There’s a long list of situations that could constitute a musician’s “worst nightmare,” but among them, chipping the glossy, radiant finish from a beloved guitar (or whatever it is you play) is a standout.
And Rick Rosenburg, owner of groundbreaking MI accessory company Gluboost, knows just that. Since 2013, GluBoost has been developing, manufacturing, and selling the MI accessories that everyone has needed but wasn’t sure where to find. The company’s lineup of products ranges from MasterGlu for instrument repairs, to the newest addition, MasterTint, which fills in cracks and dents in instruments with a spot-on color match.
After answering a significant amount of calls about GluBoost users wanting to see a product that could add color to instruments, the company got to work. The result of the two-plus-year efforts would be MasterTint, an innovative new tool to help repairs and restorations to instruments invisible with MasterTint’s color-matching cover-up.
“We started working on MasterTint around late 2014. Calls would come in from guys loving the brand and products exclaiming ‘we’d ove to see the ability to add color,’” Rosenburg says. “Finally, at the suggestion of a few top techs, I embarked on the mission to create this extension to the line. And it was a long haul with a lot of testing and a lot of failures until we achieved the correct chemical compositions to work with our products, to work to our standards, to be stable and reliable, easy to use, and most importantly beautiful looking.”
It sounds like a simple problem and a simple procedure, but before the introduction of MasterTint, colormatching almost never really, well, matched. Rosenburg broke down the old process for colormatching and repairs that often left musicians unsatisfied:
“Traditionally, customers would come in to get a setup or some other work done on the guitar. Color matching, being difficult to say the least, was rarely offered. Now, the repair tech can offer a perfect match and not have to then spend heavy time doing it. In the past, techs would do a drop fill with no color, or a very poor match using thin liquids, or a magic marker, or try some other method. The results were very noticeable and honestly, somewhat unprofessional.
“Customers are never happy to hear a tech say that they could do a drop fill, but the natural wood will still be visible or there would be a clear blob of fill between the pushed down ding and the top coat leaving the repair still standing out. And even if it could be done, because techs have always had a tough time getting colors down with the few products they have available, it’s difficult for them to justify the cost in terms of wasted product and time. So they might often ‘just say no’ to color matching.”
GluBoost, thankfully, provided a long-awaited solution with MasterTint, but not without a fair amount of time developing a product that could actually get the job done.
“It took over two years of testing and development. All along, I wanted to have a line of products that would be an ideal complete repair solution for repair shops and builders,” he adds. “Now, we open the door to perfectly matched, original finish repairs with absolutely no visible evidence that a repair was ever done. I worked diligently on this project including the non-stick mixing palette and accessory items for the brand, and it was a very big undertaking -but also a success.”
Now in 2017, GluBoost offers three variations of the product – MasterTint Vintage, MasterTint Modern, and MasterTint Black and White – to match the exact shade of the instrument that needs a touch-up. Each kit comes with spatulas for dispensing the formula and a nonstick mixing palette.
“It’s a very versatile product and can be used in a variety of ways. But the most common way would be if you had a ding or a dent on the guitar, you would take some Fill n’ Finish or some MasterGlu and place some down on a mixing palette, and then add the Master-Tint color of choice,” Rosenburg explains. “You can then add additional colors to custom match any finish blending to match hue or shade. The products are very concentrated so not much is needed. The hues we have chosen are of the highest quality, are incredibly accurate and really just stunning. For example, MasterTint red matches the Gibson ES-335 red – absolutely bullseye’s it to a T. All of the colors are just beautiful, really incredible. Now, with the ability to add rich, true color and match the finish perfectly without time sucking layering, you get just about 100 percent unnoticeable and much faster repairs across the board.”
An unexpected bonus of MasterTint, however, is that mom-and pop businesses can use it (as well as many other GluBoost products) as add-on services in their stores, therefore giving them another leg up on Internet retailers.
“One of the things that I wanted to do was to give the brick-and mortar people an advantage over internet retailers. MasterTint clearly does this because it’s an added value service for clients,” he says. “Stores now have a great set of add-on services, and can offer greater value to their clients. Additionally, as an added bonus, the store can repair their own floor merchandise, keep this showroom stock looking great, and take less of a hit on a dinged guitar.”
MasterTint isn’t the only recent addition to the GluBoost family; Finish Thin is also a new addition to the roster, offering a repair solution for filling in cracks or using as a stain sealer. The non-creeping wood finishing product is the new go-to for builds, restorations, and repairs, and comes in both a “thin” and regular options. GluBoost has also expanded into distribution to reach more stores and repair centers.
“We’re working on additional products for repair and building. All of them are unique, superior, and truly standalone, and they all help techs improve their game,” Rosenburg says.
And while there are always ways for GluBoost to continue branching out into the MI accessory world, Rosenburg doesn’t think that making a “new and improved” version of MasterTint is one of them.
“Without any ego intended, I honestly don’t think this can be done. I turned over every stone on this one,” he admits. “MasterTint is fully loaded as the first commercially available powdered color additive – and it’s really changing the whole repair game.”
Because if there’s something that Rosenburg and GluBoost understand, it’s that sometimes, it’s the smallest, most unexpected details that can go the extra mile – or measure – on an instrument.
