# Epoxied (?) Bridge Lifting



## 37675 (Jul 7, 2021)

Hello from Memphis. Thanks for letting me in.
I have a Recording King acoustic (not the ancient, priceless, juju echoing from every scratch & crack type, but the new[ish], 300 USD, surprisingly good sounding type, of Asian manufacture), and the bridge began lifting shortly after I bought it. I took it to my repair guy, who determined that the builder(s) used epoxy, or some unknown exotic adhesive on it. He gave it the heat blanket/spatula treatment to no effect, and tried various other proprietary methods, also without success. I really would like to be playing the thing rather than have it lying around reminding me of what else I could have spent 300 bucks on. Any remedies or ideas?


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Photos


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

Its the same glue thats used by just about everybody can I suggest another repair guy.


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## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

Ship of fools said:


> Its the same glue thats used by just about everybody can I suggest another repair guy.


I would have thought hide glue would be the go to adhesive, but maybe epoxy has taken over?


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## BMW-KTM (Apr 7, 2015)

The fact that it's coming off all by itself and yet your "repairman" can't get it to come off speaks to me of a guy who might not know what he's doing.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Not posting pictures is a sure way to not get your problem correctly answered.


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## 37675 (Jul 7, 2021)

player99 said:


> Not posting pictures is a sure way to not get your problem correctly answered.


Thanks for your warm welcome, player ninety-nine.
I am using a borrowed lap top, and I wish I had an iphone with which to take you some "pictures", but I don't, hence my lengthy description of the problem.
Please excuse my misunderstanding as to the purpose of this forum.
Canadians' reputation of being gracious and congenial is secure.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Dremel the entire bridge off? 
If it really is epoxy, there isn't much you can do to release it the way you could with hide glue or even typical Elmer's glue.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

charlesx said:


> Thanks for your warm welcome, player ninety-nine.
> I am using a borrowed lap top, and I wish I had an iphone with which to take you some "pictures", but I don't, hence my lengthy description of the problem.
> Please excuse my misunderstanding as to the purpose of this forum.
> Canadians' reputation of being gracious and congenial is secure.


No pic-y no happy.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

charlesx said:


> Any remedies or ideas?


There may be some solutions for you here;








How to Remove Epoxy – The 8 Best Methods Removing Epoxy


Do you want to remove Epoxy Resin from Skin or Surfaces? Then we have collected the 8 Best Methods to remove Epoxy Resin for you.




resin-expert.com


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

I occasionally have to remove a bridge like that. I use a thinner flexible tool- looks like a putty knife. Basically, you need to get the knife between the epoxy and the bridge and work the epoxy off of the bridge. I've seen this a lot more lately with Chinese manufacturers. If you saw that area of the guitar before the bridge went on, you might see where the finish stops just inside the perimeter of the bridge. The finish is usually super thick which leaves an air gap between the top of the finish and the bare wood where the bridge goes. The use a blob of epoxy to both hold the bridge and fill the gap. It's just lazy manufacturing. Non serviceable throw away goods. 
Here's the rub; if you get the bridge off, you have to reglue it the same way. Or, you have to cut away the thick finish in order to glue it on with a more appropriate instrument glue. 
Probably not worth it though. 
You could get your guy to use an epoxy with a longer working time and squeeze and work as much glue under the back of the bridge as possible and then clamp it for a day. Hopefully that does the trick. That repair is commensurate with the quality of the guitar.
Good luck.


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## kelowna (Dec 22, 2010)

I had an pre-war Martin guitar that had the bridge glued on with epoxy and my luthier would not work on it for fear that pieces of wood from the top would come off when bridge was removed. Super glue and epoxy should be stayed away from with guitars because they can cause problems when repairs are required in the future.


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## 37675 (Jul 7, 2021)

Thanks to all for your suggestions and anecdotes, sans playa-99, who apparently just wants to ogle photos & be a dick. But one does best what one does most, I reckon. I may have to resort to screwing the thing down if I can't coax it off with a palette knife. Cheap though the guitar may be, it does actually sound good and the string spacing is perfect for finger-style plonking.


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