When it rains it pours, and my partner Dan has been up to his elbows in binding repairs this year. Here, he replaces the dried and crumbling binding from a vintage Gretsch Country Gentleman.
A common problem on vintage Gretsch guitars is the decay and crumbling of the outer celluloid binding strip. Sometimes, owners will opt to leave the cracked binding alone, but in this particular guitar’s case, the owner wanted it repaired. In areas, it was loose enough to be scraped off with a fingernail and in others it needed to be scraped and even chiseled off. We ended up replacing the outer layer entirely, then touching up the nitrocellulose finish.
Here, Dan chisels away the cracked and loose old binding.
After cleaning and smoothing the binding channel, he glues the new binding into place.
Then he touches up the area with ambered lacquer to better reflect this vintage guitar’s age.
Final buffing…
Shiny, clean, and looking great.
If I may ask, what type of binding did you use? Modern ABS type or vintage style celluloid? Also, what sort of glue?
Thanks! Great website, I check it weekly!
We did this repair with modern binding and acetone-based Sigment cement. Dan touched it up with ambered lacquer to give an uneven and more natural appearance; more white looking here, more amber looking there.
Thanks for checking out the site!
I confess I just skipped to the last photo to admire the always stellar handiwork — and one of the best-looking guitars ever made. Country Jinnilmin!
I’m sending my vintage Gretsch Country Gentleman to Dan and Steve to replace the binding and touch up the finish…..I’ll let you know how it turns out. Aloha
How much does it cost to replace the binding on a 1970’s Gretch Country Gentleman. The main Body needs replacing but the neck & stock are good. Paul
Hi Paul,
The final cost of this kind of repair varies because sometimes we have to actually replace strips of binding (like this one) and other times we can do a less invasive patching and touch-up. It depends on how much of the binding has crumbled off. We have also found that a guitar of this age frequently is asking for other work like new frets. UPDATE 2017: email for a cost estimate.
Howdy! Beautiful work on this CG body binding. I have a ’71 that looks like someone took a Zippo to it, and the neck binding is just plain gone in spots…makes it hard to play, ya know? I am retired and cannot afford to have this worked on by people who know what they are doing! Do you guys sell just the neck binding; if so, how much, and (don’t laugh) will Elmers’ Carpenter’s glue work okay? I have some experience with that. Thanks! Kenny Lee
Kenny,
The binding material is available through Stewart Macdonald and other suppliers. But unless you have done it before with professional guidance, I absolutely do not recommend that you try to do this yourself. There are countless ways to ruin that guitar or even hurt yourself doing this work. Truly. The better news is that we often do not have to remove large areas of binding. Our preference when possible is to patch the broken and crumbled areas and use touch-up to blend in the appearance. If you can send us photos to info@chicagofretworks.com , we can give you an estimate. Otherwise I would advocate playing a different guitar and leaving this one alone until it can be properly repaired.
Steve
Thanks, Steve. I had checked at Stew-Mac and did not see anything specific to Gretsch. I have actually reglued little pieces of neck binding, using as little Elmer’s as possible. This is a great guitar: just needs some help…a little would make it playable; a lot (like new frets, binding, TV Jonses, new tone caps,etc.) would make it a fab guitar. For now, it stays in the case. I will email some pitchers (Cubbies, of course–no Zambrano, tho) so you can see what we be tawkin about! Thanks. Kenny Lee
I have just removed the old binding [bad shape] from a vintage Gretsch Country Gentleman. What type of binding and specific width and thicknesses do I ask for from Stew-Mac? Is that actually (4) different strips that are glued together and then installed on the guitar? And where do I get the acetone-based Sigment cement? Thank,
Jimmy McC
does gretsch warranty the binding,in their life time warranty to the original owner?
Greg -sorry to have missed your question for so long! I would be completely shocked if Fender (who now owns Gretsch) would warranty binding rot on guitars this age. I suppose you could call their customer service and ask though!
That is an amazing job on the re-bind! I have pretty severe body bind rot on a jet firebird – I don’t mind the look – but I don’t want it to lead to other damage to the guitar. Is there a risk of that? Thanks! – Jerry
Jerry, I think as long as you can live with the appearance, it shouldn’t harm the rest of the guitar. If you’d like to email us photos we’ll look them over and give you our 2 cents. – info@chicagofretworks.com
Hi, do you have accurate measurements of the Gretsch Country Gent binding? Is it a W-B-W-B thing? Thanks…
Jonathan, I don’t have that information on hand, but it is a multi-ply layered binding that alternates white and black. We used the guitar that was on hand to take thickness measurements and then laminate the binding by hand.
Hello,
This thread is a bit older, but I just purchased a 1964 Country Gent that is missing binding on bass side of entire neck. Other parts on rear binding of body are deteriorating, but not a priority as much as neck. Steve, you seem like a pro at these vintage instruments. Are you still in business? How can I discuss having you look at pictures of the instrument for pricing estimates?
Jim
Jim,
You can send us pics of your guitar by email – info@chicagofretworks.com . We’ll take a look and let you know what it should cost to make it great again! -Steve
I just got my dads 71 chet cg. It sat in the case for 40yr with no tlc at all so im doing my best to bring new life to it. The bing is shot. Pick guard is gone. I think for the age it is in good shape. I cleaned and polished for the days then plugged it into the original fender bassman amp and it worked :-) it als came with agibson reverb 3, I havnt plugged it in yet. So I have a few questions. Ive done wood work for years so im fairly decent with it…..can I fix the binding? Also with this equipment being this old do parts need to be replaced on the guitar and amps? The only thing I have noticed is a buzzing and static….specially when I fiddle with the guitar jack. I love this guitar and kinda grew up with it, I believe it is a 71. On the back of the head stock it hs 8 1100….thats all I can find…no serial number. I am a player, so it will get used and someday ill give it to my son. I just dont want to mess it up. Also ive played with the knobs and swithes…..but some im not sure what there for…..help? Awsome work guys…I appreciate any help.
Wade,
If you have not done this specific repair to a Gretsch before I definitely do not recommend trying it yourself. It is one of the very hardest repairs to do and most shops won’t even consider attempting it. You’ll need to find one that does and has done it before. We would almost always refret the guitar if the binding on the neck is being replaced and we make sure the electronics are working completely before considering it complete. We’d be happy to talk more about yours if you like. It’s better to email us directly at info@chicagofretworks.com with photos of the worst areas. Thanks!
Good morning Dan Wolfer,
I just bought a mint Country Gent from 1966 with only a small chip of the binding missing.
Since your shop is to far from Amsterdam I cannot come to you.
So my repair man over here has to do it.
But we are missing the right binding material; it’s (now) ivory white with a small black line in the middle.
Maybe my next step would be sending you a picture of it?
Or do you already know of which binding type I’m talking about?
I hope you can help me out.
Thanks in advance for your reaction and greetings from a sunny Amsterdam, Netherlands,
Gerrit Jan
Gerrit,
There is no pre-laminated binding material that matches the thickness of the layers on your guitar. We have to use multiple layers of different thicknesses of black and white – just as they did at the factory – and laminate them together. It’s tedious and difficult work. The ivory look on the outer layer is achieved with careful touch-up to match the rest of the guitar’s original look. We use the material from Stewart Macdonald. Good luck to your local repair man and thank you for checking in from across the ocean!
Hey guys, Southern Illinois here…
So…what about the binding on and around the neck – especially where the neck meets the body? I’ve got a ’65 country gentleman that is amazing, but naturally has this same issue.
Also, best way to clean up the knobs, pickups, and bigsby? Looks like they’re brass (?) and have a little patina on them. Would love to see it all shiny again.
Thanks!
Joe,
Sorry for the slow reply. Neck binding certainly has to go sometimes. Thankfully it isn’t multi-ply like the body but of course replacing it would necessitate replacing the frets as well. When it comes to cleaning up the metal hardware, I usually find that the soft 0000 steel wool does a great job and doesn’t scratch up the finish. Just make sure it’s 0000.
I live in southern California (Dana Point) and I am in need of someone to repair my Gretsch Country Gentleman (I bought in in 67). Do you have any references out here?
The guitar is experencing cracked and breaking binding around its body. The repairman wouldn’t attempt the binding replacement. (Bindings along the neck are good. The frets are not too worn.
Also, Would you be able to handle out of town business? I can send you photos for a quote.
Thanks!
Tim, thanks for getting in touch. Yes, this is a repair we do here and I’m never surprised when other shops decline that work. It’s very difficult. We do accept out of town instruments, usually through UPS but also from FedEx and USPS. If you can email some photos to info@chicagofretworks.com we’ll write back with an estimate. Please include photos of the worst areas and an estimate of how much of the body binding is that level of decay. Talk soon!