removing binding

[LukeR]

Hi guys,

I am attempting to restore a $15 second hand Gibson acoustic copy. it seems to be about 20 years old or so (the binding is very yellow). Its a nice guitar to play- I did a quick set up on it- the tuners are cheap and nasty, but the neck is one piece (scarf jointed headstock AFTER the vollute, strangely). Anyway, wilst surprisingly a nice guitar to play, it is very 'dead' sounding (I had to restring with electric strings to get a tone that wasnt completely lifeless).

My plan, therfore, is to replace the top on the guitar (big job, I know, but after all, it was only $15, and it will be a good learning experience even if I ruin it)

The binging is 5 ply black/white; the white of which has aged to a nice, almost TV Yellow.

My question is, it it possible to remove the top from the guitar AND salvage the binding? (the top is a VERY dead and lifeless sounding plywood, so I am not too woried about breaking that. I have found that a solid top generally seems to sound MUCH better than ply, even if the body is ply, so I figuer there is little point in attempting to build an acoustic COMPLETELY from scratch)

Thanks guys,

Luke

[Setch]

Holy Technical error Batman.... looks like the internet sneezed and 3 identical posts came out!

Anywho...

The yellow colour is most likely ambering of the finish, not the binding itself, so it's debatable whether you need to save the binding. That said, it should be possible to remove it using a sharp razor blade and some patience. Since this is an acoustic, the thinner BW laminations are likely to be purflings rather than full height bindings, so they may be impossible to salvage. A good reference is:

Frets.com - Regluing plastic binding

Once you've replaced the top (no small challenge in itself!) you'll need to finish it, and then refinish the binding area. Getting an invisible seam will be tough, but not impossible. It sounds like this guitar is a good candidate - since it is inexpensive and you're not attached to the sound you don't stand to lose much if you fudge it. If you touch up with nitro lacquer (apparently tough to find in Aus) you can amber it by leaving it out in the sun. Alternatively you can tint you finish with a compatible amber dye.

All in all, not an easy job, but it can be done, and you've chosen a good instrument to try it on, rather than a pre-war Martin or your special favorite guitar.

[LukeR]

Thanks Setch,

I ll be sure to give that a try

Cheers,

Luke

(and sorry about the glitch!)