jakeyspaw Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I am the original owner of this 1974 LP Custom that I bought new and still have the receipt. I used to play it a lot but thru the years life happened and it was stored more often than it was played. I've recently retired and in looking for things to do decided to get it out and play it for recreation here at home. Well I guess I just didn't look at it very closely until a couple weeks ago in restringing it I noticed what looks like perhaps humidity damage to the surface between and extending out from the volume and tone knobs. It looks like the surface of the wood itself just under the finish is raising up. I have not tried to peel or pick at it or done any tapping for fear of further damaging the finish. I don't know why because the back side is exposed down to the wood from all the years my belt buckle rubbed into it. As I mentioned above I play only here at home but I would like to keep it in good playing condition and don't mind scratches and dings but I am concerned about moisture damage not only to the instrument but as an indicator of how I'm storing it. It's only been in the closet lately and mostly but there was a period of a couple of years it was stored out in the garage. That was a couple of years ago. This either occurred while it was in the garage and has taken this time to appear or it's happening now and I have to improve the way I store it. Perhaps put some desiccant in the case? So I guess I have two issues. The first is if I have real damage to the front surface that will require what I can only imagine will be a costly repair by a specialist. The second is how to store my guitar to prevent further damage if I plan to keep it in good condition at least until it's my turn to pass it on. I know its more humid here along the Northern Coast of California but I thought that just keeping it buttoned up in the case would be good enough. Is this just to be expected from this guitar at this age point and considering the year it was made? I mean did Gibson use a finish that did not have a good life expectancy or is this a good life? Any thoughts or suggestions in regard to the surface condition and or how to store it better would be great. Also, I have more pictures if this one doesn't help show the area I'm talking about. Thanks very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Is there evidence of moisture inside of the control cavity (white powdery residue on the control pots)? The other question is did you use a lot of electronic cleaner on the pots at some time? So first, remove the control plate and see whats going on in there. The holes drilled for the controls may be raw wood and possibly moisture has crept under the finish in this area. At least that is what it looks like from the pics. I think that the garage situation was not ideal for storing it in its case.At minimum I would keep the guitar in the same living environment as me. It is amazing how the years fly by.... Cool that you are going to reunite with your LP Custom.....nice guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I would assume that with most finish problems you would only have to repair it if you really wanted to. However, I would try to make sure that it was protected a little better in the future. For me, as long as the guitar still plays well and sounds good, I'm fine with any other problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 might be stress cracks if the volume/tone controls were tightened a but too much. but it could also definitely be a result of dryness/moisture over the years where the finish was moving a bit, but the hardware which doesn't move eventfully distressed the top. one of my les pauls is just over 20 years old.. I have a small area near my toggle switch that looks a bit like that. It doesn't bother me tho.. it's my best playing axe, and it does have 20+ years of history, so it's NOT mint but it's in very good cosmetic shape. it's repair able for sure, but you may not remove it completely. I'm not sure if it would be Very costly, but you could be dancing around a 200 dollar bill from my past experiences.. as for storage, I guess the case is the best place after all, if you can find a storage place where you'd be comfortable, it'd be comfortable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeyspaw Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Here's a picture of the control well. It's pretty much as it should be after 40 years I think. That is unless someone sees something I don't. No I don't really mind the "look" of the surface I just want to be sure it doesn't get worse. I loosened and then tightened the knobs back up and that went ok. I think the general opinion is that it's not so bad really. Maybe one day I'll take to a professional in Portland or down south to The City and have it and maybe fixed, who knows. In the meantime I'll just keep it in the room here and wont allow any more overnight stays in the garage. That just should not have happened. My bad. I'm in California along the north coast so I'm closer to Oregon than anywhere else. IF there is someone out there that has experience with or knows of a good guitar guy in the "general" area or if it makes sense to ship it to someone that is good at what they do and is good at how they price their work (shipping is costly and so is driving for that matter) I will contact them for at least a quote. Thanks all very much. I appreciate the comments. This is a great forum isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Here's a picture of the control well. It's pretty much as it should be after 40 years I think. That is unless someone sees something I don't. No I don't really mind the "look" of the surface I just want to be sure it doesn't get worse. I loosened and then tightened the knobs back up and that went ok. I think the general opinion is that it's not so bad really. Maybe one day I'll take to a professional in Portland or down south to The City and have it and maybe fixed, who knows. In the meantime I'll just keep it in the room here and wont allow any more overnight stays in the garage. That just should not have happened. My bad. I'm in California along the north coast so I'm closer to Oregon than anywhere else. IF there is someone out there that has experience with or knows of a good guitar guy in the "general" area or if it makes sense to ship it to someone that is good at what they do and is good at how they price their work (shipping is costly and so is driving for that matter) I will contact them for at least a quote. Thanks all very much. I appreciate the comments. This is a great forum isn't it? If the damage is only cosmetic, fixing it might even detract from the value of the guitar should you decide to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 If the damage is only cosmetic, fixing it might even detract from the value of the guitar should you decide to sell it. I agree.....I 'personally' would rather buy that guitar in 'as is' condition than have some 'dicky-do' finish work done....jes saying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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