fixing a poly finish ?

[glen rudolph]

Hi folks,

I have a guitar with a good size crack in the finish.It's a little hard to describe but the finish has actually curled up and
you can feel the ridge very easily where it is "cracked".The finish is a quilted sunburst with a clear poly on top.I'm not
expecting to do a flawless repair but I would like to do the best I can with it.It was like this when I received it so I could
not say what happened to it.Looks like maybe something was spilled on it or perhaps exposed to heat.Hoping the
photo will make it a little easier to see.Would appreciate any info you could tell me.I have seen a lot of articles where
the poly finish was filled with crazy glue and sanded down but I need to find a way to make the poly finish lay flat again
so this situation is a little unique I guess (it looks like if you saw a map and there was a mountain range,best I can
describe it,I would say the ridge is about 3 mm high).

[Barry Daniels]

Can you press the raised portion down with a tool, like a dull knife? If so, it might be reattached by holding it down while placing CA into the crack. Keep holding it down while you spray some accelerator on the glue. It may be necessary to hold the chip down for several minutes so find a comfortable position.

The glue can both fill and re-attach loose pieces of finish. Additional applications of CA will be necessary to fill the crack. Let it cure for a couple of days then scrape level, sand and buff.

[Mario Proulx]

Before you try anything, give us more photos. Different angles, different lighting. Hold a straight edge to it to show how much it is puckered.

At any rate, never hit CA with accelerator when doing a repair. Yes, it may work, but it may turn white. Depends on humidity and other factors, but CA is fast enough on its own. Put away the accelerator for this task....

[Barry Daniels]

Some of the old liquid accelerators did create a white crust. I have not found that to be the case with the aerosol accelerator from Stew Mac.

[Mark Wybierala]

The older style clear flexible plastic packages that all new guitar string sets used to come in do not bond to CA. I used these when I need to re-secure lifting poly with a light clamp.