cleaning footprint for bridge

[jartzh]

I got excited and vinyl sealed the body without masking off the bridge area. How do I clean the area to glue on the bridge?
I was just too excited about seeing the grain of the wood!

[MaineGeezer]

I'd probably try chemical paint stripper - the old-fashioned lethal kind that chemically breaks down the finish. Whether even that willl touch a high-tech plastic sealer I don't know.

[johnnparchem]

I do not use vinyl sealer, but I do not mask for the bridge before finishing. Rather when the guitar is totally finished, I place the bridge, carefully score the finish with a scalpel or an exacto knife around the bridge, and use straight edge razors and chisels to remove all of the finish from the wood under the bridge. I do the bulk away from the bridge profile using a razor blade as a scraper and I carefully use a chisel to remove the remaining finish to the score line.

[tippie53]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJG5Frbu78c
there are many ways to do this. this is my preferred

method.

[Danl8]

I just did this for the third time this past weekend (using John Hall's method). I will never go back to rubbing the finish off with alcohol and razor blades, etc., again. I was a bit put off by this technique when I saw it done at the factory in Nazareth last summer, but it is a really clean way to glue the bridge.

[B. Howard]

John converted me to routing them off, I will not scrape another.

[johnnparchem]

I will give the router a try the next time.

[tippie53]

only used a stripper once and it worked
so well it ruined the top and I had to redo it. Never make that mistake again.

[Phil]

Perfect timing as a refresher for me. Will be trying this method for the first time as soon as I finish making the bridge for my current build.

[tippie53]

Martin uses a cnc machine. They were taking .030 out of the top and using about a 1/32 bit to out line the bridge. I hated this as it makes removing a bridge impossible without damage. I will route them off , the replace the bridge . I take about a .010 just enough to touch the wood and sand clean. I also chamfer the edges of the bridge so I have a clearance to the corner.
been doing that way since 2000