ES-137 Finish Question

[booismycat]

I recently purchased an ES-137... my first Gibson. I have a PRS Singlecut Goldtop and a Fender EJ Strat also... only pointing this out as reference.

 

On the Gibson, while playing... 5 minutes or 5 hrs.. I get a gummy feeling while holding the neck.. mostly around where the binding and paint come together. It's as if the heat of my hand is softening the finish. I have to wipe it down periodically and clean it to keep it bright and new looking. Neither the Strat nor the PRS ever exhibited this problem.

 

It's so annoying that I'm not thinking of purchasing coin gloves which I would cut the fingers off of and use every time I play the Gibson. Outside of this, the ES-137 is fast becoming my favorite guitar.

 

Anyone run into this and find a solution?

[kaicho8888]

Wow, I had exactly the same problem on my then new ES guitar 40 years ago. I ended up using talc powder on my hands. I just played that way for awhile and don't know if it affected the finish. I know the whole neck was gummy under the dry outside lacquer. In fact it wrinkled when I use to hang the guitar by the neck/head area. It eventually dried up.

 

 

[booismycat]

Thanks for the reply.. I'm now hearing from close friends that they have experienced the same thing with Gibsons so I'm a bit surprised over the lack of responses received here.

 

I sent email to Gibson on this subject and received the following response:

 

Thanks for writing!! Congratulations on your new ES-137. I recommend using the Gibson pump polish for the first couple of months (just spray on the cloth and wipe the neck down after you play, or during). The neck on mine actually stopped getting sticky after a few months, and I quit using the polish after that except for deep cleanings. However, if your neck does not get better in the next couple of months, follow the instructions below.

 

 

For "sticky" necks:

 

I would suggest that you apply naphtha (lighter fluid) to a clean cotton cloth and rub this on the neck of the guitar. Sometimes this will produce a cloudy or hazy appearance but, if you will follow up by polishing it with Gibson guitar polish, it will shine it properly. This is the method used by our repair facility and it is imperative that naphtha is the only liquid used as any other type of solvent can damage or destroy your finish.

[Hydra26]

Mine get a buildup on the neck the first few months or so. No big deal. I polish the necks a lot when they're new and it goes away. I think the lacquer's not fully cured when they leave the plant as it takes quite some time. Such are the vagaries of not using a poly finish. A couple months is not a big deal to me on something That I expect will last decades.