…’Fake’ or ‘Faux’ binding…
Fake binding (note: deleted rant – don’t ask) is when the cap is stained on the front but the side is left uncoloured so the natural wood appears like binding. It’s a gorgeous effect used by most top end makers. For me it is a lot nicer than plastic anyway…..
To get this effect the top edge of the cap is left sharp after sanding – we don’t round it off until after the colour is applied.
First the colour is applied to the front of the cap – in this case honeyburst – but it works with any colour.
The front and side of the cap is masked up to prevent any colour getting on it while the back is sprayed with red mahogany. You don’t have to colour the back but in this case we did.
When the tape is removed there should be a nice crisp edge where the colour stops to create the fake binding. If the line doesn’t come out crisp it can be cleaned up by carefully scraping the colour off with a blade.
Finally the edges are rounded off with fine sandpaper. The aim is to make the ‘binding’ look the same thickness all the way round. Its easier to do this by carefully sanding off the colour now rather than trying to mask up evenly all the way round – thats why we leave the edges sharp until this moment.
Looks pretty good eh? Ready for the gloss top coats………
Nice work Billy!!