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Is there an inexpesive way to reverse the yellowing of the lacquer?

greggw1982

By greggw1982
in Epiphone Electrics

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greggw1982

greggw1982

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Hi, ive performed a search but couldnt find any results for this question.

 

the finish on my guitar has suffered badly from 'yellowing' of the lacquer. the areas which are supposed to be white are now a nicotine yellow, id really like to restore the finish so that these areas return to their original bright white.

 

are there any relatively inexpensive ways of doing this without having to have the whole guitar refinished?? would the gibson Vintage Reissue Guitar Restoration Kit have any effect??

 

any help is greatly appreciated!

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Vic Flick

Vic Flick

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Posted
Hi' date=' ive performed a search but couldnt find any results for this question.

 

the finish on my guitar has suffered badly from 'yellowing' of the lacquer. the areas which are supposed to be white are now a nicotine yellow, id really like to restore the finish so that these areas return to their original bright white.

 

are there any relatively inexpensive ways of doing this without having to have the whole guitar refinished?? would the gibson Vintage Reissue Guitar Restoration Kit have any effect??

 

any help is greatly appreciated![/quote']

 

You don't provide important info like what kind of guitar you have, but since you say it's badly yellowed, I'm going to assume it's an older guitar, and since it's lacquer it's probably American. Without knowing specifics, my initial reaction is do nothing. It's part of the aging process, and doing anything drastic like refinishing it would severely diminish it's value.

People pay thousand of dollars to have new guitars artificially aged like that (see Fender Custom Shop).

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greggw1982

greggw1982

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apologies for leaving out the details, i have a Epiphone Supernova Noel Gallgher signiature model in the union jack finish, it was made in the Unsung factory in 2004, so its only 6 years old. The white in the union jack has really faded. Maybe im just quite fussy but id like to restore it to the bright white that it should be. anyone else out there have the same problem?

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Vic Flick

Vic Flick

Posted
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apologies for leaving out the details' date=' i have a Epiphone Supernova Noel Gallgher signiature model in the union jack finish, it was made in the Unsung factory in 2004, so its only 6 years old. The white in the union jack has really faded. Maybe im just quite fussy but id like to restore it to the bright white that it should be. anyone else out there have the same problem?[/quote']

 

AFIK, it's not lacquer, it's a poly finish. Which pretty much rules out the lacquer yellowing. My guess, it's the actual white beneath the clearcoat that has faded/yellowed. If that's the case, there's not much you can do.

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Albannach

Albannach

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Most likely that white lacquer coat they used under the poly did not have any, or enough, colour stabilisers in it. Cheap finishes, especially white have a tendency to age under the poly with exposure to UV rays.

 

Short of refinishing the guitar, as that is the only way to get it white again, you will just have to accept that you now have an 'aged' or 'vintage' Super Nova.

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Cheeks

Cheeks

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I put some Varithane poly finish on a rear bumper of a truck once..... and in a couple of

years, the sun turned that clear plastic to vomit looking YELLOW AND.... it started to

lift and crack from the surface too.

 

So, my guess is... if it is a plastic finish... not much can be done with it.

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Fantana

Fantana

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I always thought that it was only Nitro finishes that yellowed? If that's the case, and since your's has a Poly finish, then it won't be the lacquer yellowing but most likely the paint underneath is changing colour, probably from sunlight.

 

My Casino is no longer the same shade of turquoise that it was originally back on 2001. When you remove the pup's you can see the the original colour underneath where the dog ears are.

 

Whilst we are on this point...........................does anyone know if semi-hollows/hollows have wood protection on the inside of the guitar? I have always assumed not and would think that this on one hand could help the wood dry out, but also let moisture through the wood and onto the underside of the paint if the humidity was particulary high. Any thoughts?

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greggw1982

greggw1982

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cheers for all the comments! very helpful. i think the previous owner mustve had it on display rather than used it for playing as the rest of the bodywork is scratch/ding free, the pickups still have the protective plastic covers on them, and the noel gallagher signiature is still unblemished on the pickguard, being constantly exposed to the uv all the time mustve discoloured the white. ive kinda gotten used to it now anyway, it was just a bad first impression when i opened the case expecting the brilliant white finish!

 

that casino is lovely btw, i fancy a cherry one myself with the bigsby

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