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Hi Folks, prob a noob question but.... Still building my first guitar.

I'm having a problem with cleaning glue squeeze out... i've try'd everything. The problem is no matter what i do i seem to always have unsightly residue.

I'm mostly bothered about this where it can be seen, obviously. When i look at my Collings or Santa Cruz the back braces and side supports are so clean. I can get mine fairly clean. with a little sanding afterwards... but this doesn't seem ideal and like i say... its seems that on my Collings there was no sanding whatsoever... just a super clean neat joint.

I've tried waiting till its leathery, as i've read suggested. But that never seems to clean up so neatly. A damp rag is no good as it raises the grain.

And sanding afterwards... between braces, produces less that ideal results.

Ho do folks generally deal with this.

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www.leddingtonguitars.com

What kind of glue?

I use a small thin chisel to clean titebond from wherever it squeezes out.

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- Keith

Titebond....

G.

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www.leddingtonguitars.com

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Glue choice can make clean-up easier....

I like HHG for clean-up as well especially for braces. I wait a minute or two and then pull off snot like pieces and follow-up with hot water on a paper towel.

For Titebond hot water on a towel while it's still wet.

If you let it dry you are chiseling and maybe sanding too.

Wanted to add learning how much and how little glue to use is also helpful. Squeeze out is our friend, a lot of squeeze out isn't.

The plastic straw cut at an angle like in the link Ken posted is a pretty nifty tool. I'm guessing (hoping) that the author greatly exaggerated the amount of squeeze out from the bridge in the photo to help make his point.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Warm damp rag, but squeeze it out really good. This will leave less moisture to raise the grain.

Good tip on the straws - never saw that before.

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- Keith

Like Jay and Ken I use a straw followed by a wet Q-tip to clean up any residual glue. Once cleaned up I hit it with a hairdryer for a few seconds. The hairdryer helps limit raised grain. Also, when I'm placing my braces I tip them into position. With the excepting of the X-brace you will only need cleanup squeeze out on one side.

The straw is a good tip and works well. I also put masking tape next to the joint which limits what has to be cleaned but you do have to remove the tape at the proper time.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've used the straw trick but I end up having to clean up with a damp rag anyway so I just use a damp rag. To get in and around clamps I will fold the damp rag over a small flat head screw driver and wipe it up with that. I would not worry about raising the grain because that will sand off real easily, glue not so much.

I use damp rag with a half of a wooden clothes peg with the end sharpened ..have loads of pegs i use for glueing kerfing...some times wrap the rag over the tip and scrape up

Hide glue is really nice because you don't have to get all the residue while the clamps are in the way. Just get the big stuff at first, and then come back with a damp rag later. And you really don't even have to remove the larger glue lumps when wet. Just break their bond to the wood using a toothpick or something and then they'll crumble off with minimal effort when dry. But if left with a strong bond to the wood, then you have to rehydrate the glue to get it off, which takes a while.

Great tips folks...

Thanks so much.

G.

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www.leddingtonguitars.com

I use a sharpened popsicle stick (one end shaped to a chisel point and the other a skew double bevel) dipped in warm water to soften the fibers...I use it like a scraper to lift the squeeze-out, then clean with paper towels soaked in hot water and squeezed out to damp.

A Rival hot pot filled with 140 degree water makes any water soluble or water-thinned glue clean-up job easier...and moving to hot hide glue - a much easier glue to clean up - can be accomplished with little additional investment (just glue, a brush, an 8 ounce jelly jar, and a 2 ounce squeeze bottle. Hide glue users love squeeze-out...it's almost fun to clean up those little glue-based Gummy worms!

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A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

I use a flexible stainless steel ruler right after glue squeezes out.
Then use a damp small rag with the ruler.
I'm not too hung up on glue squeeze out.
Tells me there is enough glue in there!

I usually use various sized pieces of spruce that I sand to a bevel on the belt sander and keep them moist in dipping them in the water bath of the glue pot.

After glue removal I use a soft toothbrush and hot water from the glue pot to scrub the area and wipe with a paper towel. Then hit the area with a heat gun to dry it. (Hesh, I think I got that idea from you years ago on this forum.)

I've been pretty happy with that approach. I am generous with hide glue and like to see a lot of squeeze out.

Interestingly, while doing hundreds of total joint replacements in my prior career we dealt with a lot of squeeze out from arcylic bone cement used to anchor the components and you had to get every last piece or it could break off and damage the joint later.

We used a lot of things but did use sterile plastic drinking straws cut to a bevel on some occasions. I've never gotten around to trying that on guitars. I will next time.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I usually use spruce sticks, that I split off from scraps and whittle to size with a knife as I need them. I prefer this method over chisels or steel spatulas or the like, as there is less chance for damage, plus I like the flexibility, both in the material itself, and also being able to shape it according to the task. If they break, or I need a different shape, I just whittle to fit or quickly make a new one. I use hide glue for most things, so clean up is very easy anyways. I will use some water and paper to remove any residues after the spruce stick, and I follow up immediately with hot air.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I don't have too much to add to what's already been said. All of the above suggestions are really good. I think you'll find you get better at it over time. My first few guitars were pretty messy with glue. Now they are super clean. It just took some time learn how much glue to use to get controlled squeeze out. It's something you build up a feel for pretty quickly.

Fish glue cleans up with warm water but it needs to stay clamped over night.

Bob

I'm with the "I'm not too hung up on glue squeeze out. Tells me there is enough glue in there!" brigade. Years ago I asked an experienced builder about glue squeeze and his answer was basically "use the right amount of glue and it won't be a problem". Went along with that for a while then found a couple of glue starved joints. Now I wipe Titebond away as described but in the end I'm more fussed about sound and durability.

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"There is hope in honest error .... ". Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
http://www.ianchisholm.co.uk