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Guitar Stand and Hangars Damage Gibson Nitro Finish


56pontiac

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wow, I think it's bizarre that this issue is still going.

 

I first heard about this in the eighties. And in those days

you really could not trust the makers of the typical guitar stands

that were available to us.

 

We bought the darn things, because that's what was in the music

store. The store owner probably didn't have a clue that ingredients in

the plastic would still be active and would eat into the finish of their

clients' expensive lacquer coated guitars.

 

I certainly didn't have a clue. When I heard about it, I threw away

all my old dorky guitar stands. I hated them all anyway. I bought

new ones from a very reputable guitar store, and bought better quality

than I had bought before. Two of my stands were good, so I sliced off the

plastic junk and bought fuel line tubing from the auto parts store. I soaped

up the metal, and slid the fuel line tubing onto the stands I liked, and have

had no trouble since. Fuel line tubing seems to be stable. *grins

 

I believe that manufacturers have all heard

about this issue, and by now they should have all solved this chemical

issue. should have... should have... should have...

 

Lucky me, I've never had this problem. I use snark tuners also, and have never had

any of those damage a guitar of mine. My guitars are made by Gibson, and Martin,

and Fender, and Epiphone, and I have one I built myself and finished with tung oil.

Most of them are lacquer... although MIM Fenders and Epis are finished in Polyurethane.

 

Polyurethane is impervious to anything but hammer blows and bullet hits.... or

maybe cigarette burns.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 months later...

I noticed some sort of damage on my new LP Standard after owning it for a few weeks. Maybe damage from hanging in the store for who knows how long, or it might be a manufacturing defect??

I contacted the Canadian distributor of the stands I have (https://www.long-mcquade.com/10583/Guitars/Stands/Yorkville-Sound/Deluxe-Hanging-Guitar-Stand.htm) for there opinion. They assured me that the stand is 100%  safe for nitro.

They added that as they are the Canadian distributor for these stands and also Gibson, they made sure the stands are safe for Gibsons nitro finish. 
 

So who knows? But I don’t want to take the chance. I don’t know exactly how the guitar was hanging in the store but I’m going to wrap the foam on my stand with some cotton.

 

1903314B-9A83-4F8A-8A4F-B2D402B208C1.jpeg

E4993085-5E2C-47CA-B63E-77A7868D7949.jpeg

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Wow, sorry to hear about the damage to your guitar.  I solved this problem last year.  Used to have three stands and 8 guitars, so constantly rotated guitars in and out of cases.  Had a eureka moment and built a rack to hold all eight guitars in the same space the three stand s used to occupy.  Made it out of scrap wood and stain from old home remodeling projects.  Hope  you get your problem resolved to your satisfaction.

1191148181_Rack2.jpg.3c5ed22a101ae9efd3c487a61350843f.jpg

 

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@LPRich that’s not that bad looking imho and could probably be lightly buffed out to at least be more shiny than the pictures suggest. Is there something else I’m not seeing? But in the end guitars that age have s*** happen to them. May be sooner than we want… sort of like life now that you think of it. 

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I’m not to concerned with how it looks right now. I really have to look for it to see it.

im just wondering if it is a factory defect or the stand. If not the stand then I will continue to use it without wrapping the thing in cotton. That’s all I’m worried about. I would rather not have to wrap it as it kinda looks crappy.

I sent a photo to Gibson to see what they think.

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I used a folding guitar stand with foam protection on contact points for years without any noticeable harm or damage to five guitars. Those five  stands did create a bit of a clutter, so I built a stand similar to CNJs. Last year I decided to go with a cabinet that would provide a more stable environment and better protect the guitars from damage. My guest bedroom became my music room when my husband turned my music/office room to his home office to work from home because of covid. A Murphy bed allowed me to accommodate guests and afford me the music room I needed. I purchased a cabinet from Access N Sight and use one of the folding stands during session breaks. Now my guitars are safe, out of the way when not being played, and environmentally controlled. Not a solution for everyone, but a consideration if you can afford it.

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I received a reply from Gibson. They feel it is hanger damage.

when I first noticed it I contacted Yorkville Sound, the Canadian distributor of the stand in question AND Gibson products. They told me that as they are distributors of both, they made sure that this stand is 100% safe for nitro finished guitars.

One of two things to consider.

1)  Yorkville Sound is incorrect in their claim.

2)  As the guitar has a manufacturing date of 2019, who knows how long it has been hanging on the wall at the store where I bought it from, and what the material on their hanger is. I will be stopping by just to have a look.

As I said before, it’s not really something I’m all that worried about. I just want to know.

I will be wrapping the area on the stand with cotton going forward.

 

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21 minutes ago, vinnier6 said:

I haven’t noticed anything from my Hercules stand, but I did get a spot where I had left my clip on tuner on for a week…won’t do that again 

My stands seem to have the same material as the Hercules products so I wonder if it was my stand or not. Like I say, I need to have a look at the store to see their wall hangers . It could be some other rubber/plastic sort of stuff on their hangers.

The crap of it is, I would like to use my stand without cotton as it just looks better. But I’m not going to sacrifice the guitar for it. As I told Gibson when I contacted them the other day…I’m not looking for warranty on this, I would just like to figure out if it was my stand? Hell, it might have been there before I bought it.
And the effected patch of finish is only where my pictures showed it, but the back of the guitar also rests against supports covered with the same material as the hanger section. No damage there? So I don’t get it.

It just occurred to me as I write this, the Gibson Studio I had 15 years ago never showed any sign of wear, and I left it on a stand often. The type with that ugly orange coloured plastic protective stuff. Or maybe I never noticed.

I never imagined that nitrocellulose would be so delicate.

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And…I just had another really good look with the guitar on the stand. That patch in the picture extends down about half an inch lower than the actual contact point.

So unless this “damage” creeps on its own it must not be my stand. Plus it’s only on one side of the neck.

Perhaps it is a manufacturing defect???

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I found this thread helpful when trying to solve the Nitro stand problem so I thought I'd add something that worked for me for a clean, inconspicuous look.   Yes, my guitars are often in cases due to my kids, but i have a 5-guitar stand i wanted to wrap.

Tip:  BOXING HAND WRAPS.  Get 100% cotton (not Everlast, those are poly-cotton blend) for about $8.  I then bought $4 of velcro from Home Depot . 

1) at the end of wrap is the 'male/female' velcro stitched in.  i cut off the 'female' velcro.

2) on the bottom of the stand foam, at the end, i simply stuck some of the 'female' velcro.

3) then simply wrap the foam tight all the way to the end until the boxing wrap velcro ends. 

* this gives you flexibility to adjust length and thickness and get in all the nooks that your stand may have.  like wrapping bicycle handlebar tape, if you're familiar.

* i also looked into 100% cotton ribbon from the fabric store but its $4/yard and you need 10yards ($40).  2 packs of $8 Century Wraps from Dicks was more than enough to wrap a 5guitar stand.

 

Hope this might help somebody out there that is OCD about guitar finishes and petrified of screwing up a nice nitro guitar!

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