Sterling ray34 Big dent in the body

[Hector293]

Hello everyone, I am new to the forum and I need a little help, I recently bought a sterling ray34 at musicianfriends, despite being brand new it came to my hands without the original box, No original manufacturer's label, scratched pickguard, And a big dent that looks more like a cut, I can't return it because I live in Venezuela, and it would be very expensive to ship back.. So I have to repair it, I will attach some photos, and I would like to know if it is something easy to repair, I don't mind a big scar on the bass, Could I repair it with glue? What dou you recommend? The dent has an opening where a sheet of paper fits, I have never dealt with something like this, any advice is welcome thanks

 

[SgtHulka]

This is one of the better videos I've seen on the topic but you might want to post this for the experts in the Luthier's Corner.

By the way, are you sure the bass isn't insured from damage during shipping? At the very least, I would ask for a significant amount of money returned. I'm in the states, but I won't buy from MF because their return policy sucks.

 

[Hector293]

Hello, thanks for your contribution, I'm going to check the video, I was in the middle of a dispute with musicianfriends and they only returned 10% of what I paid I will not buy from that site again, I really like that bass a lot, it works well and is well adjusted, I'm just worried about that chip, Here in my city there are no luthiers, so I hope it is not so difficult to repair

 

[abarson]

It's kind of hard to tell from your photos, but is the damage just to clear coat finish, or is the wood itself lifting?
If it's the wood, you can inject wood glue with a syringe into the crack and then clamp it until it dries. One way to clamp a curve like that is to get a bicycle inner tube, cut it into long strips, then wrap it in varying directions over the crack and secure it with a knot. Practice the wrap before you inject the glue.
It's really a shame when stuff like this happens. I hope it works out.

 

[Hector293]

it's like a slice of wood so i also thought to inject some glue into it and then clamp it, What glue would you recommend? Can Titebond work? Is it light enough to fit in a syringe?

 

[abarson]

Original Titebond (red label) is fine for this, and should work with a syringe.

 

[Hector293]

ok the titebond glue was too thick to enter that opening, so I decided to do the process with super glue, as it appears in the video posted above, It's still a bit raw, but so far I'd rather have that scar on my bass than that horrible slice of wood, The method is very good, I think that with more practice it would be better lol I wanted to leave it in the hands of an expert but in my city it is simply not an option, Thank you all very much for your contributions, I'll upload some photos in case something similar happens to someone