Rabs Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 My oldest LP a 2002 Classic.. I just had a go on it an noticed the lacquer is starting to crack quite badly just on the neck. I wonder if the recent heat wave had anything to do with that? It was only on the Classic. The others thankfully are fine.. I have always had my LPs out on stands as I enjoy looking at them (my 336's are in their case). It makes me start wanting to keep them in their cases more. Really hard to get a good picture of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) What is the average humidity year around in the room where you display them? Windows open in the Summer? Closed in the Winter & Heater on? Changes in Temp Humidity can definitely affect Guitars that are displayed out of their Cases for long periods of time… Edited July 28, 2022 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryNimda Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 If it gets "very cool" at night (open windows?) there might be a big difference in temperatures. Casing guitars overnight does mitigate that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 That is surprising. 20 years is a long time though. I leave out mostly what I play at the moment. Right now its a Ric 650 and the Hagstrom Deuce. Neither of those are Nitro finishes though. My Gibsons are always cased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 dam that sucks.. My guitars are never left out for long. I like looking at em too, but I hate the results of what that does to our guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 12 hours ago, Larsongs said: What is the average humidity year around in the room where you display them? Windows open in the Summer? Closed in the Winter & Heater on? Changes in Temp Humidity can definitely affect Guitars that are displayed out of their Cases for long periods of time… Well for most the year its about 50-60% moisture. A week or so back I saw it go down to 20% (at least in my front room)... And yeah, windows open in the summer it goes from about 25 degrees C down to about 15 at night heating in the winter etc... Its weird how its only on the neck though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Tried to get a closer picture.. Funny though.. Whats happened naturally, people pay good money to have fake cracking and flaking 😄 Never understood that. Id much rather the finish be not cracked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 (edited) When my 97 Gibson Blues Hawk arrived I was really excited, having had an Epiphone Blueshawk for well over a year. On close examination the Epiphone was more like a 90% copy, the Gibson did feel more a Gibson but the fit an finish was not quite as slick as the Epiphone. A few months later there was trouble in paradise, Finish Checking had started with a rage after the Gibson started absorbing the island moisture, while cracking inline with the grain and flaking off in patches. Also the binding started breaking loose. While this was going on my Epiphone still looked new not showing much in the way of ware and tear. I was at the point of reworking the Gibson, replacing the weak Gibson Blues90's with 50's sounding P90's, lightly sanding and repairing the top by resealing with Nitro. But I gave it a nice funeral in a chainsaw case selling it to a luthier friend who was interested in restoring it. So that left me with my Epiphone Blueshawk that still looks new and I don't expect any Finish Checking. I have modded my Epi a bit and switched around the controls, I expect it be around longer than I am, these Epiphone P90 Pro's always sounded more authentic to me than the Gibson Blues90's and the Hum-Cancelling worked a little better. Note that I had an 04 Gibson LP Special with a satin finish during the same period that never showed any signs of Finish Checking, but my other gloss finish Gibsons did. Edited July 31, 2022 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 A heat gun (or hair dryer) can reverse the checking of course. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Iconic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 11 minutes ago, mihcmac said: Cheers. The thing is that I cant see what the issues were.. It didnt look particularly checked.. And what was he was spraying on it? Also that may work for the checking but there are places on the neck of my guitar where the laquer is just not there.. Like the chips have fallen off.. Really if I want to fix it, it will need sanding down and a re-spray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Rabs said: Cheers. The thing is that I cant see what the issues were.. It didnt look particularly checked.. And what was he was spraying on it? Also that may work for the checking but there are places on the neck of my guitar where the laquer is just not there.. Like the chips have fallen off.. Really if I want to fix it, it will need sanding down and a re-spray. While looking for ways to repair checking the majority of what I could find was how to create it. Note that the guy in the previous video was using canned air to crack the finish after after heating it with a hot air gun. This one is actually doing a repair. Edited August 5, 2022 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 That’s pretty cool! I would love to see more Videos of Guitar How To’s! Very worth while! Thanks…… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 On 8/1/2022 at 4:06 AM, merciful-evans said: A heat gun (or hair dryer) can reverse the checking of course. A heat gun and a hair dryer are similar but different. Try drying your hair with a heat gun, and you will notice a nice smell while doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 (edited) I thought checking on your Gibson is a badge of honor? People pay that thousands to have that Tom guy do what you got for free. Edited August 21, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said: I thought checking on your Gibson is a badge of honor? People pay that thousands to have that Tom guy do what you got for free. If that’s true my 1975 Martin D-35 & my 2001 Gibson J-160E deserve the Medal of Honor! They have truly been Player Guitars. They’ve worked hard for years Coast to Coast.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 15 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: A heat gun and a hair dryer are similar but different. Try drying your hair with a heat gun, and you will notice a nice smell while doing it. I know Rabs has common sense, so I took that as a given when posting. BTW, I also have common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted August 22, 2022 Author Share Posted August 22, 2022 8 hours ago, merciful-evans said: I know Rabs has common sense, so I took that as a given when posting. BTW, I also have common sense. Yes.. I do believe or not know the difference between a hair dryer and a heat gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 I removed (purposely) the entire nitro finish off the top of a guitar with a hair dryer. It just peeled off like a bad sunburn. So, if you use heat, use caution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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