Inlay Question

[masonchumpia]

This problem is on a Les Paul with trapezoidal inlays. I've had the inlays worked on before, and I believe the person who worked on them used superglue to keep them in there previously, but for some reason two of the inlays have started to lift again. They stand proud of the fingerboard on the treble side by about 1 or 2 mm. I can press them back in so that they are flush with the fretboard surface, but they will spring back up unless they are properly re-glued. I tried to lift them out with an X-Acto knife but they don't seem like they want to come out all the way (the glue on the bass side seems to be holding up better). Ultimately, I want the inlays to stay flush with the fretboard surface again. What is the best way to approach this problem? Can anyone here who's worked on inlays like these before walk me through this? Thanks.

[mwcarl]

I have only done a few inlays, but this should be reasonably easy to fix. First I'd remove the inlay, if it was superglue that was used you can use something containing acetone to dissolve the glue (like nail polish remover). Then clean up the excess glue in the fingerboard and reseat the inlay. Hopefully someone can confirm that this is a good solution.

Edited October 21, 2010 by mwcarl

[mwcarl]

I forgot to add, you need to be careful when trying to remove the inlay, it doesn't take much force to break it.

[masonchumpia]

use something containing acetone to dissolve the glue (like nail polish remover)

If I go ahead with this, are there any special precautions I should take to protect the rest of the fretboard? Any special steps I need to take to make sure the acetone travels under the inlay and attacks the glue?

[mwcarl]

Again, I wish someone with more experience would chime in, but I don't think theres anything special you have to do, acetone based stuff is usually pretty thin and will wick into the cracks pretty easily. I assume since you're working on a Les Paul that it has a bound fretboard, probably plastic. The acetone will probably not be good for the binding, so I'd keep it away from that as much as possible. Maybe mask the binding around the inlay with tape.

Keep in mind I've only ever made and installed a couple inlays, never done a repair like this.

[ihocky2]

First, instead of using something that is acetone BASED, just buy acetone. It's sold at Lowes and Home Depot and is cheap. That way there are no other chemicals mixed in with it.

I've tried removing dried superglue with acetone, and it does work, but it take a good amount of time until it dissolves we enough. Acetone evaporates quickly and the wood is going to absorb it as well. So you will need to use a good amount of it to disolve anything, and then you run a risk of ruining the binding or the finish. Acetone will eat through lacquer very fast.

You know the repair was done with superglue, but you don't know about the original. Acetone will do nothing to epoxy. Typically inlay work is done with epoxy, so there is a good chance that is what Gibson used.

My vote is take it to someone experienced with that kind of work. The superglue didn't stick because the surfaces needed to be cleaned before gluing and it sounds like they weren't

[Quarter]

Just another word of caution on acetone. You did not say what the inlays are made of and if they are a plastic or celluloid type material, the acetone will destroy them.

[Ken Bennett]

OK, I've done thousands of guitar inlays. Here's what I would do.

We glue inlays in with water thin super glue. First insert the inlay into the cavity. Then run glue sparingly around the edge of the piece. We use those pipettes from Stew-Mac. Most of the glue will seep into the gap between the wood and the shell. So you don't necessarily have to remove the inlay.

After the glue dries thoroughly, scraped off the excess with a razor blade. You may want to clean the whole fretboard and buff it or at least oil it with lemon or orange oil. Otherwise the inlay that you just repaired and the wood around it may look different than the rest of the board.

If the inlay is not exactly flush, trim it down with a file AFTER the glue sets completely (I wait overnight if the glue had to fill a large gap), then scrape and polish.

[cSuttle]

If you really want you inlay to hold forever, use two-part epoxy. The problem with superglue is it absorbs into the wood and doesn't fill as well. It is also subject to age and can loose it's bond.

If your fretboard is maple, be careful with any chemical to remove the old inlay as it could discolor the wood permenately.