Sticky tape that won't mark the finish permanently

richh

I have an injury to my right forearm, and when I rest my arm on the edge of the guitar I think it is aggravating things. So I'd like to stick some kind of fabric or a gel pad to the edge so my forearm is resting on a soft surface. The guitar is an archtop and I think the finish is poly.

I don't much care how crap it looks for now, as long as it stays in place, but as the archtop is in mint condition, it would be a shame to tape with something that is going to permanently damage the finish.  Electrical tape isn't going to be strong enough - gaffa tape may be.

Any ideas please gents?

Cheers!

poopot

Stick the padding to your arm instead of the guitar?

richh

Good suggestion, and I'll have a think about that. I'm not sure if I can find a way to do that without restricting my movements.  Also, I'd like to modify the guitar, so that I can pick it up and play it straight away, even if I just have a few minutes. If I have to faff about each time I want to play by putting on some kind of arm support, that would be a bit limiting.

The guitar isn't particularly expensive or valuable, but even so I'd like to try to find a way to modify in a way that won't be permanent or irreversible.  So ideally not nine inch nails!

DiscoStu

Could you stretch a jumper or something elastic over the guitar then put padding inside? Adhesive free.

CarpeDiem

You could try some form of sleeve on your arm, in the same way some guitarists use wristbands. Perhaps a support sleeve from a pharmacist if the additional support would help your arm injury, or cut off the sleeve of an old jumper just to see if this approach would work for you.

richh

Hi Stu, I'll have a think about that.  Great idea if it works, and I'll have a look and see what I've got that might stay in place. If it all starts shifting around though as I'm playing it could be a right pain.  If I can find some reasonable strong tape that can hold some foam rubber, or cloth in place though, that would be ideal.  Even if it leaves a residue, that would be okay if there is a way to clean it off eventually.  So I'm thinking that if strong gaffa tape leaves glue and gunk on the guitar, then there must be some solvent I can use to get this off that hopefully doesn't react with the poly finish?  That would be a better semi-permanent solution, but reversible.

poopot

Cling film!!!!! Wrap the film around the body first, put on foam then wrap the foam with the cling film as well. It’ll hold and not be permanent.

Corvus

There's always a chance of old tape leaving a slight witness mark behind but the poly will almost certainly be two-pack aka urethane in 'merica, and is impervious to most things. Gaffa is horrible messy stuff though. There's a 3M double-sided tape which is like a sticky gel strip. Might work with a gel pad.

Any tape left on for a while gets more grippy over time and probably leave bits of itself behind, but gentle warming with a hairdryer or heat gun makes it a whole lot easier to take off. Clean up an leftovers with light fluid.

Maybe a local sewing person could make a sleeve type of thing with some padding? Be quick & easy to slip on & off, and keep with the guitar. Praps velcro tie strips or flaps instead of a full sleeve, would be more adjustable then too.

DiscoStu

I used to make spectacle lenses for a living. We had sticky rubber pads (e.g. 3M Leap pads) to attach mounting blocks to the lens blanks for grinding down to shape. Not sure how these would cope for what you have in mind but they are low residue.
For cleaning off glues and other residues I used Isopropanol. I'd avoid acetone, it can be aggressive and melts certain plastics. 

DiscoStu

Hang on,  how about Command picture hanging strips? They're easy release.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004051TE2/ref=asc_df_B004051TE253326287/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22110&creativeASIN=B004051TE2&linkCode=df0&hvadid=214440742293&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10278740811483866839&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046848&hvtargid=pla-305740399370&th=1&psc=1

richh

Ok guys, thanks, some great suggestions there!

So first off, I'm going to go for the clingfilm suggestion, that sounds quite low risk.  If necessary though, I may just have to get brutal and get the trusty old roll of gaffa tape out and just live with the consequences.

Thanks!

DiscoStu

Cling film can feel funny against the skin. And also quite hot. Certainly a cheap thing to trial though!

poopot

richh said:

Ok guys, thanks, some great suggestions there!

So first off, I'm going to go for the clingfilm suggestion, that sounds quite low risk.  If necessary though, I may just have to get brutal and get the trusty old roll of gaffa tape out and just live with the consequences.

Thanks!

Clingfilm to the guitar, then put the gaffa over the film!...