Acoustic Guitar Construction

Have been using blue painters tape to tape top and bottom to sides, resulting in some unsightly "tear out" (for lack of a better word) to the top surface.
Would that be prevented if I apply vinyl sealer aerosol (from Behlen) prior to taping?

Or what other tape would you recommend?

Thanks,
Renee

3M also sells a low-tack variation on blue tape. It's been useful for me doing house interior painting, same reason you mentioned, regular tape can lift the surface it's stuck to.

The sealer would work also you can seal the wood with a very blond shellac, even bulls eye wax free shellac. Even though the shellac will be sanded off in the prep process it can impart a very slight amber tone to a top. I use shellac as a sealer before I spray the guitar so I have no issues using shellac.

Also you can use a heat gun (it only takes seconds) to warm the tape before pulling it off. One other tip that you may be doing is to fold over a corner on any tape you are applying to a top to avoid denting the top with a finger nail when trying to pull it off.

johnparchem wrote: even bulls eye wax free shellac.

I use this and it works great for me. I go about 1.5 to 2" onto top, back and sides. I sand it all off after binding is complete. I have never had any discoloration and very seldom any tear out.

I would suggest that there much better ways to clamp the plates to rim for gluing than tape. #64 rubber bands tied together is my favorite. Run a series of screws around the mold clamp or screw a piece of plywood to the back or top of the mold, shim the rim to keep it level when gluing on the sound board.