Questions about doing a spot repair on my Martin D-16GT
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2025 7:18 pm
OK, long story short I damaged my Martin D-16GT years ago when the end pin slipped out and the guitar dropped to the floor. I have lived with a crack in the top near the plastic binding and possibly some separation from the lining underneath. The guitar cost me under $1000 and it's not covered under warranty so I'd like to fix it myself. I could use some advice though.
The binding is intact, as is the mahogany side and the Spanish cedar kerfed lining underneath. Al that seems to have happened is that the glue joint failed from the shock. The nitro finish of course cracked and there's a slight indent in the top but it's just a crack with no chipping.
My first question is, what type of glue does Martin use? I'm assuming its an alpharesin type similar to Titebond original?
If so, I'm assuming that I cannot just use heat to soften the glue as I had previously done in a build gone wrong but will have instead to clear out the old to add new glue. The problem is that there is no way I can get my arm all the way inside to the affected area. So my next question is can I try by working a 320grit piece of sandpaper in the area from inside?
Once I have the old glue cleared, then what? There seems to be a very small gap exposed by the top floating slightly that I'm tempted to wick thin CA glue into, but clearly that's NOT the thing to do, correct? Can I dilute Titebond and wick it in front above in the hope that there is some sort of capillary action or do I need to try to find some way to work it into the gap from inside the body?
The binding is intact, as is the mahogany side and the Spanish cedar kerfed lining underneath. Al that seems to have happened is that the glue joint failed from the shock. The nitro finish of course cracked and there's a slight indent in the top but it's just a crack with no chipping.
My first question is, what type of glue does Martin use? I'm assuming its an alpharesin type similar to Titebond original?
If so, I'm assuming that I cannot just use heat to soften the glue as I had previously done in a build gone wrong but will have instead to clear out the old to add new glue. The problem is that there is no way I can get my arm all the way inside to the affected area. So my next question is can I try by working a 320grit piece of sandpaper in the area from inside?
Once I have the old glue cleared, then what? There seems to be a very small gap exposed by the top floating slightly that I'm tempted to wick thin CA glue into, but clearly that's NOT the thing to do, correct? Can I dilute Titebond and wick it in front above in the hope that there is some sort of capillary action or do I need to try to find some way to work it into the gap from inside the body?