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What glue for labels - over shellacked back?

Title says it all: for guitars that have a coat of shellac on the inside of the back, what glue do you use to stick the label down?

I would rather not use a glue that will soak through and wrinkle a paper label, but maybe a thin coat of white glue? I have also thought about 3M #45 spray glue, but don't know what the longevity of that stuff is.

Thanks!

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

I believe pickguard adhesive should work.
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Pickguards/Pickguard_materials/Pickguard_Adhesive_Sheet.html


FWIW, I've never tried this. I don't shellac the inside of my backs. I use elmers glue for my labels. Again, I think the pickguard adhesive would work.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I don't put shellac inside the box. This just might be another reason to keep it out of there.

I use Mod Podge for my labels, I bet it will stick to shellac without a problem.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I use double sided tape!
Mike

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Mike Collins

Thanks for the replies Woody and Mark.

Re: pickguard adhesive: The surface is what I'd call "semi-finished", with just thin wipe of shellac. Even though StewMac says "for finished surfaces only", it probably would stick just fine, and could be a good choice.

Yeah, the shellacked interior is yet another discussion, and it has sorta been beat to death. If this is the most negative thing about it (having to think twice about what glue to use for labels), that would be minor, and for a guitar that may be touring, I believe the pros outweigh the cons.


Thanks, Laurent.

Is Mod Podge fish glue? Where do you get that stuff?

BTW, I know a luthier that builds guitars with Knox Unflavored Gelatin, which is of course (refined, food grade) hide glue. If I can't find Mod Podge, what do you think about using hide glue for this? I ask because I am an unclean, unwashed, heathen that has no hide glue paraphernalia - but I could get Gelatin at the grocery store and mix it up in my Flintstones breakfast bowl.

Dennis

Mike, you and I must have been typing at the same time. Yeah, double sided tape is probably very similar to the pickguard adhesive. Thanks.

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

It's more like white glue or a latex product- available in any 'craft' store that sells stuff for 'chick crafts' ! (The decoupage/collage crowd use it; it's also useful for gluing together jigsaw puzzles and 'doping' speaker cones.)
It dries clear.
Cheers
John

The Mod Podge was recommended to me by John Slobod. It's found is art supplies stores and is used by artists and designers for mattes etc. It works.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Hey Dennis,

I used pickgaurd adhesive to apply a label over a shellac finished back over two years ago and it has worked out very well, it's much thinner than double sided tape. After printing out my label using quality paper and ink , i then sprayed it on both sides with Krylon 'Preserve It!'



This stuff more than doubles the life of digital prints and also prevents leaching. I then applied the pickgaurd adhesive to the back of the label and carefully placed the label on the inside of the guitar being sure to let it take form over the centre reinforcement strip before working the ends down into position. Once in place, the label and it's surrounding area was sprayed to re-coat with shellac fusing the edges of the label into the original coat.

When you think about it there's no need to sweat on the process too much, because whilst it may be wrong for anyone else to do so, one of the many good things about making your own guitars is that it's always OK for 'you' to re-label them if need be when ever and however 'you' want.

Cheers

Kim

Dennis, this is more a question than a recommendation......but I've read that fish glue is used to make stickers. Apply to the back of a label and let dry. then any time you want to adhere it, just remoisten, apply, and let dry.

I wonder how well this would work for a guitar label?

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Dennis,

I like the 3M super 77 spray adhesive for my labels.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Thanks, John, Laurent, Kim, Darryl and Wayne. I appreciate the responses.

Mod Podge or #77 are things I could do tomorrow (without waiting for StewMac.) My current timing may force a non-pickguard adhesive for this one label. (Obviously, all the advice is still valuable for 'next time'.)

Kim, I bought another Krylon product, "Fixative", hoping it would allow me to sign a label using an ultra fine point Sharpie permanent marker. The marker did not run or bleed into the paper, but when fixative was applied, it sure did. I suppose one could sign a label in pencil, and spray the fixative (which is what it was meant for - charcoal and pencil.)

Canon's inkjet ink might outlast the guitar, and by the time that stuff fades, no one will care who made the guitar. But I thought I'd also sign it. Wonder if the (modern) typical thing is to sign in Sharpie and then NOT coat the label with anything.

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Dennis,

Mod, like 60s/early 70s, and podge, like decoupage. Get it?

To think some people who were in college back then are in rest homes now doing stuff they did "back in the good old days", like decoupage. Sheesh!

Our time's coming! I wonder if we'll be able to get guitar building stuff in craft stores in 20 years.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I've been using a kids glue stick for this. I don't put any finish inside the box, but it's been working great right onto the wood.

Chris.

More shellac!

Thanks Pat, Chris, and Michael.

Pat, now you got me thinking of Link, Julie and whatever the other guy's name was: The Mod Squad.

I don't think they let you play with sharp objects in retirement homes. I'll never retire. I'll be found dead on the floor of my shop - hopefully when I'm about 120 years old. And I will have have had bionic eyes and inner ears implanted, and maybe a spinal transplant. (Standing on concrete floors for 70 years is tough on the spine.)

Dennis

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia