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Permalink Reply by Paul H (PRH) on May 19, 2010 at 2:33am

I can offer two additional solutions that have worked for me. One is to place a small drop of saliva on the dent (works for small dents only). The moisture and possibly the enzymes swell the wood leaving the dent gone or smaller.
For more serious dents a moist rag placed on the dent, then hit for several short durations with a soldering iron has the same swelling effect. A bit of sanding and/or refinish and you're done.
When you've made as many "oopses" as I have you learn some un-do tricks.
My .02 is to try this on a test piece you've dented on purpose first to get a feel for it all.
Hope this helps,
PRH

Permalink Reply by Phil Delpierre on May 19, 2010 at 12:15pm

Once my box is prepped (sanded/cleaned up), I generally give it one coat of tung oil or clearcoat (whatever finish I'm planning on). It' just gives it much more durability as I go through the process of cutting slots/holes etc. Saves time later on, and results in less dings and dents. At that point, I'm not thinkin' finish as much as protection.