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Ok, any tips for getting errant CA (don't ask! ) off a polyester finish? The way I would approach it would be to scrape almost down to the surface finish with a razor blade, the progressively wet sand and buff...but I really don't want to...any easier way to just get the CA and leave the finish undisturbed?

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

You may want to double check (read "test under a tuner"), but I believe acetone will desolve CA but not polyester. IIRC, Rick Turner finishes his guitars with polyester and glues his bridges with CA, cleaning the squeezout with acetone.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Nitromethane is a CA solvent. You can probably get a small bit at your local speed shop.

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

Acetone will work fine.

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

I know acetone is supposed to remove CA, but the times I have tried it didn't work worth a flip, guess I need to try a product specifically designed to remove it....maybe I'll try the Nitromethane.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

Nitromethane is more explosive than dymanite. Be careful messing with it.

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

Acetone will work just fine. If the CA is dry, you may have to rub an acetone wetted cloth a little in order to allow the acetone to loosen the CA. If the CA is a fresh spill, the acetone will work very quickly.

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jw ( o)===:::

well then, if she blows, that should knock the lump of CA right off.

It helps if you can keep the CA submerged in acetone. If you can make a little dam around it with something acetone-proof and put a cover over it so that the acetone doesn't gas off, then a little patience is all it takes.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I guess nitromethane is more energetic than TNT, but it's not so easy to get it to explode. It is used all the time as a solvent in the lab and in industry. I'm not sure what the "Super Solvent" that StewMac sells is, but it works quite a bit better than pure acetone. My guess is that it might be a mixture of solvents, perhaps containing nitromethane as well. I've never tried straight nitromethane and would be curious to know how well it works from someone who has.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page

Ok, thanks guys!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

I started using CA (Hot Stuff) back in the early 70's on competition free flight models. There was no available commercial debonder then, so we used nitromethane. We mixed our own fuel so we had a bit of it around. It works much better than acetone. It's really no more dangerous in small quantities than any thing else we have in the shop... lacquer thinner, denatured alchohol, acetone, etc.
All the commercial CA debonders that I'm aware of contain nitromethane or nitroethane with additives to control evaporation.

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Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

And ..ah... Lar! Next time you're playing with the CA ...don't pick your nose!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Thanks Jim, I use to have free access to nitromethane when I worked as a chemist. Unfortunately, now I don't.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page