Epiphone SG ding

I just bought this sweet Epiphone SG 400 on eBay, and though it was very well packed it somehow suffered a nasty ding!!! This is one I'm not planning on selling; I'll need to do some cosmetic work... I had considered doing something along the lines of what I've seen online (pics included, not my original work) so this shouldn't interfere. I had toyed with the idea of leaving the body as is, but the destroyed finish has sealed its fate. It's right in a spot that really irritates the underside of your arm too... about perfectly awful. But, it still sounds awesome with actual Gibson Burstbucker Pro pickups installed, and no neck / peg head issues, which is what I worried about in shipping!!

I'm not sure what USPS was up to, but this poor guitar didn't like it. The damage is over an inch long and there are cracked pieces underneath the dent just waiting to flake off... (heavy sigh). Hard to get good pics of it in my dim basement... the flash overpowers everything and it just glows red.