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Dovetailing to the current thread that deals with taking off the finish to glue on a bridge...

One of the things that's driving me crazy (in addition to taking off the finish) is how to keep the glue squeeze out from getting on stuff!!!

Help?

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

it may sounds like a smart ass answer but use less glue so there is no squeeze out. wipe away about an 8th of an inch of glue from the edges of the bridge and when its clamped the glue will spread and should have good glue coverage with very minimal squeeze out.

Wipe it off with a damp rag and hot water.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

If you can't do it at the time with water (like if you vacuum clamp), you can make cleanup a lot easier by using something like Feed-n-Wax on the bridge before gluing as well as a bit on the top around the bridge. But you have to be really careful not to contaminate the joint.

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http://www.chassonguitars.com

Damp toothbrush and warm water on a small cloth. I clamp it down, clean the squeeze out and the take off clamp and use vacuum to finish.

I do this on braces also. And no, water doesn't get under the braces to cause problem with glue and join. I have a medium and stiff bristle brush keep in water. Shake it out, tap on some paper down and wipe. But I try to get enough glue on to make good join and not so much have a lot of squeeze out in the first place. Even with that get a some to clean up after take out of vacuum, quick work with one of those old Stew Mac curved chisels.

Squeeze-out is your friend - better to have to clean up some goo than to have your bridge visit your headstock....

I only use HHG for bridges and HHG cleans up very easily with a combination of waiting about 5 minutes for the squeeze-out to jell and some warm water and paper towels as required after that.

Lately I have been masking off the top from the bridge about a day later (after gluing on the bridge) and then applying Howard's Feed-n-wax to the bridge. The masking tape (on non-french-polished-finishes) protects the top and the Howard's will make your bridge look great.

In short Chris buddy there is not a great answer to your original question that I know about that might not introduce something else such as a poorly glued bridge or contaminated gluing surfaces. Just as YMMV so too is it valid that some clean-up required (SCUR)...

Chris…I use enough glue that once the bridge is clamped down, I get a small bead of glue squeeze out around the perimeter of the bridge. I’ll let the glue set up a bit and then use a plastic straw to remove the bead of glue. Any residual glue I’ll clean up with a damp towel.
The real trick is to keep the applied glue back from the edge about an 1/8” so that a bead of glue will form otherwise the glue will spread where you don’t want it.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"

Thanks for that input guys. It's all good. So far I don't see anything MAGIC.....

I thought about waxing the bridge just before glueing it to the top. That would help.

One other thing that's related to this process. How are you guys modifying your bridge clamps for this purpose. The x-brace gets in the way of the inside arm of the clamp.... FYI I have both the LMI and the Stewmac cauls.

I'm not going to say how I've been glueing them on....not here anyway!!

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

My FBs and bridges get a lot of seal coats of shellac before attachments. If you want raw wood bridges, no problem it is way easier to scrape the shellac off than to clean glue.

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Build log

I'll second a soft toothbrush. I stick it in my hot pot and just scrub the area of squeeze out and the edge of the bridge with warm water and dry with clean paper towels. I've had good luck with that.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

many techniques to get out the squeeze. I never heard of the tooth brush. I want squeeze out as if you too little glue the one day the the bridge may fail. I allow the glue a little time to set. If you allow a bit of time the glue can be much easier and cleaner to get off. I use a piece of plastic that I sharpen like a skew chisel.
I use tite bond and allow about 10 minutes for the squeeze out to boogerize for lack of a better term. Then you can take your plastic knife and cut vertical then horizontal and it usually comes off clean. I then follow up with a wet rag and use the plastic chisel inside the rag to do final clean up.
HHG does cleanup nice with water but that gels faster than Tite Bond

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I know what you mean especially with HHG.....

Another method although this does nothing to keep glue off the bridge is to fit the bridge into it's proper position/location, pin in place, put down masking tape all around the bridge and butted right up against it (masking tape not the blue tape which I know as painter's tape) remove the bridge, warm parts and glue on the bridge. The bridge now will fit nicely into the depression made by the tape tracing the bridge's shape. Squeeze-out goes on the tape which is removed right after clamping permitting more clean-up of squeeze-out all around the bridge. Using tape to make a depression/pocket for the bridge to fit in also has the benefit of preventing the bridge from sliding around until the glue tacks and most of the squeeze-out is removed with the tape making clean-up a bit faster and easier.

The tape is never on the finish more than a 10 minutes or so unless of course you quit for the day in the middle of the procedure - not recommended....

I am very careful when using paper towel for cleaning as it can scratch the finish easily, especially a black plastic pick guard. I use a cotton cloth or Kleenex or bathroom tissue for general wiping.
Michael

I'm gonna have to play with this cuz I'm constantly DOING what John calls BOOGERIZ!!! All good stuff folks. Please know I appreciate it.

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There is no difference between the man that thinks he can....and the man that thinks he cannot.

One last time -- acetic acid. Acetic acid. Vinegar or, better, De-Glue-Goo which is acetic acid in a gel. Solves lots of problems, protects the finish from nasty scraping and poking, and actually works!

If you're using clamps, wiping with a damp towel/rag before the glue sets up is great. Tape can save some time and help protect the finish right around the bridge but beware of its effect on lacquer or shellac (as Todd mentions). I glue with vacuum so I release the clamp after ten minutes or so and wipe up the leathery squeeze-out with a damp cloth. I never use a hardwood stick, much less a razor blade or similar; it's far too easy to mar the finish and/or spruce. After the glue is fully hardened, wipe it with De-Glue-Goo, wait a few minutes, and it's easy to remove all traces from bridge and soundboard.

Rick ,when you say De-Glue- Goo.Do you mean goof off.Or is there a product called De-Glue-Goo.I can`t find one?
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

IMO if you have a bunch of little B_B size squeezouts about 1/64" apart consistently all around the clamped part you applied exactly the correct amount of glue and did so constantly across the part. Then it set for 5 to 10 min. take a big mouthed straw shaped to a sharp corner and scoop the squeeze out when it is in the firm jello state, come back with a chisel like beveled strip of spruce and clean off any you missed.

Thanks Todd.

Yeah thanks Todd
James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee