Nitrocellulose Finishes

[Peghead]

Howdy,

 

I’m a new owner of a J-45 Standard and have a quick question for the forum. I’m not real familiar with the Gibson products; because most of my acoustic time has been spent with Martins (I currently have a D-18).

 

Here’s my question; it looks to me, that the neck has a nitrocellulose finish on it, is this right? Also, when I spend some time playing, after awhile, I get a buildup on the neck that looks like the nitrocellulose is smearing from my hand moments. I’ve used Luthier’s Choice to clean it up and afterwards, I’ve noticed there is some wear of the finish. Is just part of braking-in a neck on a Gibson? Does the smearing eventually go away?

 

Anyway, what a great guitar, I absolutely, love it!

[KL]

Welcome.

 

I've never had a problem with the finish smearing on the neck on any of my Gibsons. I've heard that some people do though.

I see you are in Texas, so I wondered if you might be using insect repellent on your skin. This is notoriously bad for affection nitro finishes.

Try to wash your hands before you play.

Everybody has different body chemistry and so there is variation between people in how their own perspiration etc affects the guitar finish.

[Soundwarrior]

It being sticky is normal. I just recieved mine new J45 a couple days ago. I heard just to wipe it off every time you use it. I also heard that it takes a while to settle in and not be sticky anymore. I going to try to let mine sit on a stand in my house every so often and not let it just sit in the case for days. I hope that helps speed up the process.

[bkharmony]

Gibson finishes their necks. It's a Gibson thing, and yes, it is annoying. You need to keep them clean and polished.

 

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a lot of information here just by using the "search" function. Much quicker and easier than starting a new thread and waiting for the same answers.

 

http://forums.gibson.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=26138

 

http://forums.gibson.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=30493

 

http://forums.gibson.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=31451

 

http://forums.gibson.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=32534

[KL]

It being sticky is normal.

 

I don't think Peghead is experiencing a sticky feeling' date=' he is talking about the finish [b']smearing[/b] and starting to wear. This sounds more like an issue related to something the neck is coming into contact with.

 

On the subject of stickiness, however, I've noticed quite a few posts on the forum about the "sticky" feeling on Gibson necks. I have four Gibby's and have never experienced this. I wonder if if varies a lot from person to person.

[Peghead]

KL-It’s definitely not sticky; it’s more like the finish rubs away (slightly) or a haze. I tried your suggestion, and it takes a little longer for it to occur, after washing my hands just before playing. I guess I should stop eating bar-b-q ribs, just before I play (that’s a joke).

 

From the info Soundwarrior and bkharmony posted, this sounds like a normal part of breaking-in the instrument. I just wanted to be sure; this wasn’t something that needed to be looked at.

 

bkharmony- Appreciate the links, I actually looked through all of them.

 

Also, I’ve got some great pictures of when I bought the guitar, I’ll try to post them later.

[davenumber2]

There will definitely be hazing and smudging when touching the nitro finish, on mine anyway. You'll get a nice forearm haze on the lower bout after playing for awhile too.

[suburude63]

Its a thing with Gibsons Nitro mix ! Sometimes they dont use enough hardener. It could be a warrantee issue if finish Actually is coming off the neck .

[BigKahune]

... It could be a warrantee issue if finish Actually is coming off the neck .

 

Welcome.

 

Congrats yer new J45.

 

Smearing is kind of a scary word. If you're talking about haze, that might happen.

If, as Suburude said, you're talking about finish coming off - no way should the finish be coming off a new guitar. Inform Gibson as soon after the purchase date as you can, because they're not receptive to finish issues.

[Deadgrateful]

Yea it sounds like it could be a warranty issue, if the finish is actually being redistributed around the neck as you play. If it's just sticky then it's nothing to worry about at all, especially in a hot climate! My J200 TV didn't have this problem, but the finish was very thin and hadn't been buffed to a gloss in the factory. You could try some Virtuoso polish to see if that offers you some protection, or a few thick coats or Ronseal acrylic varnish should do the trick .

 

If your used to Martins then it will be a different feeling as they use nitro for the body and polyurethane for the necks. Funnily enough after a few months of playing my 000-28vs the once matt finish neck is now a very high gloss finish.