[Dylan MacKinnon]

Hi everyone, first time poster here. Thanks for your patience.

So I picked up an Ovation Balladeer 4861 in excellent condition except for some leftover adhesive (I think) around the soundhole. I'm assuming the rosette was removed and this black stuff is the adhesive left over? I'm unsure as I've never seen this stuff before, perhaps it's not adhesive. Anyway, I'm looking for a good way to remove this stuff and get back down to the finish so I can glue on a new piece. Any help is much appreciated! Here are some pics of the hardened black goop in question:

http://imgur.com/zFgUDiC

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http://imgur.com/ycBfvlf

,

 

[WannabeGood]

I would be inclined to try some gentle heat and carefully scrap it off. Also would mask around the sound hole to protect the top from scrapper slippage.

Regards,

 

[greco]

Welcome to the GC forum. Please post often and start lots of new threads.

Don't take any of my advice until it has been confirmed by others with specific knowledge and/or experience.

Can you flake or scrape a small amount of the black stuff off and test to see if something like lighter fluid (Naphtha ..NOT butane) will soften or "dissolve" it. IIRC, naphtha will not damage the finish on your guitar.

Good Luck with cleaning it up.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Wardo]

sound hole edges look like someone did hack job on it for some reason. I'd be kinda surprised if that is what it looked like under the rosette when it left the factory. If nothing else, ovations were well made and that one looks like someone took a sawzall to it.

 

[Guest]

looks like someone took a sawzall to it.

Sure does, however, it may have been the factory.
Not the same model, but, this balladeer (and other O's on google)
look to have a rosette that folds over into the sound hole.

 

[R.S.Fraser Sr.]

If lighter fluid doesn't soften it (and I'll bet it won't),
anything along the lines of acetone, or lacquer thinner will likely harm the finish.

I think you are looking at a Dremel style tool, and a spherical metal grinding head.
Mask off the surrounding area to guard against slips.
Grind small amounts away slowly, until there is only a thin layer of adhesive left.
Then use a single edge razor blade to scrape down to the wood.

 

[Wardo]

Sure does, however, it may have been the factory.
Not the same model, but, this balladeer (and other O's on google)
look to have a rosette that folds over into the sound hole.

Yeah, I just got home gonna have at look at mine with a mirror.

On mine the rosette folds down into the sound hole and there's black crud in a gap on the inside back between the rosette and sound hole which could be the same adhesive but there also what looks like thick black paint slopped around the same area and onto the braces although that looks like it was smoothed out with a brush. In fact, it looks like the install was done by a hung over chimpanzee on a Monday morning. Although you'd still kinda expect the sound hole in the OP post would be done with some kind of hole saw and have clean edges but if they tried hard enough they could fuck that up too.

I hope their helicopters were assembled better.