Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello Folks,

Can anyone recommend a solution to fix a chipped binding on a Taylor that has a UV finish ?
I'm not sure what paint type would be compatible with the UV paint technology.
I don't have a UV setup, so the UV technology is not an option for me.

Thanks - Luc

Depending on how bad it is and how much you hate to look at it, the best solution is usually to leave it be and consider it a beauty mark.

CA can work for touchup on taylors, FRETS.com has lots of pictorials and advice, its always worth a trip there when studying a repair tecnique.

_________________
Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

I don't have experience with this myself, but Frank and Dan have talked about using that dental filling stuff that cures with a high intensity blue light. Most people seem to use CA, but those guys say the clear dental stuff works better.

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Luc, The Taylor UV finish is polyester. It can be dropped in or spotted in with regular chemical cure polyester. The UV polyester is the same finish as polyester with an initiator (chemical) added to to enable the UV light to cure it quickly for production purposes. There are many Taylor certified repair techs throughout the US. You can do a search on the Taylor site to find one closest to you.

_________________
jw ( o)===:::

Hi Joe, Todd, and Jordan,

Thanks for your help ! I was unsure of the base material for the UV finish, which Joe identified
as a polyester. I will contact my supplier, he carries polyester . Hopefully I can get the
polyester material that cures at ambient temperature. I know he carries the UV cureable stuff because
he did a demo for me a few years ago, I was pretty impressed with durability of the UV coating.
The only problems was the UV light chambers were real expensive.

Cheers - Luc

True, but you don't need to cure the entire guitar, just the repair. Wouldn't a tanning bed work? The chemical "activator" ( I think it's called something else) for polyester is pretty nasty stuff. Be careful if you use it.

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

Most polyester I have seen uses MEKP (Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide) as hardener. Not sure how bad it is as far as toxicity but I hear it's highly flammable. It takes very little MEKP to cure polyester, more like a 1:100 ratio or something.

_________________
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

MEKP is super-duper gross. Like poisonous, caustic, and carcinogenic gross.

The UV finish needs a specific wavelength of UV light to cure; something broad-range like a tanning bed will probably cook and warp your guitar before it cures the finish well.

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

It's not just any old polyester, its McFaddens.

My Wife's got a tanning bed and I had always wondered. I turned down a couple Taylor finish touch ups becuase I didn't know if it would work.

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

Again, you don't have to repair it with UV cured polyester. It can be spotted or dropped in with polyester with the cobalt and MEKP. So very little is needed for this repair that it is not worth buying the product from McFadden's (one gallon min.)
I would find a Taylor certified tech close by.

_________________
jw ( o)===:::