Why are Gibsons so sticky feeling

[Soundwarrior]

I went to gutiar center and played some guitars. Gibsons and Martins and I noticed that the Gibsons feel a little stickier at least the J-45 I played. I know the necks are different. But they both use nitro and I felt liket he J-45 was sticky as my arm rested against the body while I was playing. Maybe they use a different type of Nitro finish. Does this ever go away. I believe it was a 2007,2008 is my guess.

[Buc McMaster]

More than one factor can make a nitro finish feel "sticky". Cleanliness of the finish is one. If the guitars you played at GC are like most, they have been picked on, sweat upon, spat on by any number of players before you grab ahold. A dirty nitro finish can feel quite nasty. Stuff a microfiber cloth in your pocket next time you go and see if wiping down a surface removes some of the tackiness you feel. I also think body chemistry has a lot to do with it as well. The nature of one's skin....dry, oily, etc....contributes to how a finish feels. When I was younger all nitro finishes felt sticky to me, but as I've gotten older now none of them do. Weird? Maybe.......

[jgwoods]

At the Guitar Center sticky people try out Gibsons and leave stickum on'em. Martins are tried out by slick folks who leave them all slippery.

It ain't the guitar...

[drathbun]

Nitro IS a stickier surface when combined with skin oils. Just a fact. My guitars that have poly surfaces are not nearly as sticky after only one use. I have to wipe down my Gibson and my Rickenbackers after each use. I don't know what the chemistry is but nitro is just not as slick as poly (plastic).

 

I guess it is just something you have to live with if you want classic nitro.

[BigKahune]

Nitro IS a stickier surface when combined with skin oils. Just a fact. My guitars that have poly surfaces are not nearly as sticky after only one use. I have to wipe down my Gibson and my Rickenbackers after each use. I don't know what the chemistry is but nitro is just not as slick as poly (plastic).

I guess it is just something you have to live with if you want classic nitro.

 

+1

 

 

Nitro takes quite a long time to cure all the way. When purchased within a year of the date of manufacture, the "sweet" smell of the nitro lacquer is readily apparent and the finish can feel a bit sticky, even when clean. A couple years or so after the date of manufacture, that sweet smell subsides as the nitro continues to cure and that sticky feeling also subsides and eventually disappears. But, you still should keep the neck clean as drathbun has said.

[fp]

A gloss finished neck [Gibson] is going to feel stickier then a satin finished [Martin] neck.

[Red 333]

+1

 

 

Nitro takes quite a long time to cure all the way. When purchased within a year of the date of manufacture' date=' the "sweet" smell of the nitro lacquer is readily apparent and the finish can feel a bit sticky, even when clean. A couple years or so after the date of manufacture, that sweet smell subsides as the nitro continues to cure and that sticky feeling also subsides and eventually disappears. But, you still should keep the neck clean as drathbun has said.

 

[/quote']

 

I find this to be true. When people wrote about this phenomenon in the past, I used to think the stickiness was just the result of their skin chemistry or infrequent guitar cleaning, but the last couple of factory fresh Gibsons I've nought have been sticky for some reason, right out of the box. No amount of cleaning or polishing would remove the feeling. But, the nitro seems to harden in time, and the stickiness goes away. Just today, I was playing a guitar I bought last Spring (so about a year ago), and it suddenly dawned on me the neck was no longer sticky. It just takes some time, I guess.

 

Red 333

[drathbun]

I love (I mean LUVVVVV) the feeling of a satin poly neck on a guitar. Silky smooooooth! But I love the sound of a nitro finished guitar better! So I'll live with the sticky.

[DanvillRob]

let's hope no "crappy"or "p¡ssed-off" people play them too!

[Jinder]

It's all cleanliness...or lack thereof.

 

If I play a sweaty 2hr show in Mid-Summer and put my Hummingbird or SJ200 away without a wipedown, the next day the neck will feel almost unplayably gummy.

 

A quick rub with a duster and pump polish sorts it right out, though!

[Hall]

Not a big secret, but a really good habit before playing the guitar is to remember to wash one's own hands. Easy to forget or skip, true. But it is probably the best thing one can do before picking up the guitar.

[DanvillRob]

Not a big secret' date=' but a really good habit before playing the guitar is to remember to wash one's own hands. Easy to forget or skip, true. But it is probably the best thing one can do before picking up the guitar.[/quote']

 

Good advice....especially from someone called "The Groper"!!!

[onewilyfool]

Are you playing your guitar.....or playing WITH your guitar????

[DanvillRob]

Are you playing your guitar.....or playing WITH your guitar????

 

Me? I thought it was obvious... I'm picking my nose!!

[TommyK]

+1 on the body chemistry.

 

It's amazing how much our body oils differ. I took a First Responder class where we learned to take care of injured and ill persons until the real paramedics got there. At the beginning of one class we all donned a fresh pair of latex gloves. At about 10 minutes in the instructor told us that our body oils affect the latex of the gloves and that we should never rely on them keeping the stuff on the outside getting at our skin on the inside for more than 10 minutes. To illustrate, he had us all hold our hands up. Most people's gloves had dark spots on them where our body oils were degrading the latex. Some people's were largely brown, having been degraded faster. There was a correlation between faster rates of degradation and smoking and significant alcohol use. This was a company training, so we all knew who smoked and who hit the bottle extensively after work.

 

Bottom line, if you smoke and drink, then you may experience or cause nitro stickiness to a greater extent than those who do not smoke or drink.

 

I suspect cosmetics use could cause the degradation as well. Cosmetics like body soaps, oils, lotions, etc.

[Jinder]

A lot of interesting points here...I used to play in smoke-filled bars and drink (a lot!). The smoking ban came into force here in the UK three years ago, after which I noticed an immediate upswing in string life expectancy-I could occasionally get two gigs out of a set of strings, whereas before my strings would be dead as doornails after one gig.

 

The most revealing thing, though, was at the end of last year I stopped drinking completely, and since then I very rarely break a sweat onstage (even if I REALLY try!), the oils in my hands no longer erode strings like they did before (in fact, my guitars sound amazing after a couple of gigs' playing in with the same set of strings), and I very rarely have to clean my guitars.

 

Plus, I play a lot better when I'm sober...although I have experienced some pretty heady flights of musical fantasy when taking to the stage after a couple of bottles of cheap red wine...

[Hall]

Good advice....especially from someone called "The Groper"!!!

 

DanvillRob:

 

I sure hope you washed your hands before you went to picking your nose!:)

 

 

The Groper

[Hall]

Are you playing your guitar.....or playing WITH your guitar????

 

 

Well, old onewilyfool, all my guitars are smiling females. Point made. :)

[drathbun]

Probably a good place and time to mention and remind people about bug spray and nitro finishes. THEY DO NOT LIKE EACH OTHER! Since we're getting close to summer, the guitar will be outdoors where the skidders are and out comes the OFF. Do NOT let this stuff get on your guitar or your hands and then the guitar. You'll regret it.

 

Ask GG!

[Taylor Player]

Great advice drathbun.... GG and I both know about that! Deet vs Nitro = mad guitar owner!!!

 

Just so you know, if that happens..... DO NOTHING for a few weeks. You must let the Nitro re-harden as the Deet in the bug spray softens it. Once a few weeks has gone by, you can use some Meguires automotive products to buff the dull finish back to it's beauty. I did that to my AJ a couple years ago when I first got it. Playing at our cabin with my Gibson seemed like the perfect idea. I didn't even think about the bug spray as it never affected my Taylor's finish. The next morning when I saw the dull areas where my naked arm and leg had contact with the guitar, I was sooooo PO'd!!! An excellent luthier from the AGF (Tim McKnight) gave me the advice I just gave and it worked beautifully. It takes a good amount of buffing to get the gloss back, but it works. I imagine a lambs wool type buffer on a power drill would make the job eaiser, but I am a glutton for punishment and deserved the sore arm after getting my AJ back to good health and beauty.

 

I also want to add that to take away the sticky feeling from the neck of your Gibson, at least for a few weeks, some 0000 Steel wool does the trick. I just rub up and down the back of the neck (firm but gental) and it makes it feel much smoother and satin like. Playing over the next few weeks will most certainly gloss the neck back up and you may feel the need to re-rub your neck. I find that during the winter months, I don't have to do that but when the summer comes and temps go up, I pull out my Steel Wool and give the neck a few up/down rubs. One last thing, I also cover my sound hole on the guitar so steel wool shavings don't fall in and attach to the magnetic K & K pickups on the inside.

[drathbun]

Great advice drathbun.... GG and I both know about that! Deet vs Nitro = mad guitar owner!!!

...

 

I also want to add that to take away the sticky feeling from the neck of your Gibson' date=' at least for a few weeks, some 0000 Steel wool does the trick. I just rub up and down the back of the neck (firm but gental) and it makes it feel much smoother and satin like. Playing over the next few weeks will most certainly gloss the neck back up and you may feel the need to re-rub your neck. I find that during the winter months, I don't have to do that but when the summer comes and temps go up, I pull out my Steel Wool and give the neck a few up/down rubs. One last thing, I also cover my sound hole on the guitar so steel wool shavings don't fall in and attach to the magnetic K & K pickups on the inside. [/quote']

 

That WILL thin the nitro finish however. So eventually you will be down to bare wood.

[Taylor Player]

That WILL thin the nitro finish however. So eventually you will be down to bare wood.

 

 

Well at that point I will be able to lose the steel wool forever then and the neck should feel great year round!

 

 

 

(If only all my guitar necks felt smooth like my Taylor's, I could be a very happy man...... )