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I've been out of repairing for a living over 30 years, and can't rely completely on my memory to fix this one. A customer has a late 80's Guild acoustic. The binding at the waist (on the back) has shrunk and pulled away from its channel. If I remember correctly, I addressed this issue back in 1908, as follows: First I taped off the back and side area adjacent to the affected area. I then warmed the binding with a hair dryer until flexible enough to push in without a lot of force. Finally, before it cooled completely, I injected some Duco in the channel, then pulled the binding in with tape. What I don't remember is if any Duco squeezed onto the lacquered finish, and if so, how it affected the lacquer.

Any folks with experience in a similar repair?

thanks

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Duco will eat lacquer. Masking tape on the adjacent surfaces would help. But the best approach would be to glue the binding after it has cooled off and use a water based glue like Titebond Original. It will hold well to the plastic binding. And the cured glue wipes off with a wet rag. The glue will dissolve more easily when it has just cured for 12-24 hours. If you wait several days, it will take longer to wipe off.

I'm afraid I can't really help by giving advice relevant to your problem. But, I do have to applaud your memory of repairs completed so long ago. I can't hardly remember what I did last week, let alone more than 100 years ago.



All in good fun, of course.

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Aaron Craig

Gluing it back in the channel may work for a time, but if the binding is shrinking, it will only pull out again. You will need to release the binding from the channel all the way to the neck heel, and then glue it back in starting at the waist (or back to where it is firm in the channel) Then, fill the gap left at the heel with a matching piece.

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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008907949110

Thanks all. Yeah, David, I think you're right. It'll just want to shrink back again.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Try this from Frank Ford. It's worked for me. http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Structural/ReglueBinding/regluebinding.html

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com