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Solvent stains


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If the solvent got in touch with the nitrocellulose lacquer of the guitar, then permanent damage has been dealt, since the solvent reacted with the lacquer permanently. An expert luthier on Gibson nitrocellulose finishes (or Gibson themselves) may know how touch up the affected spot in the finish, but it's not looking good. If bad comes to worse, the whole guitar would require refinishing.

Pictures of the affected spots would help evaluate how bad the problem is. We would also need to know what chemicals the contact cleaner is made out of.

Edited by Leonard McCoy
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Ooof - bad mistake.  Don't know of anything that is going to easily remove those marks as  Leonard said the solvent reacted with the finish, and it's probably permanent.  Would require an expert to remove the finish down to the bare wood in the effected area and then touch up - not an easy task.  The pickguard (scratchplate) can be replaced, but the finish is a problem.

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Lemon oil eats into nitro finishes like wolves into herds of lambs. Don't be reckless with a high-dollar guitar.

  1. Instead, take a clean, dry soft rag and rub one of the smaller affected spots lightly in either a straight or circular pattern.
  2. Ever so slighty dampen the rag next with warm water or saliva and repeat the process.
  3. Finally, if that didn't help, take a new dry rag and use a Gibson guitar polish or cleaner (specifically made for nitrocellulose finishes containing a light abrasive also) and massage the spot in the same manner. 

If the above didn't yield the desired results, I recommend handing the guitar over to a luthier or Gibson themselves asking for advice on how to proceed from here on out. Using very fine micromeshes (from Stewmac for instance) to polish-rub the stains out, which likely only sit atop the surface, would probably do the trick if all else fails, but I'd consult with a professional first.

From looking at the photos, I'm not clear where the affected spots are actually located at.

Edited by Leonard McCoy
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Thanks for the advice and warning, I will take heed, I love wolves but not around the sheep.

Look carefully around the tone pots and see the fading light blue staining. I’ll source some Gibson guitar polish and micro mesh filters and try to gently rub it out.

thanks again Leonard.

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