foofighterjase Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Ok so ive eventually found a New white Gibson Firebird v 2010 in a half decent state after all the hastle i had from guitar guitar when they almost sold me a cracked body on one they had in stock!! Thats another story though so they rang me up at my local Birmingham branch sayin they just had 1 come in to stock and do i want to come in and try it out!! Now i wasnt going to shop there again after all the crap last time but they have what i want so i poped along to check out the mint condition white firebird that just arrived!! So heres the thing it plays perfect and sounds ace also no cracks this time round wich is a bonus so i drop a deposit on it so its held while i wait untill i get paid!! Now as we were popin it in the case and i checked it from top to bottom i spy on the surface some light swerl circle marks in the laquer on the top surface wich i know is caused by a light D.A sanding after laquer is applied and dry to get any **** out of the laquer just before the laquer is mopped with cutting paste, wich i might add was still on and around the headstock too! im a veheicle painter by trade and do this every day of the week But not on somthing like this that may not have had a very thick coating! So here is my question have any of you guys noticed this in your finish and secondly how thick is standard gibson laquer?? Will it take a light nibbing with 2000 wet and dry and a remop to get the marks out or is it quite thin and a risk of burning through?? Or am i being way to picky and just buy it and play the sucker!!?? These small circular marks are not to be confused with buff marks in the sheen they are actually in the surface of the laquer very fine though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHTom Posted May 26, 2013 Share Posted May 26, 2013 Not sure on a 2010, but I have an old, beat up, 1985 explorer that has many chips in it including a couple that go down to the wood. I am actually surprised at how thick the finish is. I would not hesitate to use a swirl remover or even a very very fine wet sand on it. I don't know if the finish on your 2010 firebird is the same thickness or not though, so don't want to give you any bad advice. NHTom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 26, 2013 Author Share Posted May 26, 2013 Not sure on a 2010, but I have an old, beat up, 1985 explorer that has many chips in it including a couple that go down to the wood. I am actually surprised at how thick the finish is. I would not hesitate to use a swirl remover or even a very very fine wet sand on it. I don't know if the finish on your 2010 firebird is the same thickness or not though, so don't want to give you any bad advice. NHTom Ok cheerz for the info im sure the quallity is dropping in the refinishing dept it would seem!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Ok so ive eventually found a New white Gibson Firebird v 2010 in a half decent state after all the hastle i had from guitar guitar when they almost sold me a cracked body on one they had in stock!! Thats another story though so they rang me up at my local Birmingham branch sayin they just had 1 come in to stock and do i want to come in and try it out!! Now i wasnt going to shop there again after all the crap last time but they have what i want so i poped along to check out the mint condition white firebird that just arrived!! So heres the thing it plays perfect and sounds ace also no cracks this time round wich is a bonus so i drop a deposit on it so its held while i wait untill i get paid!! Now as we were popin it in the case and i checked it from top to bottom i spy on the surface some light swerl circle marks in the laquer on the top surface wich i know is caused by a light D.A sanding after laquer is applied and dry to get any **** out of the laquer just before the laquer is mopped with cutting paste, wich i might add was still on and around the headstock too! im a veheicle painter by trade and do this every day of the week But not on somthing like this that may not have had a very thick coating! So here is my question have any of you guys noticed this in your finish and secondly how thick is standard gibson laquer?? Will it take a light nibbing with 2000 wet and dry and a remop to get the marks out or is it quite thin and a risk of burning through?? Or am i being way to picky and just buy it and play the sucker!!?? These small circular marks are not to be confused with buff marks in the sheen they are actually in the surface of the laquer very fine though!! I wet sanded a Fender 52ri body that I bought (when Fender was doing that sort of thing) without any problem. There's usually enough clear coat that 2000 wet/dry probably wouldn't hurt it. But, if it wasn't obvious, I wouldn't even mess with it especially if you had to hold it up to the light just to see it. I've bought a few new Gibbies in the last 6 months and as is the case with almost any new guitar, if you look long enough you will probably find some kind of flaw. If the guitar is as nice as you say, ask them to take $100 off as GC usually charges 70 to 75% of list and will still make money even if they sell it at 60% of list. ZZounds.com might even sell that as a scratch and dent for close to 50% off list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Thanks for your reply yes i may ask for a little discount off it though i dont think they know what there talking about in the store as the sales guy said oh some car wax will cover that up!! Yeah right i do this for a living so i know car wax wont cure it doh!!!! Sales staff eh where do they get em!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyK Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 I don't know if it's the same nitrocellulose finish on yours, but mine is extremely shiny - and extremely sensitive! I've got belt buckle marks on the back, which came through my T-shirt. I now have to remove my belt every time I play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 I don't know if it's the same nitrocellulose finish on yours, but mine is extremely shiny - and extremely sensitive! I've got belt buckle marks on the back, which came through my T-shirt. I now have to remove my belt every time I play. Sounds like it Andy i know from past experience that cellulose is a lot softer than a lot of paints used today and also we use a anti scratch clearcoat on some jobs we do too that helps a lot with todays wear and tear but i think the celly finish is designed to show wear after time but it is frustrating to say the least if we just parted way with the money we pay for new guitars and what they cost these days!! So we would expect it to look decent when its new!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyK Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 Yea, it's disappointing mate - especially as I try to take really good care of my instruments. In contrast, I've played my 1997 LP for the last 15 years or so, and the back is unmarked. My guitar tech friend had a quick go over the scratches with a dry cloth and some polish, but they wouldn't come out. If you can live with the "faults" then as you say, enjoy playing the guitar - I'm really enjoying mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted May 27, 2013 Share Posted May 27, 2013 In the 80s or 90s, we didn't care if a guitar had a few marks on it. As a matter of fact, if you were buying a used guitar, the more beat up it was might indicate that it was nicer to play, that someone played it all the time, it was a "player." As a result of that, I try not to worry about a few scratches and marks here and there. Because the reality is, if you really like a guitar and are playing it all the time, it's going to get a few marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 In the 80s or 90s, we didn't care if a guitar had a few marks on it. As a matter of fact, if you were buying a used guitar, the more beat up it was might indicate that it was nicer to play, that someone played it all the time, it was a "player." As a result of that, I try not to worry about a few scratches and marks here and there. Because the reality is, if you really like a guitar and are playing it all the time, it's going to get a few marks. Lol yes good point there!! My trouble is ive got mild ocd!! Wait make that quite bad ocd!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 In the 80s or 90s, we didn't care if a guitar had a few marks on it. As a matter of fact, if you were buying a used guitar, the more beat up it was might indicate that it was nicer to play, that someone played it all the time, it was a "player." As a result of that, I try not to worry about a few scratches and marks here and there. Because the reality is, if you really like a guitar and are playing it all the time, it's going to get a few marks. Lol yes good point there!! My trouble is ive got mild ocd!! Wait make that quite bad ocd!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I just finally bought a Firebird V 2010 & a Thunderbird bass in the last year or so. For years I've been looking at them and have found many with finish flaws. I assumed that it was because of the raised center block. You can't buff the "Birds" the same way that you could buff a Les Paul because that raised center section is in the way. I've looked a lot of Les Paul's & SG's and never seen finish flaws as common as you see on Firebirds & Thunderbirds. You look at some of these guitars in the right light, & they look horrible. You never see flaws like that in an Epiphone Firebird with the poly finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 I just finally bought a Firebird V 2010 & a Thunderbird bass in the last year or so. For years I've been looking at them and have found many with finish flaws. I assumed that it was because of the raised center block. You can't buff the "Birds" the same way that you could buff a Les Paul because that raised center section is in the way. I've looked a lot of Les Paul's & SG's and never seen finish flaws as common as you see on Firebirds & Thunderbirds. You look at some of these guitars in the right light, & they look horrible. You never see flaws like that in an Epiphone Firebird with the poly finish. Good points so whats your new bird like any imperfections in that at all?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grog Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Good points so whats your new bird like any imperfections in that at all?? They are both pretty good. I bought the Thunderbird new, but the Firebird was used, so I lucked out on that one. Someone must have bought it, didn't like it & traded it in before he took the plastic off the control plate covers. I can only see slight imperfections close to the raised center block. I've seen them so bad, one would think Gibson would have been ashamed to ship them. They might be difficult to finish in nitro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighterjase Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Wow lookin real sweet i must say!!!!!! Awesome stuff!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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