
information, then disengage without giving the appearance of walking
straight away. Probably the best time would be in the parish hall
during coffee hour after church.

If this guy is married, all the better. Try to pick a time when his
wife is there.

Then say:

"You know, Frank, it's unfortunate that you grabbed the guitar so
quickly before I had a chance to tell you to be careful with it,
because it's a valuable instrument and it's going to cost a little bit
to get it fixed. My understanding is that there's NO WAY to make the
damage invisible, but I'm told it's still a good idea to get the bare
wood where it's been dinged resealed. Here's a catalogue page that
shows what the guitar cost me, and here's what the quote for the
repair work comes to. I would sure appreciate some help covering
those repair costs."

Then you handle it from there. I think I would then walk away, and let
the enormity of what he's done sink in, but it will depend on his
personality and, more importantly, that of his wife.

Some people in a group, confronted with their own irresponsibility and
the damage it's caused, will counterattack and say something like:
"Well, you should KNOW better than to bring an instrument that
expensive into a (church/school/bar/summer camp/your choice of
location here)!!"

Or they might be perfectly nice about it.

Or somewhere in between.

Best case scenario, they apologize and offer to cover the repair
costs, and you graciously accept their offer without further comment
or recrimination.

There's no reason, as some folks here on this thread have blithely
suggested, that you just passively accept the situation and the damage
as a mark of character.

But you DO need to accept that the guitar will never look new and
undamaged again. That's just how it is, and unfortunately nothing can
be done to completely reverse what happened.

So find out from Goodall what finish is on there, get a price quote
from a good local repair tech, try to get the damage cleaned up as
much as possible, and try to get the guy who did the damage to pay for
the repair.

That's the best you can do.

Good luck with it.


Wade Hampton Miller
Chugiak, Alaska
.

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