# Cleaning Up Liquid Hide Glue Residue



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

What works best for cleaning dried up Titebond Liquid Hide Glue residue on a rosewood fretboard?


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Did you try that new scraper? Or maybe some lacquer thinners.


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

shoretyus said:


> Did you try that new scraper? Or maybe some lacquer thinners.


Haven't had a chance to get the new scraper yet, but will when the need arises. It's just a little residue here and there on the board and barely noticeable. No-one would actually notice other than me . But I'm anal with things like this and since the truss rod replacement project will be completely done today, it would be nice to take that extra step and clean it up if I can.

I have some paint thinner but not lacquer thinner. I've tried some nail polish remover and a Q-Tip, but that didn't work so good. To be honest, I'd rather leave it alone then apply something that may ruin all the work I've put into it.

Here's a couple of quick shots of what it looks like so far:



















Not bad for a guitar that's over 40 years old. The new truss rod is fantastic.


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

That is like the tiniest pickguard ever.


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

You mean the selector switch cover? There used to be a floating pick guard, but I lost that years ago.


----------



## Lab123 (May 27, 2007)

Fajah said:


> What works best for cleaning dried up Titebond Liquid Hide Glue residue on a rosewood fretboard?


Try some Acetone on a scrap of cloth but be very careful if you have plastic bindings...Also a really good scraper is a single edged razor blade....Great looking guitar by the way.....Larry


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

Lab123 said:


> Try some Acetone on a scrap of cloth but be very careful if you have plastic bindings...Also a really good scraper is a single edged razor blade....Great looking guitar by the way.....Larry


Thanks Larry. I'll try some acetone, but it is the binding that I concerned about.


----------



## ajcoholic (Feb 5, 2006)

Try some vinegar. When I was in woodworking college, we used to use vinegar on old hide glued wood joints to get them apart for refinishing/repairs.

It wont harm anything either like solvents will.

AJC


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

ajcoholic said:


> Try some vinegar. When I was in woodworking college, we used to use vinegar on old hide glued wood joints to get them apart for refinishing/repairs.
> 
> It wont harm anything either like solvents will.
> 
> AJC


That's great thanks. I'll try that first.


----------



## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

ive been using a x-acto blade hobby knife, steamed over a kettle, to break down and remove the hide glue from vintage guitars. not sure how different the titebond stuff is, but the steaming blade method is super easy and does no damage to brittle old wood.


----------



## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

fraser said:


> ive been using a x-acto blade hobby knife, steamed over a kettle, to break down and remove the hide glue from vintage guitars. not sure how different the titebond stuff is, but the steaming blade method is super easy and does no damage to brittle old wood.


Thanks fraser, I'll give that a go next. I did try using white vinegar with a Q-Tip and it seemed to work to a degree, although I used very little. Didn't harm the binding which is good.


----------

