A (non PB) guitar body with a crack - can this be saved or is it fire wood?

So well. I bought a b-grade guitar kit with a crack. The crack between the pickup cavities is deep and goes right trough but it's very fine. The crack under the bridge is not that deep and it stops after the hole for the bridge posts.

I still bought the kit because I liked the double binding (front and back as well as the headstock), but I'm actually pretty shocked about the quality of it. The seller says he has a good reputation in Germany and many people like his kits but so far, it's pretty underwhelming to me. A lot of ugly glue marks everywhere. My sub 100€ kit from eBay looked miles better from the start.
But ok. Let's see.

My idea was to fill the crack with liquid superglue (CA) and then sand it level (carefully). Then maybe some wood filler.

I actually planned to stain the guitar black, but with visible grain. I didn't plan on making a "pretty" guitar, because I really don't fancy these traditional LPs. But now the question is, is the crack going to be a problem or is it just cosmetic? I mean it's not a hollow body and it does not go right through the back, so I hope it's going to work out. But what do you guys think?

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You can save anything if you're willing to paint it a solid colour, it ain't scrap. Having said that its a bit worrying. I'm presuming its the typical situation of a body cap on top of a body of different wood, and the crack is only in the cap. If so my first guess would be that one or the other wasn't flat when they were clamped and glued together. In that case a relevant question is whether the crack down towards the bridge will propagate further with time. I'm not sure there's any way of answering that. You could try drilling a hole in line with the crack under the tailpiece in the hope that if it makes it that far the hole will stop it going any further (you'd fill the hole!)

Not good. I don't like the way the crack is so near the bridge post hole. Inserting that could open the crack up further. There's not a lot you can do apart from trying to glue it and hope it holds. you'd need something that's good when bridging large gaps, so I'd be thinking of a thin epoxy and wick it into those cracks. It's not going to look pretty, though you could paint a couple of matching solid stripes afterwards down the body to cover up the glue line. Maybe even black stripes to match the black stain. Something like this.

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You should be able to get the other glue marks off with a mixture of glue remover or acetone and sanding. Just keep any acetone away from the binding. It's a solid top from the look of it, so you can happily sand away as required.

Hey guys, thank you!

It's unfortunately not a solid top :( Just the usual paper thin veneer.

I managed to get most of the glue off with aceton and sanding, but there is some discoloration left. Not sure if it will take the stain there or if I have to change my plans.

Do you think it would be a good idea to insert the bridge posts now, before staining? If the crack widens, I would have a better chance of fixing stuff before it is stained or even finished.

The crack is running through the cap between the pickup cavities, but it is shallow where the bridge posts are. So I haven't drilled a hole yet but I keep the idea in the back of my head.

The whole body is stained with glue, it's just ridiculous. Maybe somebody built it with their feet or something?

I have put the bridge posts into the freezer. Maybe I'll try hammering them in tomorrow. Let's see if I destroy the body by accident ;-)

Other than that, this kit is really shitty. The sides of the body are uneven. The binding is higher than the uneven sides. I need to fill the sides and sand down the binding, too. The body is 2 pieces that don't match at the slightest. The neck has a filled hole right at the head plate. The tuner holes are all wonky.
Really, I would have expected this at a 100€ set from AliExpress but NOT with a kit that cost double of this, at a reduced rate (because of the crack). It usually costs between 250 and 280€ which is totally ridiculous. I pity the fools that paid the full price for this.

So is the crack into the main body timber? That's really bad news.

No, the crack is in the cap. But the cap is not solid maple, it is mahogany (I guess).

The rear should be mahogany (or a variant of mahogany) and the cap on top should be maple with a maple veneer. But it does depend on the spec of the body. The cap may be something like sycamore. Have you got a link to the eBay page? That cap has cracked and has taken the glued-on veneer with it. Probably not seasoned for long enough before it was used.

It looks like this was a kit put together from parts that should have been rejected at the factory.

I don't mind high binding as it means that it can be sanded or scraped level with the top, but everything else is pretty bad.

Simon, I think you are right. The cap is maple, the flaming is a maple veneer. I would love to post the link to the shop page, but I don't want to get sued or anything (because I said the kit is shit not up to standard).

I can send it per private message if you want.

Anyway, I got the bridge posts in. So far, the crack has not expanded! :D

BUT as I put the studs in the freezer before hammering them in, I'd rather wait until they expanded before praising my luck :-)

I haven't put in the tailpiece studs yet as I need to drill the ground wire hole first and it's probably better doing this when I'm done with staining.

Some pics:

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Oh and if you wonder how much filling the sides needed until they are at least somewhat even:

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Not done yet, but at least getting there...

I found one good thing about the kit: The neck has a perfect fit. Really nice and snug.

Oh and no, I don't drink while working! ;)
The small wine bottle is nice to sand the round spots :D

And you definitely need a large wine bottle when guitar building!

Even though I checked the front for glue spots like a dozend times and sanded it really really carefully but throughly, I have freaking glue stains.

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Feck!

As I wasn't sure how to proceed best, I sanded the black back.

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Now the glue spots kinds blended in, but I have a line at the center AND a black line where the crack goes (which seems to go right to the bottom).

Now I don't know what to do. I might add a black gradient (you guitar guys call it burst I guess) around the corners, but there are glue spots around the rims so... Meh. I don't like this kit :(

I couldn't leave it like that so I restained a burst yesterday.

But I have a few spots where the stain just won't stick. After closer examination, I think these are not "normal" glue spots, I think the veneer is broken/fizzled out at a few tiny spots straight next to the binding. So sanding won't do any good.

What would you guys recommend to cover these spots? I have tried pencils and india ink but no luck. I have some acrylic here.. Would that work? It's just a few tiny spots around the binding. Otherwise, I have a plain old waterproof sharpie as a last resort.... But would the topcoat remove it again?

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It's dark grey, not black, so matching the colour with a Sharpie is hard, I have used them before for touching up damaged areas. It's a bit hit or miss as to what the finish does to it. Black normally isn't too bad as its a single colour, but some of the colours can split into their component tints, so it's always safest to test it on a scrap bit of wood.

The best solution (and the one that I'd use) is to spray the burst round the edge with solid black spray, so it will cover up any imperfections (you can then also fill any small holes in the veneer first so the top is smooth). Would you be able to spray with a spray can?

Spraying would be great, but unfortunately, we live in the city center, small flat, no garden, tiny balcony... So not possible :(

I'm considering the acrylic paint.... Just hope for the best on this guitar.

No friends with a back garden you could visit and use for some spraying?

No. :-(

My mom has a garden but she lives 800km away.

I have also never sprayed anything, at least nothing this size (I sprayed clear coat on a name plate once, does that count? LOL).

It's a start!

I actually got as far as almost marrying the neck and the body. Yay.

However, there is a small gap visible. Is that okay (within tolerance) or do I have to fix it? If yes, what would be the best way?

Should I either sand the inside of the joint (the top) a bit so they sit flush?
Or should I glue some veneer to the back to fill the gap?

What would be the better solution? Sanding I guess?

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It's very hard to say without having it in front of you. I don't know how the neck joint is constructed and what bits overhang other bits. Some of the gaps may disappear once the neck is firmly clamped together when being glued, so its' worth seeing whet that looks like with clamps and no glue.

This is the point where I'd get some chalk, wipe it on either the pocket of the heel, put the neck in and see where it's touching. If the neck isn't sitting flat against the bottom of the pocket, then sand down areas the chalk has left its mark. But if there are bits of the top of the neck joint that prevent the neck sitting lower, then they need to be sanded down.

The neck may be able to be pushed back more, but that may depend on how the end of the neck interacts with the neck pickup rout. You want the end of the neck sitting 0.5 to 1mm clear of the pickup rout, so the pickup ring will cover the end of the rout. If it sticks in to the pickup rout, then you'll have a visible gap which means that you'll either need to sand the end of the neck back, or cut.file a section out of the pickup ring so it will fit without any gap showing.

It's hard to get a totally gap-free neck joint, so some amount of filling and touching up around the joint is expected. At least you've got a nice solid colour that will hide any filler.

Great advice Simon, thank you! Will get some chalk now :D

You are right, the pressure from the clamps closes the gap! Thanks again!

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God news.

When glueing, leave the neck a good 24 hours with the clamps on, as it is a joint under tension and the harder the glue sets before the clamps are released, the stronger it is.

Aye! No touchy until tomorrow, 3pm!