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Do I have to worry about getting black plastic dust embedded in the spruce when I go to sand everything down? If so, what do I do to avoid it?

Thanks, Jeremy

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Jeremy Douglas

lightly seal top with 1# cut of shellac or eggwhites prior to final white sanding or before

Just in case you don't know you will likely need to take some acetone and re-glaze the black plastic binding after final white prep sanding and scraping to add the gloss back to the binding.

I bind with plastic some, mostly wood, including coco, never have used shellac prior, use ca or tight bond or LMI white, Never an issue with color in the top or back. Might be good idea, just have never done it. No yellowing or color transfer.

Sorry I was talking about final sanding the top not the bindings, of course if I sand the top it's inevitable that the binding will get sanded also. I've already got the bindings on and leveled.

Good tip on the acetone, I was wondering about getting it shiny again.

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Jeremy Douglas

Interesting tip re the acetone...never done it (seems to come up shiney enough with lacquer on it, but maybe this will help!).
A note of caution.... as you probably know the acetone/rag will blacken rapidly & if you accidentally smear it onto the spuce, well......

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Dave
Milton, ON

I just did a very white Aspen top with the inside binding a heavy black (.060) and the outside binding a matching white. Aspen easily has trouble getting dirty from the dust of other woods like mahogany and rosewood. I did not have any issues with the black plastic binding dust. I also did not pre-seal the top nor did I do anything special to the black binding to get it to shine up. I sanded the top (including the bindings) down to 320 grit prior to the sealer coat. Once sealed, the black color became shiny again. I am not sure if Spruce is any more subseptable than the aspen, but the plastic dust did not seem to affect it. Now the rosewood and mahogany dust...that is a different story.

YMMV (your millage may vary)

Joe

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Joe

Why would you need a gloss on the binding if you are going to lacquer it?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Thanks Joe, I did some sanding today and things went just fine.

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Jeremy Douglas