[djandrey_m]

Hello friends, I got this Tom Morgan edition Les Paul on ebay. Its got some orange peel. Is it possible to fix? Can a good luthier do it?

Also the clear coat all around is just a joke (I guess I got one of those worse case scenarios where a worker must have been already drunk on a Friday evening or something). Imperfections everywhere. So I'm thinking about taking it in for like a refinish (preserving the crazy colors of course). So is that doable?

[Flight959]

If your talking about the area on the guitar where the neck joins into the body then thats a common issue. I would imagine you would be able to get it sorted. The problem will still exsist because the neck moves in the body, regardless of how little the movement is. I have that issue on my guitars too and I find a bit of extra attention along with additional polish will make it alot smoother!


Flight959

[djandrey_m]

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If your talking about the area on the guitar where the neck joins into the body then thats a common issue. I would imagine you would be able to get it sorted. The problem will still exsist because the neck moves in the body, regardless of how little the movement is. I have that issue on my guitars too and I find a bit of extra attention along with additional polish will make it alot smoother!


Flight959

Really? Thats strange. My Epi Les Paul did not have that orange peel....

[Bluemoon]

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Really? Thats strange. My Epi Les Paul did not have that orange peel....

that's because it was made in China.

[Flight959]

Quick someone get me a violin!!

[modoc_333]

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Really? Thats strange. My Epi Les Paul did not have that orange peel....

that's b/c it's a different type of finish.

[ant7629]

I have seen many a Les Paul like that, and lots of other guitars with nitro finishes. Nothing to worry about IMO

[deepblue]

That used to bother me too. You pay top dollar for you Lester and the area where the neck joins the body looks terrible. Like no attention was paid to it during the polishing stage.

Go to any music shop and look at the Les Pauls. They ALL have this to some degree. I was told this...When they are buffing the guitar, the neck is already attatched, and the polishing machine cant get into that area very well.
Some are better then others, but when all is said and done its the nature of the beast.

[Gianni_boy]

Thats true, EVERY Les Paul ive seen has that orange peel in that exact spot..........if it really bothers you go out and get some really really fine sand paper, take off the orange peel, then get a buffing compound and buff it out, it takes some time and a few buffs...........
As for sand paper grit and buffing compound, i have no idea what to use, ask a luthier because that is a nitro finsh

[LPDEN]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think while it varies from one instrument to the next, unless the finish is actually coming off there is not a problem.

[GTOGUY]

It's almost impossible to get into that area with a buffing wheel at the factory. Epiphone's don't experience that problem because the finish is a UV cured polyurethane. Poly finishes are self-leveling, and require little buffing. Nitro-cellulose lacquer on the other hand actually "sinks" into the wood slightly and does require A LOT of buffing.

[joelettinger]

your going to get that with the nitro finishes. the epis use different paint (polyurethane i think) which is a stiffer paint than the gibson. with gibby its all about tone by using a finish that can breath more.

[jameswithesg]

can i see a pic of the guitar from a full view????

just for sh!tz and giggles

[bobv]

Guitars don't breathe. Don't buy into the hype. Nitrocellulose lacquer is pretty. It's traditional for Gibsons. That's nice. But it's not magic and it definitely has nothing to do with "breathing."

Ok that's out of the way. The orange peel is common on a sprayed finish, although if the humidity and temperature and finish mixture and spraygun settings are perfect, it won't happen as much. If it was a piece of furtniture, the maker would sand out the finish before buffing. Gibson doesn't do that, they go right "off the gun" out of the spraybooth to the buffing wheels, and the wheels don't really get into that area alongside the fretboard extension.

So, yes, a person familiar with buffing out wood finishes could easily level that area with 600 or 800 grit paper and then maybe 1000 or 1200 grit followed by polishing compounds to get the gloss to match the rest. And they should, too.

My ES339 had an area of orangepeel on the back of the neck that I just couldn't stand, so I wetsanded it and buffed it out. Don't try it if you're not used to doing it because you could easily burn through the finish into the stain and screw it up bigtime.

[djandrey_m]

Thanks for the insight about the nitro finish. I guess that would sorta justify finish imperfections in such a very expensive guitar. And sorta make it seem that it was actually sorta worth the money. Lol.

For the guy that asked about the pics - pics are coming soon...

[djandrey_m]

sorry, been feelin lazy. heres the full pic of my (well almost full)



headstock:

[phil325]

fake.




IM KIDDING.

if theres nothing u can do about that orange peel you can always say "it makes mine unique from everyone elses". i'm not good with anything about finishes but my noob opinion would be to keep it because if you try something and you mess up then its worse off than before. unless you know 100% the person you go to can fix it without a problem

[Dynadude]

I've had the same problem every time I've used nitrocellulose. It naturally orange peels as it bonds to the layer of finish underneath.

I'm pretty sure that the only way around this, is to let the finish layers cure for several weeks between coats, but that is usually out of the question, especially for mass produced guitars.

You can buff the area by hand, and reduce the ripple affect considerably, but you have to be VERY carefull that you don't cut through the finish, especially on sharp outside corners and near binding edges.

Use a good polish, not a wax or cleaner, and buff the larger areas by hand. If you have a Dremel with adjustable speed settings, they work very well on inside corners when set at very low speed, but you need to be carefull about cutting too much in one area and making the problem worse.

If you do take on this repair, patience is the key. Polish a little, then inspect carefully. Repeat if needed. Be aware that the nitro is pretty thin, even when many layers are applied.

[Boston004681]

[quote name='djandrey_m]Hello friends' date=' I got this Tom Morgan edition Les Paul on ebay. Its got some orange peel. Is it possible to fix? Can a good luthier do it? [/quote']

A GOOD LUTHIER CAN DO ANYTHING.

[quote=djandrey_m]Also the clear coat all around is just a joke (I guess I got one of those worse case scenarios where a worker must have been already drunk on a Friday evening or something). Imperfections everywhere. So I'm thinking about taking it in for like a refinish (preserving the crazy colors of course). So is that doable?


[/quote]

Definitely try to preserve the original colors, its very unique. but yes, i would take to a luthier.

[Boston004681]

Quote

sorry, been feelin lazy. heres the full pic of my (well almost full)



headstock:

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!