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Hi friends,

I just finished a flamenco guitar and thoroughly botched putting the golpeador on    I need to remove it so I can install a new one. The finish is French polish and I need to use a solvent to cut the adhesive on the goleador that won't hurt the FP. Does anyone know what works for this? I think it's lighter fluid or naphtha, but I can't remember for sure.

Thanks in advance,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Naptha
available at hardware stores.
wear gloves!
mike

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Mike Collins

Naptha, or mineral spirits will work.

I've had problems with rhe self-sticking pickguards on FP when I've used oil as a lubricant. They don't stick very well. I went over to using plain clear plastic and white glue.

Yeah, I know, white glue doesn't stick well to plastic. But it does stick some, and that's all you really need. Put the glue in the middle of the pickguard, and squeegee it out toward the edges. Use plenty of glue: you can't put in more if there's not enough, but it's pretty easy to get the excess out. I like to work it all the way out the the edge with a lot of glue in there, and then spend time working out the excess. Try to avoid getting bubbles in it; leaving some excess around the edges will help keep it from sucking in air as the glue dries. It takes a couple of days at least for all the moisture to work its way out, but eventually the glue clears. These are easy to get off if you need to, but stay down surprisingly well.

lighter fluid is naphta.

What is a goleador?

Google seems to think it has something to do with soccer.

A golpeador is the clear plastic tap plate that is on the top of most flamenco guitar.

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Regarding the Golpeador...how long has the french polish been on the guitar?...is it a new guitar? If so I do not recommend installing a Golpeador for the first six months or so. It takes time for the french polish to cure (not dry...that is quick) and I have seen guitar with golpeadors installed too soon have problems with the finish later on.

If you need to play it in the meantime, I would use kling-on removables as they can be taken off after playing and will offer protection until the finish has completely cured.