jonroper Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 hi Im thinking about restoring this old les paul copy (see post in solid body forum...) but dont really know much about it yet - still mulling things over and getting my plan together. My question is regarding the 'trim' (is that the right term?) that is familiar on les pauls, around the edge of the body. If im looking at stripping the body down and repainting it, im assuming the trim comes off, i repaint it and then replace the trim after....if this sounds stupid its a refelction of my ignorance about what im trying to acheive! if its removed, is it something you can buy new or would i have to reuse the existing trim? i would prefer new as im hoping to replace most of the original fittings and paintwork. All advice usefull! Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsl602000 Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 You're refering to the binding... Yes, You can buy it new. Check it out here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 If im looking at stripping the body down and repainting it, im assuming the trim comes off, i repaint it and then replace the trim after....if this sounds stupid its a refelction of my ignorance about what im trying to acheive! if its removed, is it something you can buy new or would i have to reuse the existing trim? i would prefer new as im hoping to replace most of the original fittings and paintwork. Binding is fitted before finishing a guitar, and provided you are carefull whilst stripping, there is no need to replace it. Most strippers will eat binding for breakfast, so be carefull to tape it off and carefully remove the finish from it with sandpaper and scrapers after you have stripped the rest of the body. When you refinish, you will need to mask the binding with tape before spraying colour coats, and scrape back the colour on the top surface back after your coats are mostly dry (the top surface is to narrow to mask accurately). Once you have cleaned up the binding leaving a nice crisp edge all round, spray your clear coats as normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonroper Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 thanks will be back with more questions soon.... jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdw3332 Posted March 6, 2004 Report Share Posted March 6, 2004 I just did it on a $25 LP copy. I took the binding off mostly so I could try putting on new binding. I used a router set-up on a Dremel to remove the old - heat just melted it. I then used the Stew Mac 2 piece router set to clean up and widen the channel and then glued the new binding in with CA. Probably would use the stuff Stew Mac recommends next time. It came out about a "C-", but it was good practice. If I were doing it again, I would buy some extra binding (it's not expensive) and practice on some scraps - with curves, bouts and all. A good scraper will fix quite a few little glitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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