Adding faux binding to a 2014 LPJ

[shickma0]

Hi guys,
Recently I purchased a 2014 LPJ on Craigslist for 500$ in near mint condition (quite a steal in my opinion). Since I’ve acquired it I’ve made a few minor changes which you can see. I’m now adding faux binding (I felt like this guitar was missing it) and had a couple quick questions about finishing it. After I’m done with the “binding” part, is there any particular way which I might seal it? I figured I’d either 1) put on a few coats of tru-oil and lightly sand with 2000 grit or so to match the faded finish, 2) leave the maple raw or 3) spray the entire body in nitro and wet sand, polish, buff etc. if possible I’d like to avoid the third option however am not opposed if necessary. All options and ideas are welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[cmjohnson]

Why not put on real binding? It's not particularly difficult.
I have a project LP just like that, which I will be binding. It will require some careful chisel work near the neck.

 

[shickma0]

Why not put on real binding? It's not particularly difficult.
I have a project LP just like that, which I will be binding. It will require some careful chisel work near the neck.

A couple of reasons mainly being I couldn’t use a chisel in tight spaces to save my life. I considered having a local luthier do it but figured the cost of hiring it done would have nearly doubled the cost of the guitar. I also kind of prefer the natural maple being exposed over the plastic binding, at least with this particular color.

 

[ARandall]

You could just use some truoil on the edges. Easy to buy and apply, and protects like nitro if you add a few layers on.

 

[shickma0]

You could just use some truoil on the edges. Easy to buy and apply, and protects like nitro if you add a few layers on.

Awesome, thanks

 

[pshupe]

Does tru-oil react with nitro? I was considering using tru-oil on my Firebird build but wanted to seal and spray a burst with nitro then build with tru-oil. Will this work? The faux binding looks great. I though LPJs like that were just carved mahogany tops?

Regards Peter.

 

[shickma0]

Does tru-oil react with nitro? I was considering using tru-oil on my Firebird build but wanted to seal and spray a burst with nitro then build with tru-oil. Will this work? The faux binding looks great. I though LPJs like that were just carved mahogany tops?

Regards Peter.

I can’t speak for nitro reacting with try-oil from experience but I’ve read that it should be okay if you’re putting nitro over tru oil not sure about the other way around. As for the maple caps, the studios of the same year only had mahogany tops however the LPJs had a maple cap on top of a mahogany body. -S

 

[WezV]

Why not put on real binding? It's not particularly difficult.
I have a project LP just like that, which I will be binding. It will require some careful chisel work near the neck.

I’m not sure that’s true.

Sure,It’s not difficult if you have the right tools, and the skills and experience to use them. I’m not sure most people fall into that bracket.

 

[shickma0]

Small update:
I’ve now scraped away the top at ~2mm, however the depth gauge slipped once around the horn where it’s closer to 2.5mm
I’d say it’s looking okay so far however the nitro seems to have seeped into the grain rather than sat on top so there are some uneven red splotches in it that I’m trying to sort out. More to come

 

[yamariv]

Small update:
I’ve now scraped away the top at ~2mm, however the depth gauge slipped once around the horn where it’s closer to 2.5mm
I’d say it’s looking okay so far however the nitro seems to have seeped into the grain rather than sat on top so there are some uneven red splotches in it that I’m trying to sort out. More to come
View attachment 304395 View attachment 304396

I think you should seal with with Nitro and wetsand after OP, a nice gloss nitro would look great on that badboy!