Repairing clearcoat cracks in old Ibanez

[SilverSurfer2]

I have an old Ibanez "les paul" style semi hollow body that was given to me from a good friend of mine. For its age, it is in good condition, but has a finish flaw that i'd like to fix up.

The flaw is in the clearcoat finish. There are two long cracks (they pretty much extend across the whole body: top to bottom, but fall short of the binding on both sides) in the clearcoat but not the wood or paint and then several other clearcoat cracks in various spots on the body.

This guitar has binding around the body and neck, and then some inlays on the body under the bridge.

I do not want to ruin the inlays or the binding. How do you get rid of the clear coat cracks without messing around with the inlays and binding??

Do i have to sand the clearcoat down to the finish of the whole body and then shoot the body with fresh coats of clear?? Or is that not necessary?

I know Frank falbo and a few others on here have probably done this fix up job before.....so i'll wait for your responses

Thanks in advance!

[the.godfather]

Is it me or did I hear before that clear nail polish can work to repair clear coat chips and cracks?? I am sure I read that somewhere.
Gary - The.Godfather

[Jem7RB MK]

I always use clear nail polish, althou Rich use's Super Glue (CA) super glue wont fade, or change colour, but it's harder to work with ...

Take ya pic ;-)

Rob

[frankfalbo]

The thin superglue will find its way into the crack, almost rejoining the two sides and making it invisible. Nailpolish or lacquer will just coat the surface. If they're long like that I'll usually scrape along it with the corner of a razor blade to get a little "vee" groove so the glue flows in there better. You don't want to ask the glue to flow too deep because it won't. It will harden before it sucks its way all the way down. Then you're "locked out" for good. The groove gives you a little more glue surface to bond and buff when you're done. If you want, you can humidify the guitar in the bathroom with the shower going first. It was the expansion of the wood that cracked it in the first place. So if the wood is expanded, you should have an easier time getting the glue into the crack. That's just theory. It could make so little difference that its not worth it.