Official Luthiers Forum!

I just finished shooting the last coat of lacquer on the neck of my first build and was wondering when you pull the tape? My fret board is bound and I want to make sure that I don't inadvertantly pull the finish. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I pull the tape carefully while the lacquer is still wet... so that there is no chance for the lacquer to peel off.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I like to wait until I've had full cure and done the final wet sanding. I take it off prior to buffing.

I leave the tape on until the very end after sanding and buffing. This way your fret board is protected from all the sanding and buffing crud. Just sand the edge of the fret board right by the tape to create a clean edge so that the finish can't peel off with the mask tape.

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jw ( o)===:::

I like to unmask as soon as I've gotten all my coats on and they've dried overnight. I carefully score around all masks before removing, being careful not to cut into the wood itself. I find the longer I leave the fingerboard masked, the more residue there is to clean off. I find leveling to be much easier without the masks in the way, too.

Ken

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Ken, If your masking tape is leaving a residue behind, it might be time to look into a better quality masking tape.

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jw ( o)===:::

+1!

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I use the 3M low-tack blue stuff. It's pretty spendy for masking tape, and does a good job, but it still leaves a bit of a pattern on the fingerboard. Easy enough to clean off, but just as a rule, I don't like to leave masking tape on any longer than I need to.

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Mountain Song Guitars www.mountainsongguitars.com

Thanks guys I appreciate all the input!