Fly Fret Repair Procedures (Parker Guitars video and document)

[vjmanzo]

Below are procedures for repairing frets that are lifting or have fallen off.

Official Parker Guitar Fret Repair Procedure




See also Ken Parker: How to Glue on Frets That Have Fallen Off

#FretIssues

[Bruno]

Thank you for those precious information. I will transfer them to my luthier.
It seems that the glue (dymax 625 A) is not available anymore (at a reasonable price).
Any idea about an alternative ? is any other methacrylate glue can be convenient ?
I am interested because on my 2007 fly mojo a fret (the 18th) is gone...
Thanks again
Bruno

[vjmanzo]

Hi @Bruno; welcome to the forum!

I used Zap Thin CA on a Fly with a similar issue and had great results; this is the link to exactly what I ordered:
Pacer Technology (Zap) Zap CA Adhesives, 2 oz

As long as you still have fret, you’re in good shape! Keep us posted!

[iroc07]

is that fret repair method really that much better than just using superglue? I have seen more than 3 places on youtube that seem very competent guitar building and repair businesses, and all of them recommend superglue. I had my 11th fret go on walkabout over the weekend so I grabbed three types of superglue and was wondering which to use when I saw the official repair method.

My guitars get used mostly for looking at and light playing duty, not 4 hour wedding gigs or world tours so keep that in mind.

These are the three I bought, any thoughts on which of these would be best to use?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @iroc07; I moved your post to this topic, which is more closely related.

is that fret repair method really that much better than just using superglue?

It might be a little tricky to get into what’s “better” versus what’s “good enough”; it’s a matter of the adhesive having the right chemicals to bond properly. The video of Terry repairing the frets uses Zap CA glue (in the pink bottle), which is what I’ve used.

I’ll just note that some of the products you noted didn’t exist when the Flys were first being made. Having said that, the process of getting frets onto a Fly is complicated and the bonding agent that was used in production has, generally, yielded good results 25+ years later. The three glues you noted could work, in principle, but it’s difficult to know long-term what will cause the bonding agents in them to break down.

[iroc07]

I think I am going to try the Gorilla glue. The guy from Crimson guitars says he uses that and does full re frets on them and he seems to knows his stuff... and hes bald like me so I will give him extra points for that

[vjmanzo]

I think I am going to try the Gorilla glue.

Great! Please keep us posted! Some photos showing your process would be helpful!

... and hes bald like me so I will give him extra points for that

Hahaha! Love it!

[Musikron]

Gorilla glue tends to expand as it cures, I wouldn’t use that on a fret personally.
I’ve been a luthier for 15 years and have even repaired many frets on Parkers, I always use thin Stewart Macdonald super glue and have never had one fail.

[iroc07]

crap.... I already used it. It did seem to work well, but it did seem to have a lot more come out from under the fret than I thought it would. I cleaned it up with a qtip right away but it still left some residue on the fretboard which is irritating but not the end of the world as all of my Parkers are player grade on purpose.

I used a plastic clamp and some fish paper (used in fiber optic cable installation to protect fibers from getting rubbed or damaged). I think the clamp had a little side load because once I took everything off I think the fret is a couple thou more to the bottom edge of the neck than when I placed it and aligned it. Nothing that would ever be an issue, but I think I will dress the end of it a bit just because I know its there and it will bug me.....

Before I installed the fret I scraped any old glue out of the fret grooves, and I gave the bottom of the fret a bit of texture with a machinist file. I didnt change the shape or thickness, just simply roughed the surface a bit to help give the glue more surface area per square inch.

[Mr303]

After reading this thread I looked up jewelers adhesives. I’ve used them with great results to set stones and secure wire knots.
For setting stones and other durable repairs jewelry cyanoacrylates work well for filling small gaps especially slow setting types and some have precision needle applicators.
I used to buy it from a local supply house but now online is best.

This is an example of what’s available.
Jewelry cements are much less brittle than most super glues.

https://www.riogrande.com/category/tool ... rylates%5D

[vjmanzo]

Great info, @Mr303! Thanks for that!

[reverend-kansas]

For frets that have the ends lifting, but are not fully off, is it best to wick glue into them or to remove the frets and re-set them?

[mmmguitar]

For frets that have the ends lifting, but are not fully off, is it best to wick glue into them or to remove the frets and re-set them?

My feeling is that the "proper" repair would be the same approach as replacing a nut: Gently remove the frets and any remaining glue residue from both the frets and their seating on the fingerboard; to ensure you have a clean, even surface to readhere the frets to. Whether you can get away with just wicking low-viscosity glue under the fret ends and clamping is down to whether you want to try it first, and it happens to work. In either case, expect to do some fret leveling afterward - I own some beater Flys that didn't exhibit lifting frets, but which I nonetheless took the leveling beam to.

[vjmanzo]

My feeling is that the "proper" repair would be the same approach as replacing a nut: Gently remove the frets and any remaining glue residue from both the frets and their seating on the fingerboard; to ensure you have a clean, even surface to readhere the frets to.

I agree with Marc—that seems like the better approach. A few years ago, I tried to wick CA under a lifting fret and clamp it and—ugh—let’s just say it didn’t work out very well for me!

[reverend-kansas]

I'm taking it to a well-known Montreal based luthier who used to work for JAM and has a long history of working with Flys, so I imagine he'll know what to do, but I just wanted to hear the Internet's opinion.