Is this Finish Checking? or something worse?

[Canyon]

Hey there!

 

I recently returned home from college and took a good look at my Gibson Songwriter. I noticed some strange things happening in the neck area when I took it out of the case.

 

 

I'm not sure if this is going to be serious problem, or if this is due to age. I've had this guitar for over 3 years now.

 

Anybody know what's happening?

Thanks in advance!

[EuroAussie]

I think your Gibson is getting the 3 year or 100,000 kms 'mojo'service ..

[Guth]

Hard to tell from the photo, but it appears that the finish is either lifting from the surface of the fretboard binding or it has peeled/chipped away in those areas.

[blindboygrunt]

my eyes see glue seeping out from below the binding . mind you i did have half a bottle of baileys last night

[retrorod]

Hey Canyon, I would not put up with that for another minute. Send it to me immediately,before it gets any worse...

[j45nick]

It really is hard to tell from the picture, as it is too blurry. I think I see binding cracks at the end of the frets, but can't be sure. That can happen with big changes in humidity, particularly in a dry climate, or if the guitar is in a heated environment, such as a house up north in winter.

[JellyWheat]

:( I fear that something worse than finish checking is going on here...

 

I would take retrorod's advice and get it seen to by Gibson without further delay.

 

Happy New Year!

J/W

[pfox14]

Looks like the finish is shrinking on the FB binding and also cracking slightly. Hope it doesn't get any worse, but I guess time will tell.

[jchabalk]

i'd put my money on - humidity - as someone else mentioned. The neck (wood) shrinks very slightly but the frets don't as they're metal so with no where else to go they stay put while the wood (and attached binding) pull in causing the small cracks you're seeing.

 

you might take it to someone locally to have a look at it if you can and also start looking at humidifiers. either way i wouldn't sweat it too much, as euro says, you've had your 3 year mojo service ;)

[Canyon]

Thanks for the replies! Should I add another humidifier in the head of the case? One of my friends told me to try that out.

 

I'll try to find a good luthier in the Dallas area to see what's up. I hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.

 

Here's another picture of it. I know there's a glare, but its hard to see the finish without it.

 

Again Thanks! I feel very welcome in these forums :D

[Guth]

Thanks for the replies! Should I add another humidifier in the head of the case? One of my friends told me to try that out.

 

I'll try to find a good luthier in the Dallas area to see what's up. I hope it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.

 

I had a similar issue with a J-30 many years ago. While my problem wasn't associated with humidity, the end result was that there were a number of spots along the edge of the rosewood fretboard (non-bound) where the finish had chipped away. I took it to a local shop where they had it fixed up in short order at a very reasonable cost.

[JellyWheat]

My 1961 Melody Maker D has a similar issue along the treble edge of the unbound fingerboard. Too much relief in the neck, and the different elasticity of the rosewood fingerboard and underlying mahogany neck caused the lacquer along the seam line to rip like a zipper. It has not flaked off, however it would have begun to had I not made the neck straight again by means of a truss rod adjustment.

 

I suspect your guitar might have suffered something similar. When the lacquer along a bound edge lets go, it tends to stay well-adhered to the wood, and want to peel or flake off the non-porous surface of the binding material. if your neck appears quite concave when you sight down the fingerboard, too much bow in the neck is the most likely culprit, not lack of humidity.

 

As Guth suggests (and he is very knowledgeable in these matters...) repair should be neither difficult nor costly, as long as you choose someone who is truly competent to do the job.

 

Good luck.

J/W