Tape Removal Without Damaging the Finish - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, Robbie O’Brien demonstrates how to properly remove tape from the fretboard without damaging the finish.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: How do you remove masking tape from the fretboard without chipping the finish?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from New Jersey. "Robert, how do you remove the masking tape from the fretboard without chipping the finish?" Karen in New Jersey.
Well, Karen, this is a common problem. It's been known to happen in the best of families. Let's go over to the bench, I'll show you how to avoid it.
How I avoid chipping the finish
So, Karen, here's what I do. I take a file, I place it along the edge of the fretboard. I'm going to put it at about the same angle that I had on the bevel of the fret when I placed that on there. Now, down here on the peghead end, you want to be careful with the tail of the file. Obviously, you don't want to damage your peghead, so just put it at an angle. What you're doing is you're filing through the finish and breaking that bond between the tape and the finish. Up here on the body end, you want to be very careful, what I use is a safe edge on my file, and I use my thumb and index finger as a depth gauge so that the thumb is running along the soundboard, not the file. Also, you want to mask it off or put some protection up there. But once you've filed through it, then you come in with a knife and help remove the tape.
Another way to do that same thing would be to use a sanding block and some sandpaper and just run it up and down the side of the fretboard. Up here, you could use the same thing and around the back edge here to break that bond. Then I come in with an X-ACTO blade or a razor knife blade and just work it up under there. Very carefully just slice under the tape, between the tape and the finish, and then just work your way down the fretboard like this. And if you've ever sprayed any finishes, you know that there's always a little residue that gets between the tape and the finish. So you have to come back and clean that off too.
Boy, look at those inlays. I'd forgotten about those. Those are going to look sweet. Just very carefully work your way along the fretboard like this. So basically what you're doing is just slicing through the finish and allowing that tape to release. Also notice I'm pulling it towards the fretboard rather than point it away from the fretboard, and that seemed to help a little bit too.
And once you get down here to the nut, you want to be very careful as well, working that knife in there so that you don't chip around the peghead. So once I've removed all the tape, then I just come in with my razor knife blade here and just scrape any of the residue off the edge of the fretboard that rolled up under the tape by the fret there. And depending on how well you masked off your fretboard to begin with, is going to depend on how much work you have to do at this point to clean it up. So, Karen, like many things in guitar building, that's a very simple step, very easy. However, if you overlook it or forget to do it, it could cause you a lot more work in the long run.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
