Finish Stain (May Be Dried Hide Glue)

[Brent Hutto]

When I recently had a corner of my bridge glued back down, the repairman used hide glue. I thought the guitar top was clean when I got it back but I see now a couple of smears or stains, pretty much either the same color as the top or transparent, that look like maybe incomplete wipe marks from cleaning up excess glue. I say that because the two mark sort of converge near the corner of the bridge that was glued down.

You can only see these stains by holding the top up to low-angle light and looking closely. So I don't want to do anything that might damage the extremely thin lacquer finish on my cedar top. I'd rather have the (presumed) glue stains than take the finish off or discolor it. What are my low-risk things to try?

I've used naptha to clean up sticker adhesive from this guitar with no harm done (long story). Will naptha affect long-dried hide glue? I also have a bottle of Stew-Mac "Preservation Polish" that's unopened and never used, is it likely to help? For that matter maybe the first thing to try ought to be some warm water with a drop of mild soap on a soft cloth...

[Bob Webster]

Hi, Brett. You picked right for the first thing to try. Sounds like, because keeping the corner glued down was the whole purpose of the exercise, your repairman probably decided not to get too aggressive about glue clean up. Can't really blame him. Instead of a soft cloth, you might want to try a soldering acid brush, the kind that woodworking stores sell as disposable glue brushes (rolled metal handles, formica pelt bristles). You can trim the bristles shorter to get a little stiffer scrubbing action. This method has even proven safe on my French polish jobs on cedar and is my standard routine for hide glue cleanup around the bridge.

Best of luck,
Bob

[Michael Lewis]

Clean up hide glue with a damp rag. It might take a few minutes since it is dry now, but gentle rubbing with a damp rag will remove it completely.