The first order of business with this guitar after removing most of the hardware was to stabilize the binding. As I mentioned, there were just under a dozen areas that were already crumbled away. Before we can fix those areas, I need to be able to keep the remaining binding from flaking away.
I have developed a technique to stabilize decayed/rotted cellulose binding that involves treating the binding with a mixture of dioxane, cyanoacrylate, butyl and lacquer. This creates a clear liquid that softens the cracked and crumbling binding, adds a measure of flexibility to it, dries as hard & fast as cyanoacrylate, and gives me a nice shine like 50 year old lacquer. I can cure it with gluboost accelerator and mix it with a variety of pigments to get the right color.
It is too involved to get into the formula and application in an Instagram post. I plan on preparing a Ding Kings episode for @theloothgroup on the subject in the near future.
Keep in mind that not every binding job is necessarily a good candidate for this. Often, it’s better to just replace the binding. In this case, I wasn’t given the choice, and luckily, it was a good candidate.
I developed this “treatment” about a decade ago and have used it for quite a lot of guitars with remarkable results.
I couldn’t imagine doing a job like this would be next to impossible without my “Proper’s Guitar Workstation” from @totalvise – there simply isn’t a workstation on the planet that can do what this thing does. The ease and flexibility in which I can move a guitar into any position imaginable is unmatched by any tool out there.
Here, I’m using my workstation along with the Crossover Mini and the Telescoping Floor Pedestal.
Next up, we’ll take a close look at how we repaired those areas of missing binding as we continue restoring Elvis’ 1964 Gretsch.
Let me know what you think. Your questions and comments are always welcome.
