A question for the guitar finish restorers.
A guitar I recently acquired has several really bad finish cracks on body of the guitar. The finish on the rest of the body is perfectly okay. Is it possible to repair these finish cracks, with say a slow drying super glue, or does it mean a full refinish?
Finish Crack - terminal?
Moderator: jingle_jangle
Finish Crack - terminal?
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jingle_jangle
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Not knowing the brand of guitar or type of paint, I'll go general on you here, Ron.
No super glue, but possibly not a full refin, either. It all depends upon the individual circumstance, and no luthier or finisher worth his salt would have much more to say without seeing the actual instrument. Even photos will not suffice in a case such as this.
Super glue, since its blessing by none other than Dan Erlewine, has become one of the most useful--and overused--items in a repairman's arsenal. It has its uses, and this is not one of them, especially if you really like the instrument in question.
No super glue, but possibly not a full refin, either. It all depends upon the individual circumstance, and no luthier or finisher worth his salt would have much more to say without seeing the actual instrument. Even photos will not suffice in a case such as this.
Super glue, since its blessing by none other than Dan Erlewine, has become one of the most useful--and overused--items in a repairman's arsenal. It has its uses, and this is not one of them, especially if you really like the instrument in question.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut
Thanks for the reply Paul, the guitar in question is an 1985 Ibanez AS200. I guess there may be some out there that would think it's a bit cheeky requesting help for a non Rickenbacker here. I know from previous posts you are fairly open minded on this issue and I hoped you would respond.
I doubt if I would have attempted the repairs myself, even if you gave me the okay to proceed. Some of these cracks are in very prominent positions on the guitar and the attempted repair may have turned out worse than the original complaint.
It's important for me to know whether this is a possibility, rather than go ahead with a full refinish that wasn't warranted!
I doubt if I would have attempted the repairs myself, even if you gave me the okay to proceed. Some of these cracks are in very prominent positions on the guitar and the attempted repair may have turned out worse than the original complaint.
It's important for me to know whether this is a possibility, rather than go ahead with a full refinish that wasn't warranted!
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jingle_jangle
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I'm fairly certain that this is a polyester-finished guitar. The thickness of these finishes exacerbates checking as well as making partial refinishes unrealistic.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut
While I think of it Paul. Would having some rather nasty cracks present some problems with polishing?
I know with an old car I had, when it was polished up it didn't look too bad, but the paintwork was pretty crook, and after a time the dried polish residue in the cracks of the paint use to show up as white patches.
Is this likely to occur on a guitar, and would keeping up the Zymol treatment overcome this?
Also could the polish eventually work its way through to the wood and create staining under the clear finish?
Hoping you don't have more bad news - that's pretty much all I've had with this guitar.
I know with an old car I had, when it was polished up it didn't look too bad, but the paintwork was pretty crook, and after a time the dried polish residue in the cracks of the paint use to show up as white patches.
Is this likely to occur on a guitar, and would keeping up the Zymol treatment overcome this?
Also could the polish eventually work its way through to the wood and create staining under the clear finish?
Hoping you don't have more bad news - that's pretty much all I've had with this guitar.
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jingle_jangle
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Zymol will not prevent finish cracks, nor will it repair them.
If you wax a guitar which has stress cracks in the finish which go all the way down to the wood, you will stain the wood.
Every stress-cracked guitar that I strip has dirty spider marks where the cracks were. The dirt is a mixture of sweat, dust, and, yes, wax.
These can usually be bleached out before refinishing, and the only problem here is if the owner used a wax with silicone in it, or WD-40 or (ack!) Armor-All. All of these on bare wood are nightmare scenarios and require various drastic means to alleviate the problem before refinishing.
If you wax a guitar which has stress cracks in the finish which go all the way down to the wood, you will stain the wood.
Every stress-cracked guitar that I strip has dirty spider marks where the cracks were. The dirt is a mixture of sweat, dust, and, yes, wax.
These can usually be bleached out before refinishing, and the only problem here is if the owner used a wax with silicone in it, or WD-40 or (ack!) Armor-All. All of these on bare wood are nightmare scenarios and require various drastic means to alleviate the problem before refinishing.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut
What I was trying to explain in my last post was that if I used Zymol and some of it seeped into the finish crack, would it show up after a while as a white line, thus highlighting the crack? If it did would applying another coat of Zymol remove the dried polish residue or would it only exacerbate the problem?
Zymol is good stuff but I know that even as good as it is it won't fix finish cracks!
So I guess after all of that do I clean the guitar up and then only use a soft cloth to keep it clean for then on?
Zymol is good stuff but I know that even as good as it is it won't fix finish cracks!
So I guess after all of that do I clean the guitar up and then only use a soft cloth to keep it clean for then on?
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jingle_jangle
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I understand, so do heed my warnings above. They make a BLACK Zymol (paste) for dark colored cars which would be less obvious on a medium-to-dark colored guitar.
So, you can use Zymol, but go easy on it to keep the buildup down, and keep rubbing with the clean cloth.
So, you can use Zymol, but go easy on it to keep the buildup down, and keep rubbing with the clean cloth.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut