question about minor repair on an acoustic guitar

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

my son has an inexpensive acoustic guitar... can't recall the brand name... a tiny piece of the plastic binding along the edge of the fretboard (where the fretboard meets the neck) near the high E string broke off, and now it irritates the skin of his fretting hand whenever he plays. my question - is there a certain type of material that would be recommended to fill in this space? its still a perfectly good guitar, and I don't want to get rid of it just for that tiny piece that broke off (its smaller than a dime - about half an inch long)... how can I repair this spot? it doesn't need to look perfect. I just want to be able to fill it in, and smooth it out so that the guitar is playable.

 

[El Gringo]

If you have the piece that came off the binding , you could glue it back on ? Then no more irritant .

 

[Gutch220]

you should post a picture if possible, you'll get better help.
since it's a very cheap acoustic, you could get some wood putty or an epoxy resin, and sand it down after taping off the area. Mixing together a resin, like with a surfboard repair, would feel like plastic, just sand it down like crazy.

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

If you have the piece that came off the binding , you could glue it back on ? Then no more irritant .

I wish he still had the piece that broke off. I will check with him to be sure, but I don't think he saved it. if not, is there another material I can use? some kind of epoxy or liquid plastic or spackle-type substance?

 

[G the wildman]

Well, you want something with a slowish work time so that you can model it.

So get prepared with tools for smoothing, as sanding after will be hard. But go on line and buy a two part resin.

Now having said, if it is a cheap guitar, just buy a new one.

G

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

what exactly is the substance that this guy is using in this video? this looks like the stuff I would need, yes?

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

here's the damage

 

[paul-e-mann]

here's the damage View attachment 144742

I would tape off the area and just fill it with several layers of epoxy then wet sand it smooth. Color it with a black sharpie when youre done.

 

[DirtySteve]

I would think any piece of plastic that could be sanded to shape would work, or the epoxy thing mentioned, or maybe even a piece of wood. ANYTHING that could be glued in to fill the gap and then sanded smooth would work.

 

[paul-e-mann]

I see Stewmac has instructions how to repair, and sell binding and binding glue if you want to do it right. About $35 in material.

 

[NumbSkull]

Black nail polish ?

 

[GibsonMarshallGuy47]

I see Stewmac has instructions how to repair, and sell binding and binding glue if you want to do it right. About $35 in material.

thanks so much for the info. however... I checked the stewmac site, and I have absolutely no idea what items I would need for this. there's so many different types of binding, and I have no clue what adhesive products to get. can someone offer me some guidance on this? I've never done any repairs on any guitars, so I need whatever help I can get.

 

[Eric'45]

No kidding- maybe talk to your local Car repair guy. For example there's those "bumper Reapair" kits in small cartridges.These will glue real binding, if you go that route, or you could get a bit of car body filler. both things are sold in small quantities, and can be sanded to shape.

 

[Chris Bailey]

my son has an inexpensive acoustic guitar... can't recall the brand name... a tiny piece of the plastic binding along the edge of the fretboard (where the fretboard meets the neck) near the high E string broke off, and now it irritates the skin of his fretting hand whenever he plays. my question - is there a certain type of material that would be recommended to fill in this space? its still a perfectly good guitar, and I don't want to get rid of it just for that tiny piece that broke off (its smaller than a dime - about half an inch long)... how can I repair this spot? it doesn't need to look perfect. I just want to be able to fill it in, and smooth it out so that the guitar is playable.

Binding is not too hard to fix, if you put some binding of the same colour in some acetone it will become almost gel like and it can be used as a filler, once it dries, a quick sand with 1200 wet & dry and it's good to go, I had to do the same on my wife's LP a few years back, you can't see the repair at all.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

Black Plastic Binding - StewMac

65" long to reach around an entire guitar! Variety of dimensions.

www.stewmac.com

 

[Chris-in-LA]

With your time and aggravation it wouldn’t be worth it to me. Just buy a new inexpensive guitar.

 

[TassieViking]

For a really cheap guitar I would just use some quick setting Araldite glue, mix a small amount up and add a thin layer with a tooth pick, repeat until it builds up thick enough.
I don't know if its called Araldite in the US but it is a 2 part glue that comes in 2 tubes or a dual syringe, get the 5 minute stuff so it hardens up quick.
Do it in layers slowly or you might get runs, let it harden up a little before you apply it.

It might be best to put some tape on the fretboard and the side where you don't want the glue to go
When it hardens use a boxcutter to scrape or trim it down till it gets close to what you want.