styler Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 I know this has been talked about but I recently purchased a J-45 and I'm getting this haze. I'm not understanding what this is and what's causing it. I mean other than wearing a sleeve what can I do ? Seems like cleaning and polishing has some marginal results but it never really goes away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 It is water vapor under the finish. It isn't good. You could return it, but they'd tell you I'm full of crap. It's water vapor under the finish. Something wasn't dry enough when it got painted. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 It’s not a big deal. Use some virtuoso cleaner and it’ll be good as new. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) 19 hours ago, rct said: It is water vapor under the finish. It isn't good. You could return it, but they'd tell you I'm full of crap. It's water vapor under the finish. Something wasn't dry enough when it got painted. rct Yep. Welcome to owning a guitar sprayed with nitro. Edited February 1 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Because the water vapor wouldn’t think to try to escape by going in the other direction…Wicking through the 1/8” thick wood. Don’t know if you bought it new or used. New - the nitro isn’t completely “cured” so susceptible to some chemicals like insect repellent. Used - previous owner had something on his arm at some point. As suggested, Virtuoso cleaner every time it appears. Polish just covers it up obviously. G’Luck. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 I've used Virtuoso in the past and been very impressed with it's ability to remove crud from nitro. However.............the newly acquired 185 had forearm haze that the V product would not remove and in fact made worse...........I can only guess that the 20+ year old nitro reacted badly to the cleaner. It doesn't appear gawd-awful but it's certainly worse than it was. Live and learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Keep playing it. It'll wear off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) He got free relicing. People pay thousands for that, seriously they do. Edited February 1 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 (edited) Guitar is new and hazing started day one . I used Dunlop cleaner and polish with marginal results . its like it'll be almost gone after clean but then return when I play . No real big deal but I dont really care for relicing on a brand new guitar . I know thats been debated . Are yall saying its haze under the nitro ? if so I dont see how cleaning helps at all. Edited February 1 by styler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 I guess the easiest way to describe it for me would be the oils in your skin are penetrating the top layers of the finish. Nitro takes a long time to cure and it's quite mailable until it does. My J200 (bought in 2016) and my wine red lp standard (new in 1995) both show the arm haze. darker finishes, seems to be a bit more noticeable. I have other Gibsons where it's not as noticeable. You can buy "guitar sleeves" to cover your skin where it touches the upper bout. some guys cut up white knee socks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 (edited) I highly doubt there’s water vapor or anything else under the finish and it doesn’t make sense that it would just coincidentally be in the same exact spot as your forearm (it would be in a variety of places). If Virtuoso cleaner doesn’t take care of it, try a light compound like Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound, applied by hand. But having that forearm haze is just the nature of having a nitro finish. You can keep cleaning it, but it will just keep coming back. Just play the damn thing. Edited February 1 by Silversurfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Naptha/lighter fluid works for me every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 2 hours ago, Silversurfer said: I highly doubt there’s water vapor or anything else under the finish and it doesn’t make sense that it would just coincidentally be in the same exact spot as your forearm (it would be in a variety of places). If Virtuoso cleaner doesn’t take care of it, try a light compound like Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound, applied by hand. But having that forearm haze is just the nature of having a nitro finish. You can keep cleaning it, but it will just keep coming back. Just play the damn thing. It is coincidentally right under the heat generated by the friction of your picking arm. That heat causes condensation, the haze that you can see. It really is a thing that really does happen. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the other side Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) 7 hours ago, styler said: Guitar is new and hazing started day one . I used Dunlop cleaner and polish with marginal results . its like it'll be almost gone after clean but then return when I play . No real big deal but I dont really care for relicing on a brand new guitar . I know thats been debated . Are yall saying its haze under the nitro ? if so I dont see how cleaning helps at all. I can relate to what you're going through. I had the same exact thing happen on my brand new gibson hummingbird. I dont like the haze and I solved that problem. I knew nothing about what a nitro was either and no one had a solution and knew nothing about using naptha (Ronsonol lighter fluid). So I used a clean 100% white Hanes tee shirt, wrapped it tightly around my index finger and middle finger together and put a very small drop of Music Nomad guitar wax on the tee shirt and went in small circles like spit shining an army boot to make it look like glass. I repeatedly did the same thing until it was like new again. It took about 2 hours to do it. From that day forward, I have always worn a long sleeve shirt or used a little larger size compression sleeve I got at academy sports (McDavid). The sleeve solved not only keeping the haze off, but my arm wouldn't stick to one place on the guitar as to allow for freedom of movement. You have to have a lot of patience to get it buffed out initially. Knowing about Naptha now, I would try that first. It will not hurt nitro. I've used it to clean just before reinstalling the hummingbird pickguard. All that happened 14 years ago and to this day, no forearm haze. Hope this helps. Edited February 2 by the other side Added txt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185cat Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 My Dad’s HBird had pretty heavy haze so I went at it with Virtuoso Cleaner and improved the look greatly. It was not 100% but much, much better. That tells me that at least on this guitar the haze is in the nitro and not under or I would not have seen any difference. I also would think that if there was water vapor beneath the nitro it would release from the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomG76 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I got this on my Gibson J-50 and it rather bothered me. Nothing got it off, although I didn't try everything suggested here. Then I came to terms with the fact that my guitar is a tool - albeit a beloved one - and is going to get dings and marks and I feel at peace about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I think it would be great if there were a finish that lasted 50 years, did not impede sound transfer and did not get haze. But, I'm guessing there isn't and Gibson went for the first two, assuming we could deal with the latter. People have slightly different body chemistry - so some get more haze. Some play longer and get more. Some don't wipe off their guitar after playing. Some can't figure out why there's orange dust on their fingerboard every time they have a bag of Cheetos before playing. I draw the line at spit-shining my guitar for 2 hours though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Huh, maybe this makes used guitars from the polar regions marginally more desirable? We tend to be trapped in long sleeves for like 9 months out of the year. I wonder if that’s why I don’t see haze on any of my guitars, including that 1910 I just picked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, TomG76 said: Then I came to terms with the fact that my guitar is a tool - albeit a beloved one - and is going to get dings and marks and I feel at peace about it. And there it is. Amen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silversurfer Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Buc McMaster said: And there it is. Amen. Exactly. Better to play it often and make music, than worry about keeping it pristine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the other side Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) Spit shining is merely an example so the guy don't take a some kind of a dremel tool or something electrical powered and burn the finish on his guitar and really have a problem. In other words, do it by hand. For the record, I play everyday for at least 2 hours. Edited February 2 by the other side Added txt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
styler Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Ok so as I understand it. Its from water vapor under the finish or oils penetrating uncured nitro on top of the finish. I can clean it with various products that may help or not. I should play it and except that its the way of the nitro. Relicing is good. Try to keep it pristine or maybe not. Cheetos can cause orange stains. No dremel tools should be used and wear a sleeve. I think the haze just moved inside my head. . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185cat Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, styler said: Ok so as I understand it. Its from water vapor under the finish or oils penetrating uncured nitro on top of the finish. I can clean it with various products that may help or not. I should play it and except that its the way of the nitro. Relicing is good. Try to keep it pristine or maybe not. Cheetos can cause orange stains. No dremel tools should be used and wear a sleeve. I think the haze just moved inside my head. . Purple Haze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 (edited) 1 hour ago, styler said: Ok so as I understand it. Its from water vapor under the finish or oils penetrating uncured nitro on top of the finish. I can clean it with various products that may help or not. I should play it and except that its the way of the nitro. Relicing is good. Try to keep it pristine or maybe not. Cheetos can cause orange stains. No dremel tools should be used and wear a sleeve. I think the haze just moved inside my head. . My advice is its your guitar - do what you want with it. Edited February 2 by Sgt. Pepper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 When all else fails, use your spit. My luthier swears by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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