Official Luthiers Forum!

I've seen some fairly involved and interesting multi-line purfling on a couple of archtop guitars and even on a video by one of the UK members of this board. The purfling is clearly plastic and not fiber. What is the source for this plastic purfling?

I can find 1.5mm "purfling" on Ebay, but that is too thick for multi-line layups. It seems a smidgen thin for binding, but that seems to be their purpose. The purfling I'm looking for are closer to .5mm. Lmi seems to have some, but fairly pricey for some strips of plastic, and the shipping is a killer too.

Is there another source of .5mm plastic purfling strips in black and white (or any color for that matter)?

Most cabinet shops stock black and white pvc (or abs) edgebanding at approximately .5mm. It usually comes in 1 inch widths and 300 ft rolls (IIRC) , but could be easily cut to width and length for purfling lines. It usually costs pennies per foot. Ebay might be a good source for smaller quantities, but watch the pricing.