What Kind Of Glue To Use....

[djhollowman]

Hi all,

I'm about to replace a missing soundhole rosette on a friends Ovation electro-acoustic.

The underside of the new rosette is completely flat, and made of plastic.

I'm wondering what is the best type of glue to use for this? I don't want any obvious signs, or any blooming/reaction etc.

The old (factory fitted) one was obviously stuck down with some kind of black brittle resin, which I've carefully removed of course!

So, epoxy? Superglue/CA?

(I did do a very quick search on the forum here,but didn't find an immediate answer)

Thanks,

DJ

[Ptt-Guitars]

Are you refinishing the guitar? I wouldn't use super glue as it can seep out into the surrounding timber and show up yellow when re-sprayed. For a plastic Rosette I'd recommend Acetone glue(I think that's what its called), it'll melt the underside of the inlay slightly and help it to bond to the timber...then just scrape back and finish.

Is the new rosette a tight fit or just firm?

[Mattia]

Seal the channel with a coat of whatever you're using, or shellac, then CA/superglue it in. It's what I do on my natural finished spruce acoustic guitars.

[djhollowman]

Are you refinishing the guitar? I wouldn't use super glue as it can seep out into the surrounding timber and show up yellow when re-sprayed. For a plastic Rosette I'd recommend Acetone glue(I think that's what its called), it'll melt the underside of the inlay slightly and help it to bond to the timber...then just scrape back and finish.

Is the new rosette a tight fit or just firm?

Thanks for your comments guys!

No, I won't be refinishing the guitar. The original soundhole rosette was broken off, but the damage was limited to the area under itself only, so no need for a refinish.

The new rosette actually sits on top of the wood surrounding the hole, it isn't "inlaid" flush around the hole......if you see what I mean??

Seal the channel with a coat of whatever you're using, or shellac, then CA/superglue it in. It's what I do on my natural finished spruce acoustic guitars.

When installed the rosette sits slightly proud of the guitar surface.

Could you explain what you mean about the channel please?

Still unsure which glue to use though. Because it'll be entirely covered by the rosette anyway, I'm thinking I could use more or less anything really! Are there any glues to avoid in this situation?

Thanks,

DJ

[Mattia]

The channel = the route the rosette sits in. I seal it with a coat or two of shellac to prevent the superglue from seeping into the wood and discolouring it. But yeah, use any glue that sticks to both the rosette and the underlying material; CA sticks to almost anything, and you can wick it in (drip along the edges) with the rosette already in place and positioned just how you like it. That's why I do my wood rosettes with CA, espcially if pearl is involved.

[Setch]

For the cheesy, surface mounted monstrosity which ovation use in place of a rosette, I'd use CA or epoxy. Glue it directly to the bullet-proof ovation poly finish, you won't hurt it, and stripping it or removing it is nigh on impossible without routing it away. Scrape away any old residue first, but be careful to colour inside the lines

For reference, this is what DJ is describing;

It's a plastic ring, about 1.5mm thick, with a printed pattern on it. It's glued onto the guitar top without any channel or rebate being routed, and stands proud of the top. It's also butt ugly.

[fryovanni]

Interesting, If this is a traditional rosette (routed, layed into the route, and surfaced flush), then Mattia is spot on the money. Sealing any exposed raw spruce would be a must, because CA or Epoxy would work its way into the exposed grain discoloring it.

If it is glued on the top of a finished (completely sealed) soundboard, then you just want to be sure the glue will adhear to the finish and of course you clean any glue that may squeeze out. I would think CA would make this a fast project and holds very strong with very little glue(so you could be conservative and not risk squeeze out). Epoxy sometimes has trouble adhearing to smoothly finished surfaces, and would likely be more prone to squeeze out as it needs to be applied a bit thicker than CA to get a good hold.

Peace,Rich

[Mattia]

Ah. See, I steer clear of them ovations. Then I say thick CA. It's how quite a number of companies glue acoustic bridges to finished tops.

[djhollowman]

For the cheesy, surface mounted monstrosity which ovation use in place of a rosette, I'd use CA or epoxy. Glue it directly to the bullet-proof ovation poly finish, you won't hurt it, and stripping it or removing it is nigh on impossible without routing it away. Scrape away any old residue first, but be careful to colour inside the lines

For reference, this is what DJ is describing;

It's a plastic ring, about 1.5mm thick, with a printed pattern on it. It's glued onto the guitar top without any channel or rebate being routed, and stands proud of the top. It's also butt ugly.

YES YES! Setch mah man you are 100% correct!

So, think I'll just epoxy it on after all! Cool.

Yes, I realise it's nothing like a real rosette, but I thank you all for your comments anyway! Someday I may have need of this info!

Lol - yup it IS pretty ugly, but the one I'm installing is "slightly" less ugly than the one in your photo, as I said in the beginning....it's not MY guitar hahah!

And it's all experience isn't it?

So there's some value in it.

Does this sound like I'm trying to justify something here.....?????

thanks guys!

DJ