Refinishing with binding...

[Muddslide]

Years ago I used to do quick-and-dirty refinish jobs on lots of guitars. Really enjoyed it. My work looked good, but I did a lot with Formby's stripper, sandpaper and rattlecans of primer, paint and clearcoat.

I have this el-cheapo Tele copy I am considering refinishing, but it has top binding. I'd like to preserve it, but I've never re-done a guitar with binding.

Should I just get a special kind of tape, mask it off and make sure no chemicals or paint gets to it?

Thanks for any pointers.

[Chris Leger]

I know lots of folks tape their binding, but the traditional way is to scrape it with either a curved blade or piece of broken glass.

The reason for the curve is so that you can avoid a sharp transition line between the painted and unpainted regions over your binding. Grip your scraper between your fingers, and run it around the perimeter of the guitar, using your fingers/hand as a "fence" to keep your scrape line uniform and equidistant from the edge of the guitar.

Scrape after each color coat, then clear over the whole thing.

[shadowfan]

Isn't there a chance that, if plastic, the binding material may be damaged by the paint if it is solvent based?