#3rd Custom GR-1SF ‘Annylonation’.

[thess]

All taped up and ready for mahogany staining tomorrow.

Hey DarkMark - I am just about to start staining the front of my ESB4 and I am worried about the binding/purfling around the f holes and face of the guitar body. Can you please elaborate on the tape youve used in the pic and any other advice? I used blue painters tape when doing the back and the sides and apart from a little bit of bleeding, it has come out well.

Love the finish and the build so far. Congrats on the subterfuge but its always just a matter of time until wives uncover new purchases

[DarkMark]

Hey DarkMark - I am just about to start staining the front of my ESB4 and I am worried about the binding/purfling around the f holes and face of the guitar body. Can you please elaborate on the tape youve used in the pic and any other advice? I used blue painters tape when doing the back and the sides and apart from a little bit of bleeding, it has come out well.

Love the finish and the build so far. Congrats on the subterfuge but its always just a matter of time until wives uncover new purchases

Hi Thess, thanks for the compliment. As you said, it was only a matter of time before my wife found out. Luckily I live under a benevolent dictator.

Forum members put me onto 6mm automotive tape on a previous build. I had trouble finding it locally and ended up buying it from eBay. It also comes in different widths. It’s not perfect but does the majority of the work. Stain will find its way into cracks, especially around tight bends. I use a scalpel blade to scrape the binding from that point on.
Tips;
I found I should of waited a couple of days after removing the tape so the tape glue/stain residue is thoroughly dry so you don’t pick it up on your gloved hands and place them back down on your guitar.
Where gloves when scraping.
Don’t try to do it all at once. It’s hours of fun, but after about two hours of scraping I find I am more at risk of a little slip onto the wood.
As I mentioned in my diary the clear coats will drag a bit of colour over the purfling. It’s only subtle, up to you if you want to do anything about that. I did, more hours of fun.
Take your time, don’t rush.

I read all the diaries so I’ll see how you get on. Good luck!