Does binding soak up dye/stain and is it easy to clean off?

[Patriot54]

I've seen a lot of info about cleaning paint off binding but what about dye and stain? Can I just stain the top and not worry about the binding, then easily scrape or sand it clean later? Also, has anyone tried purposely dying the binding to match the wood color? I'll have a guitar with cream binding but I want to stain the maple top black.

 

[Tonar8352]

You can scrape binding after it has been dyed. I use razor blade; the same kind of razor blades that flooring installers use to cut carpet.

It is very tedious work and I use a magnifying head unit to see very clear the line between the wood and the plastic.

 

[dmraco]

I have never scraped binding.  I sure it is not an easy process.  You could always spray the binding black and clear overtop.  Just make sure all the gaps are filled and should not notice it.

 

[Patriot54]

Thanks for the info - I don't want to hide the binding or anything like that but I was thinking if any stain gets on it and is too hard to remove I would just dye the binding too. It will be a hand-rubbed burst finish on an LP body and I'll be making my own stain.

 

[jackthehack]

It's very tedious, but I'd recommend taping off the binding prior to staining/dying to keep getting any on the binding as much as possible...

 

[dmraco]

It's very tedious, but I'd recommend taping off the binding prior to staining/dying to keep getting any on the binding as much as possible...

+1

 

[Scotty2Hotty]

Personally I would disagree with taping the binding. Taping binding is a tedious process and if the plastic doesn't absorb the dye (I assume it won't), then it doesn't matter anyway, but if it does...
On my build, I did a clear masked binding and the dye went straight under the tape, leaving random splotches of colour which was very annoying to sand off. If it were me, I wouldn't tape the binding, simply because if the plastic is going to absorb the dye, then I would would want it all the one colour - instead of uneven splotching.

But of course, if you can scrape the dye off the binding, then you shouldnt have a problem regardless.
Looking forward to pics  :headbang: