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Hi all,
First Build -a thinline Tele , did a dry fit - was all going pretty well as far as i could tell.
Then tried to stain the top and this happened - should see picture somewhere.
Stain seeped into cracks in the binding from behind. Have already scraped the binding best i can. Is this un-savable? Any suggestions?
Attachment 38483
Sheesh mate I feel your pain. I believe that binding is the devil. I am afraid that as those cracks appear pretty deep, and nothing you can do to save this stuff. I would suggest considering sanding it off....rounding the edge over.....or try somehow to get the existing binding off and stick some new stuff on.Quote:
Originally Posted by CantGuitar
These guys have some stuff....not cheap though.
https://luthiersupplies.com.au/white...uitar-bindings
You are scaring me now....I am building a Thinline with a Bigsby and I am about to start stain tomorrow......hmmm....maybe some steel wool on the binding to smooth it a little.....or even some clear poly first I think.
Good luck with yours.
I feel your pain i had the same happen to my HB4 build, i didnt find anything to fix it so i will live with the marks. I tried scraping / sanding / different solvents / steel wool the stains did reduce slightly.
Best of luck to get it sorted.
I agree those cracks do appear to be quite deep. I've only done one kit build with binding and I had very minimal issue with the stain seeping past the masking. Maybe I was just lucky as mine cleaned up nicely with just scraping.
One of our fellow members (Simon B) has had to paint binding white to fix it before, so maybe he'll jump in here and offer good advice. He's a pretty clever lad!
A few people have had good success painting the binding, that's certainly an option.
Seems hard to paint and might be beyond me - do you mind linking a build which shows the painting of binding? - i couldn't find.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Sigh... i think i can live with it... i know its my first build but i just didn't see this coming....
Thanks - just read your build. Despite you having the same issue yours looks great. I think i can live with it too, hopefully the rest of build goes well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bugeye29
Hi, just for reference, is it a particular type of stain (water, alcohol, oil-based) that bleeds a lot into the binding?
Not a fan of binding due to what has happened here.
Only done 2 builds with binding and both worked out OK but it took a lot of prepping. It had to be highly polished and super fine grit wet & dry paper followed by 0000 steel wool were used. Others had suggested using a liquid latex product to paint over binding before doing stain to provide a barrier to repel stain.
Instead I found the highest grade painters masking tape and carefully applied, cut & trimmed to fit, heald my breath, crossed fingers and successfully applied several stain coats without drama. Sheer luck I guess. Maybe using water based ink stains helped to some degree.
Bit late to try again and if left as is you have already begun the relicing process that naturally occurs over time. Personally I would leave it alone and focus more on how it feels and sounds, somethings unaffected by the binding.
Cheers Waz
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For reference this was Feast Watson Black Japan. But i don't know if it has anything to do with it. Most of the rest of it is absolutely fine. Just this area which seems to have some large cracks in the binding (which were obviously not visible before staining)
I am just gonna push on - and focus on playability.
So do i just apply clear over the binding? Is that the norm?
Applying clear if that is your top coat makes sense.
Some people scrape binding after final coats to take it back to original and then polish up, which is what I did on the ES, my 2nd attempt with binding as first one has that aged yellowing appearance.
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Crazy thought......how about using bleach on the cracks or maybe use a baking soda paste as that may not be as harsh to use?
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Hi all
Just for future reference for those contemplating a build with binding.
This problem is not unique to guitars/luthiery. It is a known problem in fine cabinetry and furniture restoration.
The usual solution is to apply a couple of coats of thinned clear coat/lacquer/varnish to the binding prior to any stain. Doing this will seep into the cracks first and seal them (hence the couple of coats). Then scrape back on the surface and you can then stain (or do not scrape back before staining to avoid any surface colouration of the binding). The problem is avoiding any 'sealer' soaking in to the adjacent material that you DO want to stain later.
This technique is used not only on plastic binding but also wood purfling and sound hole rosettes.
I know this does not help the OP ........ I feel your pain also.
Cheers
Ricky
I mentioned this last time stained binding came up (just recently).Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
I haven’t tried it, nor anyone else that I’ve seen, so can’t say if it’s effective or damages the binding at all.
Might be worth testing on an inconspicuous area just to see.
I was thinking a cotton swab might be the best applicator.
If I ever do another build with binding, I think I’d do a thinned clear coat sealer like Ricky suggested.
Maybe I just got lucky the first time, or maybe my kit was older stock with different binding material. There certainly seems to have been a spate of binding/staining issues in the past six months or so.
I sealed the purfling on my GR-1SF before staining. Wasn’t perfect but the results were cleaner than on my ES-5V. Perhaps some of the cracks are so big I needed to give it a few more coats.
Hey CG, although I can't help with your binding problems, I would just like to encourage you.Quote:
Originally Posted by CantGuitar
I have made more than a few flawed guitars in my time but for me appearance is the least important of my guitar attributes. Firstly are they a pleasure to play. If yes then your guitar is a success.
I now look at the flaws on my guitars with fond attachment and consider them as character traits. Don't get me wrong I still try to make them and well as I can, but part of making a hand made guitar is that they will not all be perfect, that's just how it is.
Don't beat yourself up and get discouraged, I am sure you will end up with a guitar that you will be proud of. And of course you have learned something new and will be able to use that knowledge on your next build.
Oh yes, there will be a next one.
Cheers
rob
That's bad news, CantGuitar. I masked the binding on my ST with pinstriping tape from an autoparts store, and came out alright. But I don't think I was dealing with the cracks as you are. Good luck with the rest of the build.