Dent video...



Some people do small dents with a soldering iron...I have only done it like this guy does.

I think all of the PB archtops are plywood. Back and sides have a basswood veneer as the top. Tops have a figured maple veneer. The latter is super thin. The back and sides are not quite as thin, but I have managed to sand through one of mine anyway. I don't know if they iron trick will work on plywood. It might, but the risk would be compromising the laminations. I have only tried it on solid woods, so am not sure...maybe someone will chime in who has?

I have never tried the stain you are using, but some prefer to go on before grain filling and others after.

You can certainly fill to get the spot flat, but with some stains it might look similar to a glue spot. I'd definitely try it on scrap first. I had some tear-out on one of the holes I drilled for a string through bass. I filled the gouge with small pieces of wood that I shaved off a similar colored wood. I am not sure I recommend this, but I filled the hole with AquaCoat clear filler mixed with some stain. I then put the pieces in place, and then sanded it flat after it dried, and added a bit more stain. It worked reasonably well.

If the hole is not too big, even if it's a mm deep, you could use clear filler. I have a few small dents that I have repaired this way and you can't tell they are there once the clear coat is on. I have even used AquaCoat clear to after starting the clear coat by sanding, filling and then adding more clear coat. AquaCoat is not cheap, but it makes up for it by being pretty versatile.