Glue to Attach Binding To Pickguard

[Spook410]

I get the impression that there was a time when acquiring glue to attach plastic binding to acetate pickguard material was no big deal. Now it appears to be somewhat more difficult.

Don't want to use cyanoacrylate because it sets up too fast. This is my first pickguard project and I expect mistakes, overruns, timeouts, and every other possible mishap. And epoxy seems a little slow and maybe not as strong a bond especially with possibly imperfect clamping (planning on finish nails arrayed about the perimeter). From videos and such I get the impression there used to be a good plastic binding sort of glue (like model airplane cement) that would form a melt sort of bond. In the same way acetone is used to connect the individual strips of binding. However it is no longer made.

Note: I've tried ordering SCIGRIP 16 Acrylic Plastic Glue from Amazon which may or may not be the right stuff. But twice now delivery has failed for reasons unknown. Odd.

Any suggestions / sources for the right binding to pickguard glue or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

[deacon Mark]

Binding cement from Stewmac it works fine. I went to the source got the stuff Gibson uses but this the stewmac stuff works fine.

[Spook410]

Binding cement from Stewmac it works fine. I went to the source got the stuff Gibson uses but this the stewmac stuff works fine.

Thank you for the suggestion. Got the impression that was to attach binding to wood? Maybe I'm looking at the wrong stuff.. https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...-binding-glue/

[deacon Mark]

No works for wood or plastic either and all.

[thelostboss]

One of the places I worked in the 1970s we used Chloroform as a bonding agent for a variety of plastics. Probably not legal these days!

[Jimmy blue note]

One of the places I worked in the 1970s we used Chloroform as a bonding agent for a variety of plastics. Probably not legal these days!

Maybe not, if you don't want to wake up with a pickguard gluing your forehead to the floor. Awkward.
In the other hand, there's your excuse for nodding off during the bass player's solo...

[robbro@coastwifi.com]

I started building inthe early 70's and used DUCO cement it works great just wipe any excess off before it sets get it on amazon still fairly cheap

[Freeman Keller]

I do use water thin CA (StewMac #10 or equivalent) for all of my binding gluing, both plastic and wood, to almost anything. CA allows me to fit the binding and any purfling perfectly with no glue, then tack it in place with tiny drops applied with a pipette, after which I can wick a tiny bit of CA right on the seam. There is almost no mess and what there is is easy to scrape back.

Here is a wood pickguard being bound, the binding is taped in place and I'm puttting the CA between the pieces of tape



Glued all the way around and scraping back



Here it is on the guitar. The rest of the binding was installed the same way



I'll add that I used to use Ducco cement for plastic binding but I have had glue failures. I have never had a failure with CA and in fact I use CA to repair the plastic glue when it does.

I'll add that taping the binding in place dry is infinitely easier than smearing your glue on it then trying to tape and clamp it before the it drys. It make binding f-holes and heads so much easier.

[Spook410]

OK.. already keep thin CA in stock so gonna try the fit up and seep in method. Thank you Freeman Keller for all the effort to post pictures and everything. Also answered the question I had about there seeming to be more scraping involved than I would have thought. Onward through the DIY lutherie fog....

[Freeman Keller]

A very long time ago I bound an F5 style mandolin using acetone based glue. I vowed that there had to be a better way. The nice thing about what I describe is that you can take as long as you like to get it perfect, take it apart and fiddle with it, make clamps and cauls and whatever it takes (just don't glue them to your binding).

One little trick I like is with multiple purfling lines I clamp and glue the ends together



You can cut that cleanly with a sharp chisel and fit your miter, then do all sorts of sharp bends without the binding puckering like it does if its prelaminated. Makes head stocks and f-holes a breeze.

Alway scrape binding instead of sanding. Sanding leaves a lot of little scratches, scraping leaves a nice smooth clean surface,

Here is another guitar, this time bound in wood (maple)



Same method, same glue

[Spook410]

Thanks again Freeman.. as you can imagine there will be several fit ups and screw ups before the first pickguard is done with any sort of satisfactory result. Fortunately binding is inexpensive as are sacrificial clear acrylic sheets before I'm ready to commit to the actual acetate material.

[thelostboss]

Maybe not, if you don't want to wake up with a pickguard gluing your forehead to the floor. Awkward.
In the other hand, there's your excuse for nodding off during the bass player's solo...

Well they did teach us to keep our heads out of the fume cabinet

[deacon Mark]

I use the binding cement and go around I layer at a time with tape. There are many different options the thing is to pick one that seems the most effective for the time spent. When going around the body of the whole guitar then you can do multiple layers all at once. Freeman I have no idea how you manage with ca glue but you do! It does hold well and work but no room for error and I hate getting CA glue on my hands. The binding cement is fine it comes off pretty easy the hands.

Recently I splurged and bought some good binding tape from Stewmac. I normally just buy masking tape and work with it as much cheaper but one some mitered corners you need precision and control. Masking taping not quite as reliable. I know one thing for sure that if someone wants a fancy D'angelico Pickguard with all the layers and zigs/zags I am charging a small fortune to do it. No breaks or discounts these days you got to pay or no go.

[Spook410]

Just a hobby for me.. going to try multiple methods including CA and Stewmac binding glue. As well as different clamping methods. It's nice to have the time and not have a client breathing down my neck.

[Freeman Keller]

I use the binding cement and go around I layer at a time with tape. There are many different options the thing is to pick one that seems the most effective for the time spent. When going around the body of the whole guitar then you can do multiple layers all at once. Freeman I have no idea how you manage with ca glue but you do! It does hold well and work but no room for error and I hate getting CA glue on my hands. The binding cement is fine it comes off pretty easy the hands.

Since we are talking about binding in general now and my name got mentioned I'll make a couple of more comments. I'm just a hobby builder too but I have built 30 guitars to date and bound almost all of them. I've tried many of the methods, my first was plastic binding with Ducco cement and while it did work the process was a hassle. I tried plastic binding with medium CA squeezed into the slot and then trying to fit the binding and clamp it with tape,clamp, whatever. That was even more of a hassle.

I've built a lot of acoustics and most of the time I bind in wood, often with fiber or wood purfling, Obviousl Ducco cement is not the best choice for wood to wood to wood, so I used AR on my first couple. AR glue has a bad habit of smearing onto the spruce top which has the bad habit of showing up under lacquer.

An article in American Lutherie turned me on to the dry fit/CA trick (maybe John Greven, I don't remember). That is all I do now, wood or plastic or a combination. It works as follows

Route the channels as required by the stack. Prebend wood binding on a hotpipe or Fox bender. Prebend plastic for tight curvers, horns, etc.Tape the binding and purfling in the channels



Use tape, clamps, whatever it take to get the stack tight and smooth in the channel. In the photo I have lightly taped the Ivoroid binding ahead of the purfling. I leave gaps of about 1 inch between the tape. Then I put one small drop of the thin CA between each piece of tape, basically tack welding the stack in place



Pull the tape and run around the seam with the water thin CA. Use a pipette or wick tip to put it right on the seam, it will be pulled in by capillary action. I am very sensitive to CA and wear a respirator when I work with it




Scrape back the binding. The little bit of glue that gets on the spruce can be sanded back but it doesn't seem to be a problem under finish. Remember that some folks use CA for pore fill.



The nice thing about the dry fit method is that you can use it for the more figity bindings that would be a nightmare to try to fit if they were covered in goopy adhesive. Here is an f-hole in a wood top being bound in Ivoroid and some line. I'm using little wedges to hold it in place while I miter corners and generally fiddle with it. A couple of drops of CA between the wedges and the next piece gets fitted, then a line of CA and the whole thing can be scraped







Its exactly the same for scrolly heads, fret boards, pick guards. Here is one of my acoustics with cocobolo back and sides, its also bound in coco but has a fine line of maple to set it off.



You can also do herringbone, rope, abalone and almost any other kind of fancy binding and purfling. Give it a try.

[benhatchins]

What a nice project! I know that it is only a hobby for you, but if you ever decide to work in this industry, I am sure you will have a bright future in it. Regarding your question about the glue, I would recommend a product like this one: LOCTITE-SUPER-GLUE-PRECISION (5-Gram-Tube). It is definitely strong enough and will help you do an accurate job, attaching all the small details.

[skykomishone]

CA glue can be found in various viscosity, I have at woodworking supply shops, some with more flexibility in setup time, and can be instantly fixed (set up) with standard rubbing alcohol in a small spray bottle.
I've not tried it on pickguard binding however, and I wouldn't get it near my guitar lacquer.
I use it in stone sculpture to heal cracks and sometimes in bowl turning projects.