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Hi All

I do not usually use plastic bindings, but I am using white (Stewart McDonald ABS bindings) on an East Indian Rosewood B & S guitar. After scraping them flush and sanding I am getting a lot of EIR dust coloring in the white plastic. I am sanding to 220. Should I go finer on the grit? Or should I use Naptha, acetone or lacquer thinner to get the coloring out. How do you handle that? Thanks in advance for any help - Mike G

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guitarsbygiltzow.com

Scrape -just- the binding. Don't sand after scraping.

I sand white plastic bindings up to 320 grit in order to keep sawdust from sticking. Then a blast of compressed air should get it clear. Scraping binding (especially the side of it) is challenging to get a mar free surface.

Sanding to a finer grit as Barry suggested usually works. If you do decide to try scraping one thing I have found to work is to use a single edge razor blade and "round" the ends with a sharpening stone or sandpaper. That eliminates the sharp points that can create deep scratches in the plastic (or wood). I use plastic on most of the instruments I build.