Acoustic Guitar Construction

ok, am gathering the confidence to do this.

What is the point of sealing the top? Is it just to prevent slight staining or am I missing something else? I don't have any nitro or anything currently as I'm going to order that as I approach the time. This guitar's going to be all black, do I need to worry about sealing?

Glue? I have normal CA or evostick 'impact' contact adhesive, I don't think we can get the brands that Ken reccomends here in the UK. What should I use for this and also the plastic body binding hwne I get to that bit?

cheers all.

mike-p wrote:ok, am gathering the confidence to do this.

What is the point of sealing the top? Is it just to prevent slight staining or am I missing something else? I don't have any nitro or anything currently as I'm going to order that as I approach the time. This guitar's going to be all black, do I need to worry about sealing?

Glue? I have normal CA or evostick 'impact' contact adhesive, I don't think we can get the brands that Ken reccomends here in the UK. What should I use for this and also the plastic body binding hwne I get to that bit?

cheers all.

If you use CA glue and do not seal the top, it is not just a slight staining; it is a dark stain that wicks its way quite a distance from the joint and is very deep. (Maybe you did the celery in food dye experiment when you were a kid) . In any case when it happens there is not much you can do. Can you buy Zinsser Bullseye Shellac Seal Coat or any wax free shellac you can use it to seal the top around the sound hole.

In addition to the wicking issue, if you plan to use tape to hold the rosette in place sealing the top adds a little stability to the spruce and helps prevent the adhesive from tearing splinters out along the grain lines when removing the tape. Heating the tape with a blow drier is also helpful in this reagard.

great, thanks, you guys are full of serious info.