Amateur Acoustic Guitar Repair

hyperfish

Nothing much this weekend, I've been working on a different guitar.

The binding arrived, all 5ft of it when all I need is a few inches. Both the white and the black will need sanding thinner to match the existing stuff.


Before fitting that I need to fill the gap so It adheres properly.
  

Using this.


I'll let it cure until I get some more time on the guitar.

reevesy

had no idea you could buy the binding.....
that should really finish it off mate

hyperfish

You can buy almost anything from China

hyperfish

Binding. The instrument has 1mm white and 1.5mm black, both parts of the new stuff are 1.5mm so needed to file and sand the white strip.



I used CA to glue them together and then put them in the clamp.


After test fitting and sanding several times, I used CA again to attach it to the guitar while I held it in place with my thumbs. Once it had held, I ran some more around the joint.


There isn't any white binding on the back, but the black here is 1mm. This can be filed and sanded down in situ later.


I filed the top edge of the bindings close to being level with the guitar surface.


Next step was to fill the gaps with Cataloy putty.

KungFuPro

Binding job looks neat, is that the last of the repairs? looking forward to the finish.

hyperfish

Yep, the main repairs are just about done. I'm starting to see daylight at the end of the tunnel now.

hyperfish

Filed and sanded the binding pieces following the radius of the guitar body.


Cleaned up the areas with Ronson fluid. The joints are smooth to the touch but will need tidying up with a bit of colouring. I'm quite pleased with the results overall.


The Cataloy has shrunk a bit while drying so I did a bit more filling.


Shot a bit of primer as a test. Mmm, I think I'm going to try without.


Masked off to protect the neck and bridge from over spray, then on my way to see what Halfords have in store.

hyperfish

Clunk click!


I got some funny looks in Halfords.


I settled for Vauxhall Brazilian Brown and clear lacquer. I've decided against colouring the centre of the top. Firstly the wood grain will be lost under a solid colour, and secondly the less finish on an acoustic top, the better.

hyperfish

Did some test shots. Brown over black on the left, brown only on the right. I'm going with brown only.


The factory guys make scraping the binding after spraying look easy. I don't think its as easy as it looks, so I masked of with electrical tape which is nice and pliable, the sound hole rosette too.


I'm sure that I don't have the skill or steady hand to spray the tear drop burst freehand, so I plan to use a template.
I used a cornflake box (crunchy nut of course) and using my fingers as a guide I followed the edges of the guitar body. I jacked the template up on screws and the final height will be determined after some testing.


By freehand I shot the bare wood with the brown to start building up some coats.


Edit: there are two small spots on the front that I need to fix. I've ordered a pack of furniture touch up pens similar to those that Christian 71 recommended.

gkf9

That looks fantastic already!