Official Luthiers Forum!

I am new to the forum and just want to say hello. I'll post here because I love electric guitars. I have played for many years and now want to restore an old Supro and a Kay Bass. I also have a question straight off the bat. How did manufacturers apply celluloid and pearloid finishes to those 50s & 60s guitars? I know all the mother of toilet seat jokes and roll eyes but favor of some information. I know that acrylic and polymer sheets have come a long way since the original finishes were applied to those old "cheap" guitars so I was thinking about those "drum wrap" sheets that are thin. If anyone has worked with this type of sheeting, are they flexible enough to go over a contoured surface Heat & stretch wise?

sorry, not a clue, but welcome anyway!!

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If it is real celluloid they probably applied them like Martin used to apply celluloid pickguards. They use acetone to melt the surface of the plastic and place it on the wood surface. The acetone softens the plastic and adheres it to the wood.

Hey thanks for the welcome and great information. I found celluloid sheets 23.5" X 52.5" X (.018"), (.028"), (.038") or (.048"). This would be for covering the damaged surface of the Supro Res-O-Glas (fiberglass) guitar. I think that acetone would be out of the question as it may eat into the fiberglass. My next thought is to purchase the thinner 0.18 and gently clamp it to the disassembled body half and work it into shape with a heat gun. Another thought is to use the pearloid "drum wrap" material and coax it around the contours of the body. My main concern with this is the wraps durability.

Try Duco Cement. I used it to put plastic nocks on wooden arrows. It does melt the plastic a bit. Not sure if it will soft it enough to make it malleable. Worth experimenting with.

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Aoibeann