Help filling cavity holes

[sonic gihad]

I got an RR7R and I have already removed the paint... well most of it. I am planning to install EMG 707s on it but would hate to have to use a pickup ring so I was thinking of filling a portion of the pickup cavity to minimize the gap and make it look clean and natural. What can I use to do this? Do I still need to gue a piece of wood or can I get away with some fiber glass? There's not a whole lot to fill so I doubt it will affect anything.

[rjohnstone]

Automotive body filler (Bondo) works great for these types of mods.

[Axewielder]

There are some new Charvel customs out with direct mounted hums that you can use for a visual reference.

[Model1VH2]

Bondo shrinks...
I'd use Marine Tex.

[sully]

yep. Marine Tex effing RULES. i started using it on dino's suggestion. it's great, doesn't shrink, and it's invisible under paint. see?

before:



after:



Marine Tex FTW!!!!

sully

[sonic gihad]

Which Marine Tex should I use exactly???

http://www.marinetex.com/MarineTexproducts.html

[bombtek]

Off topic.

What the hell does FTW stand for?

[rjohnstone]

FTW = For The Win

[Axewielder]

What the hell does FTW stand for?

It's the Amtrack code for Fort Worth, Texas...the city famous for not building Model series Charvels.

[dg]

Sully, a couple of questions relating back to Mark's method of doing Bondo fills:

1- Would Marine Tex eliminate the need for the thin layer of glazing compound on top? I'm guessing yes, but even though I know better than to speak for him, I can picture Mark saying he'd still glaze the whole top because of the different properties of wood & epoxy.

2- For a cavity fill, would you still bevel your the edges first to get a smoother angle to feather it in? I think I'd still do it that way.

[sully]

Which Marine Tex should I use exactly???

http://www.marinetex.com/MarineTexproducts.html

this one

Sully, a couple of questions relating back to Mark's method of doing Bondo fills:

1- Would Marine Tex eliminate the need for the thin layer of glazing compound on top? I'm guessing yes, but even though I know better than to speak for him, I can picture Mark saying he'd still glaze the whole top because of the different properties of wood & epoxy.

Yeah, I would say that it would eliminate the need for the glaze. I was really surprised at how invisible it was after sanding it flat. You seriously can't see it at all.

2- For a cavity fill, would you still bevel your the edges first to get a smoother angle to feather it in? I think I'd still do it that way.

Yeah, you could do that; it's a great practice regardless, so why deviate? On that LP, I filled an extra hole that was drilled; i plugged it just under flush, marine tex-ed it, and sanded it flat. I'll say that I haven't had results that were as good with using the polyester glaze. But that's me.

Sully

[Model1VH2]

Great work Sully!

Another advantage to using Marine Tex over Bondo is that you can drill it without compromising the structural integrity.
Works great for patch-work in areas involving hardware, whereas Bondo holes may have a tendency to strip or even crumble under stress.

[dg]

Cool! Thanks guys. I'll retire the Bondo.