Finish is cracking/flaking on my guitars headstock!

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 1:06 pm

I brought my '97 Gibby Les Paul Special down from the attic today and found this:

Its been flaking around the logo for a few years but now its much worse. It appears to be a thin coat of clear laquer (or similar) that seperated from the wood. I guess my question is should I attempt to remove it or just leave it alone? I also have a couple of older LP Standards that don't have this problem. Maybe because they are higher-end guitars.

Heres the rest of it:

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 1:50 pm

Poly finishes hate weird temperatures and humidities...I had an MIM tele that that happened to. My guitars with nitro finishes still look and feel great.

I don't know what I'd do...I think I'd just leave it and let it wear off by itself and eventually look all "vintage."

??????? · Post by **???????** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 3:46 pm

is that a lacquer or poly finished guitar?

If lacquer, go to a shop and have them overspray the headstock with clear lacquer. That will "melt" the old lacquer, and amalgamate it together and it will buff out good as new.

If it's poly (does gibson even use poly? I don't think they do) then this trick won't work.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 5:03 pm

Yeah, I have done it with nitro, that melting thing does indeed work.

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:12 pm

Thanks Brad, I've never heard of that. There are probably a couple shops around town that could do it.

??????? · Post by **???????** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:42 pm

no problem.

If you ever see vintage guitars for sale in shops with things in the description like "top oversprayed" or "back oversprayed," that's what it means. There was probably some flaking, severe checking, damage, or what-have-you that was corrected by spraying a little bit of new lacquer over the old and buffing it out. I actually have a guitar that's getting a little overspraying right now. It's a rough-shape 1939 Epiphone Triumph that had the binding flaking off, and the previous owner tried to super-glue it back on. Well, he got glue on the top, and in the process maybe spilled some kind of solvent on the top too, and caused a couple of really weird spots in the lacquer and a big visible run. I don't normally like molesting vintage guitars but due to its condition this one is getting a pretty thorough restoration... neck re-set, new binding on the top, and over-spray on the top.

That's one of the wonderful things about lacquer finishes over poly. That's why many shops love to work on lacquer finished guitars because due to the nature of lacquer, it's really easy to make repairs invisible. It's also why Leo Fender and the other guys chose lacquer back in the day (not because it sounded good!) It's because it's really easy to work with. If a guy drops a lacquer finished strat at the last step of assembly and chips the finish, no problem... spray a little more on, buff it out, and good to go.

Good luck!

Feedback · Post by **Feedback** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:05 am

I think issues like that give the instrument character. I would leave it and let it do whatever it was gonna do, if it were mine.

??????? · Post by **???????** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:20 pm

Feedback wrote:I think issues like that give the instrument character. I would leave it and let it do whatever it was gonna do, if it were mine.

I probably would too. But if he wants it fixed, i'm gonna tell him how.

Feedback · Post by **Feedback** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:26 pm

By all means, he asked and you should give him the insider scoop on getting 'er done. I just wanted to put forth my "Don't worry about it" alternative and why I wouldn't. I have been on both sides of that fence though. Some things I want pristine to the point that I will hardly use them so I don't ding 'em up.

linus · Post by **linus** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 4:16 pm

You have bbeen storing it in the attic?

If it's an uninsulated attic with wide variations in temp store your gear somewhere lese

A basic rule of thumb is never leave your gear anywhere YOU wouldn't feel comfortable being (too hot/cold/damp/dry...)

rolandk · Post by **rolandk** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:05 pm

linus wrote:You have bbeen storing it in the attic?

If it's an uninsulated attic with wide variations in temp store your gear somewhere lese

A basic rule of thumb is never leave your gear anywhere YOU wouldn't feel comfortable being (too hot/cold/damp/dry...)

The attic floor has insulation, the roof doesn't. I'm guessing the temp gets down to the mid 40's in the winter and pretty hot in the summer. I'll keep it downstairs from now on and maybe get it fixed some day. Thanks for all the replys.

??????? · Post by **???????** » Tue Feb 13, 2007 8:03 pm

keeping it downstairs is a good idea. I agree that it's not a good idea to keep musical instruments anywhere you wouldn't keep your dog/yourself.

If it gets hot in the summer, say over 90, if you keep tension on the strings you are just asking for the neck to bow/playability to suffer.

You might want to get the setup evaluated if/when you bring it in to a shop for the lacquer repair.

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Finish is cracking/flaking on my guitars headstock!

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