-
A carbon fiber guitar walks into a bar…
A carbon fiber guitar walks into a bar… Literally — my workshop is behind a tea bar.
There is a 12-string Emerald carbon fiber guitar in for repairs. The three big issues are (1) the top is separating from the sides, portending doom (see picture); (2) the second fret has been worn down from years of capo use (the strings have cut grooves); and (3) the action on the high strings is too low. I suspect (3) may be due to 1, 2, or a combination of them both.
My current plan is to:
– remove the strings;
– clean out any oil/gunk and loose chips from the separation;
– use binding tape to compress the top onto the side; and
– apply epoxy + “something” on the inside of the separation to make something like an epoxy adhesive plus a fillet. (I am torn on whether to build a custom caul for the interior, to help force the epoxy into the separation itself.)The “something” would be either fiberglass weave or carbon fiber weave. Since this is essentially a fillet on the inside of the guitar, I have doubts that a carbon fiber weave would provide any benefit beyond a fiberglass weave. The function of the fiberglass weave would be to provide internal structure and positioning for the fillet while it hardens. The two epoxies I am considering are West System and TotalBoat. I have a sacrificial plastic guitar ready for experimentation once I settle on a course of action. (I do not have a second sacrificial Emerald guitar for testing, so I would also do a small initial adhesion test on the inside of the guitar to see how well the epoxy bonds with the existing resin.)
If the structural repair works, then I would look into a second pass, applying clear epoxy to fill in the outside cracks, much like a drop fill. I expect that would require sanding/buffing as with automotive work.
Has anyone had a job like this? Or does anyone have any wisdom to impart on best approaches for this job?
-
1 Reply
-
I haven’t tackled something like this. I know that the graphite has a hard time sticking to stuff, so you might want to add a filler that promotes adhesion. In general your notion to bridge with fiberglass is good though.
Log in to reply.