Strange Dark Mold on Binding

[capnjuan]

Bleach ... it kills mold ... fungus ... fungii; use a q-tip. I can't guarantee it won't melt finish lacquer on the binding but if it did, it could be touched up with fingernail polish.

I'd excercise extreme caution ...

Gee Al; I wish I'd mentioned taking precautions with it :wink: ... but it was interesting reading your alarming remarks on the dangers of bleach.

I promise to tell everyone I know not to gargle or bathe their guitars with it ... :lol:

 

[adorshki]

Bleach ... it kills mold ... fungus ... fungii; use a q-tip. I can't guarantee it won't melt finish lacquer on the binding but if it did, it could be touched up with fingernail polish.

I'd excercise extreme caution ...

Gee Al; I wish I'd mentioned taking precautions with it :wink: ... but it was interesting reading your alarming remarks on the dangers of bleach.
I promise to tell everyone I know not to gargle or bathe their guitars with it ... :lol:

Just call me the "Al"armist ...........and don't forget to clean your head! :lol:

 

[capnjuan]

... and don't forget to clean your head! :lol:

Yes; next time you see me, I'll be a bleached blonde ...

 

[hideglue]

Yes; next time you see me, I'll be a bleached blonde ...

cap'n, we're almost twins...

 

[capnjuan]

cap'n, we're almost twins...

Yeah ... but you've been lifting ... I'd love to meet your tailor.

 

[marcellis]

I've been gone a while. But this thread sure has taken an interesting turn.

They say wherever you are, there is a spider less than three feet away.

I'm changing apartments this week. My luthier has scraped the mold off again.
If it comes back - I'll post pics. It takes some scraping too. It's not stuff you
can just rub off with a cloth & water.

Very odd.

 

[marcellis]

Wow, this is a little depressing. The D60 has been in the case one week.

Here is what has grown back.

That is one week!

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Marc: strange stuff. It's as if the binding itself is contaminated with something organic that the mold is feeding on ... :shock:

Have you tried fooling with bleach or some other mold-kiler?

 

[marcellis]

Hi Marc: strange stuff. It's as if the binding itself is contaminated with something organic that the mold is feeding on ... :shock:

Have you tried fooling with bleach or some other mold-kiler?

Not yet. I think the idea of a solvent like bleach & a sealant, like a nail sealant, is what I'll have to do.

Very weird.

 

[capnjuan]

My chemistry is iffy but I understand plastics to be inorganic in the everyday sense. To get plastic from petroleum you have to heat it, subject it to pressure ... it's hard to imagine anything including mold surviving the manufacturing process.

But if the binding were cellulose, an organic product from tree pulp, I wonder if a batch could have gotten contaminated and the scratch event exposed it to air? Nasty-looking stuff :evil:

 

[taabru45]

Does that happen when its not in the case or if its in another case? Steffan

 

[marcellis]

Does that happen when its not in the case or if its in another case? Steffan

Usually, it's not in the case. So it happens either way.

 

[geoguy]

Appears to me that the mold returned only where the least amount of lacquer was scraped off. Perhaps the mold is growing under the lacquer.

Maybe scrape it further/deeper? I wouldn't seal it with anything until the mold ceased to return.

 

[adorshki]

My chemistry is iffy but I understand plastics to be inorganic in the everyday sense. To get plastic from petroleum you have to heat it, subject it to pressure ... it's hard to imagine anything including mold surviving the manufacturing process.

Although the principle is correct, I don't think it "survived" the manufacturing process and I don't think it's making use of a petrochemical plastic. Which brings us to your second hypothesis:

But if the binding were cellulose, an organic product from tree pulp, I wonder if a batch could have gotten contaminated and the scratch event exposed it to air? Nasty-looking stuff :evil:

I was thinking about the possibility that it was an NCL plastic like was introduced in the 50's, but I thought it would be obsolete by the time Marc's guitar was made. That's the stuff that notoriously shrinks and cracks on vintage Gretsches for example. In fact that seems to be the most likely explanation now, as NCL plastic COULD provide a source of organic nutrients for mold. I suspect what's really going on is not contamination at the time the binding was made, but that the mold has managed to permeate small porosities in the plastic, and that's why it keeps coming back.
If bleach and seal don't fix it, then it's an as yet undiscovered alien life form. :lol:

 

[curt]

Tape off the guitar and dab some bleach on it.

 

[marcellis]

Bleach it will be. I'm busy the next couple of weeks or so. That will give it a chance to grow.

My observations:

1. This only happens on the part of the binding that was scraped during the tumble.

2. There are other scratches elsewhere on the guitar - but there is no mold. The only place
this phenomenon is occurring is on the scratched part of the binding. It may spread a little onto
an unscratched part of binding. But eventually, it stops.

 

[adorshki]

Bleach it will be. I'm busy the next couple of weeks or so. That will give it a chance to grow.
My observations:
1. This only happens on the part of the binding that was scraped during the tumble.
2. There are other scratches elsewhere on the guitar - but there is no mold. The only place
this phenomenon is occurring is on the scratched part of the binding. It may spread a little onto
an unscratched part of binding. But eventually, it stops.

That would seem to indicate that the finish over the binding served as a barrier against "impregnation". BUT a new question occurs to me: What is the effect of bleach on Nitrocellulose (CELLULOID) plastic, if it turns out that that's what the binding is?
A quick Google search indicates guitar picks are still made from it, I'm thinking that fake tortoise shell material is a likely candidate, might be a good test object. :wink:
"AL"-armist.

 

[davismanLV]

Al, I think it is WISE to be cautious. If, after testing, you decide to go ahead with the bleach, it might be a good idea to use some diluted vinegar to neutralize the bleach before you put any finish over it. Diluted vinegar and then clean water wipe. Both vinegar and bleach are strong chemicals. Being the "Al-armist" isn't a bad idea......

I could be wrong. I was once before....... :roll:
Tom in Vegas

 

[Dr. Spivey]

I just tuned into this thread.

My dad was in the Navy during the Korean war, he spent a couple years in S.E. Asia. He shot hundreds of 35mm slides, about half of which are contaminated with a fungus, some of you Vets may have heard of this. I have some figurines he got in Hong Kong, hard white injection molded plastic made to look like carved Ivory. When dad died I got them, they had probably been in a box for 40 years. Two of the three had some stuff that looked just like what is on Marc's binding. Bleach killed it, but it took 3 or 4 applications over several months to do it. Each application removed it, but a little would come back. That's everything I know about S.E Asian mold/fungi that grows on plastic. :lol:

 

[GuildFS4612CE]

The part of a fungus/mold that you see is basically the 'flower/bloom' portion. The 'roots' go much deeper. That's why it's so hard to remove. Good luck. And use the bleach in a ventilated room only...not cool to breathe the stuff. :wink: