Flexible Abalone Zipflex® Purfling .064”

Zipflex is made with natural, laminated Abalone, through a complex technological process that makes it completely flexible. Thanks to this technology, it is no longer necessary to cut the Abalone in small pieces for inlaying, making the binding process fast and easy.

It has long been a tradition in the guitar-building world to adorn hi-end guitars with abalone or pearl edging. The look of inlaid shell is dramatic, lovely as can be and highly sought after. With Zipflex strips, you can have abalone binding in your guitar through a fast and easy process, saving time, work and material, to give your guitar the high-quality look it deserves.

HOW TO INSTALL IT
ZipFlex is extremely easy to install. Tape it in along with the purflings and install it on the guitar in one step. It easily forms and bends around every curvy part of your guitar, whether on the soundboard, the back or the sides.

You can use your regular glue, although Cyanoacrylate is especially suited for Zipflex. Be sure to seal the ledges with vinyl or lacquer sealer before using Cyanoacrylate to attach purflings, otherwise the glue will wick into the end grain of soundboards and make it darker.

There is no need to install Teflon along with the other purfling elements. The traditional method to install shell purfling has been to install a Teflon strip along with the purfling elements and then, when all is dry and set-up, the Teflon is removed, leaving an open channel into which shell strips are inlaid. On the other hand, as Ziplfex is flexible, it can be installed along with the purflings and binding in one simple step.