Regardless of the finish your guitar has, its almost impossible to avoid those annoying, little swirl marks, without using a. Apart from the above, small cracks can appear in a nitro finish after several years too. Its a much finer polishing compound thats silicone free and will polish up your guitar nicely. The first step in making a repair is to clean the surface with mineral spirits. Repairing hairline crack in poly finish telecaster guitar forum. Based on experience, i believe cleaning your guitar is more beneficial than polishing or waxing it. As guitar finishes age, the wood can shrink, dry out and sometimes an aging guitar finish checks, cracks or turns yellow. As an instruments wood expands and contracts with moisture content stress is placed on the finish. Often the paint on the guitar can be fixed in small patches without repainting the entire guitar. Im going to share some secrets on how to keep your guitars finish spotfree. What about some of the new worn or faded guitar finishes by gibson and fender. I am thinking that the crazy glue would fill and repair the split and could be sanded and buffed out.
Meguiers m09 swirl remover is what you want if youre going to wet sand the finish. Nov 17, 2007 i dont have any suggestions for fixing the cracks, however, when ive used micromesh papers they have worked better for me when dry sanding. Aug 09, 2012 luthier and instructor, robert obrien, shows how to fix hairline cracks in a brazilian rosewood guitar back and then repair the finish. Finish repairs are generally done by dropfilling with thin cyanoacrylate followed by scraping with a blade edge used like a cabinet scraper. Wet sandingcracked lacquer inlays and finishing chat. Stewmac visited mamie minch and chloe swantner at brooklyn lutherie. Pros easy, fast clean up, no residue to accumulate in cracks.
Here are some pics of my ebm that got dropped and resulted in some pretty heinous poly cracks. Frequently asked questions guitarscratchremover by eternashine. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar if you own an acoustic guitar long enough, chances are good that youll have to deal with the repair of a crack in the wood. The papers load worse and the finish didnt shine as easily when wet sanding. Dec 16, 2008 i am looking at used guitar to buy that has a cracksplit in the poly finish. Using the right product to repair these issues is very important to a good end result. I would compare it to probably what a surfer would feel with surfing wax on a board and how the feet are like stuck in place because of the no slip that wax produces. If you drop a poly guitar, the poly will crack and sometimes even shatter in that area.
Ive got a new guitar coming with a clear finish on the back edge so it would be. The guitar polish and guitar wax goes on and off easily and leaves a really silky smooth finish while some polishes and waxes you have to really scrub. This will fill the gaps but it will always be slightly visible. Repairing neck finish crack in poly telecaster guitar forum. Is it possible to fill with lacquer or would crazy glue work better. Choose a lacquer repair kit which contains the substances that you can use to fill the cracks in the lacquer. The cracks may be loosely spaced or very tight, and can appear on any part of the guitar. You can fill cracks, scratches, or even slightly mismatched joints with several different products, including wood putty, wax sticks, and shellac sticks.
Dont over apply as it can become difficult to remove if applied in excess. Regardless of the finish your guitar has, its almost impossible to avoid those annoying, little swirl marks, without using a microfiber cloth. Wax and oil finishes had been the finish of choice throughout the west until that. Oct 15, 2014 it is cheaper partly because the guitar has some cracks around the neck joint due to rapid temperature change.
Lets start off with talking about how to maintain your guitars finish. I have been talking to john suhr about this recently and his take on it is was also that it almost always happens during shipping, and that its due to very rough handling the guitar stops abruptly when its thrown and then lands. I have customers that just want it because of the smell and then they see. Now at the cracked part, part of the finish is hanging and not attached to the body. Guys, without examining a particular guitar, nobody can tell if a finish crack is really that or something more serious.
If your guitar has finish checking, polish will build up in the hairline cracks, and this can discolor the wood underneath or even cause the finish to flake off. With the fenders, you would be lucky to get it home before the finish rubbed or chipped off. Not sure if i should be posting this here or in dyi, but here goes. How to stop a lacquer crack from spreading on a guitar.
Jun 24, 2015 if your lacquerfinished guitar is exposed to temperatures below 32 degrees for any length of time, the tops finish is liable to crack or craze. Just brought a guitar indoors on a cold michigan night,opened up the case too soon and watched the finish crack on my early 60s melodymaker just like cracks spreading across a frozen pond or mirror. Frequently asked questions guitarscratchremover by. But honestly that does not look like a finish crack.
The benefits, and the gloss finish, became the norm in the early 1800s and remained popular until the development of nitrocellulose lacquer in the 1920s and 30s. Microfiber polishing cloths are soft, easy to use, and help you get rid of the residue that accumulates in the cracks. This is an extremely common, somewhat expected condition on older instruments with lacquer finishes. Immediately the guitar had a shine to it that appears as adding depth to the finish, but what i like most is when you feel the guitar it has a solid clean no slip feel.
Shellac was not widely accepted as a furniture finish in the west until the early 1800s. There is nothing worse than a nasty chip, ding or crack in your favorite guitar. Its a good look, created in nitrocellulose lacquer instead of the hard plastic coating thats on there now. The polymer finish is far more scratch resistant than shellac or lacquer, and rarely cracks or crazes with abrupt temperature changes. Dealing with a guitar finish repair using gluboost products. You can use microfiber cloth to put the wax on your guitar and after a light haze. Your acoustic guitars finish can have all kinds of problems, as you play it over the years. The caveat here is that is polish only no wax and particularly no silicon. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. Nov 29, 20 polishes and waxes build up over time and can eventually dampen the sound of your guitaralmost like wrapping it in a bed sheet. To protect it use a silicone free carnauba wax product like mothers california gold carnauba wax. This was, however, sanding a tru oil rather than a lacquer finish. A more practical use for paste wax for todays modern woodworker is to use it over an existing polyurethane, varnish, shellac or lacquer finish, to give a piece an unmatched luster and shine. None of my poly guitars have finish cracks either, except for my ebm.
The brief was merely a surf green finish with medium distress and lots of lacquer checking. My favorite polish for gloss finishes is music nomads guitar one cleanerpolish wax. Feb 23, 2017 stewmac visited mamie minch and chloe swantner at brooklyn lutherie. Silicones in will definitely damage a guitar finish and make refinishing it nearly impossibile. Mar 18, 20 repair chips and cracks in finish discussion in techtalk started by jasonyeah, mar 18, 20. Restoring checked and crazed finishes woodworking network. How to fix cracks in wood even though you may have tried to use wood without any cracks, splits, holes, or gouges, sometimes you end up with imperfections you didnt notice or couldnt avoid. Ive had poly chip off the side of the neck and other spots too. Wax and oil finishes had been the finish of choice throughout the west until that time. Now that you have a clean and scratch free finish you can concentrate on filling the cracks. Finish checking, or weather checking as it is also known, refers to the pattern of small cracks, usually comprising a series of parallel lines, but sometimes loosely checkered, that can appear on certain guitars with nitrocellulose finishes. The crack on the 6string doesnt bother me because i cant feel it while playing, but the 12string has a couple of cracks right next to each other and can sometimes be felt in the web of my hand.
Use a material, like silk, that wont scratch the finish of the guitar. Geoff, the owner of this fender jazz bass, says it plays fine but i dont really like the color. The best wax is made from 100 percent carnauba, but other variations will also work. Mar 30, 2001 he says that carnuba wax is fine, but people often make the mistake of buying waxes that contain silicones. When cleaning delicate finishes or ones with chips and scratches i recommend applying the polish directly to the cloth. Most of the old guitars we all revere were finished with lacquerand respect for tradition merits a check in the pro column. This type of repair is for back and sides, not tops. This sample shows a finish that is marred by checking. Guitar polishing the unofficial martin guitar forum. Either will make any attempts at finishingrefinishing almost impossible. Lets start off with talking about how to maintain your guitar s finish. I noticed after five months old the finish is developing cracks one just over 2 long between the pickups at the top edge of them.
Checking is a mild form of cracking and doesnt go all the way through the finish. It left rounded corners of the pocket and the pressure of the sharp square edges of the bridge caused those finish cracks on too many guitars. Dan erlewine demos three of his favorite finish repair tips. In this episode ben answers a viewers question on how to repair a dent or possible crack in a guitars lacquer. When i started playing, all guitars worth buying were laquer finished.
How to repair acoustic guitar finish guitar repair bench. A sensitively applied and polished polymer finish looks just like lacquer, and does not inhibit the tone of a guitar. Jun 14, 2017 immediately the guitar had a shine to it that appears as adding depth to the finish, but what i like most is when you feel the guitar it has a solid clean no slip feel. Wax will protect your clean, polished paint from oxidation, light scratches, etc. Both are in great shape except for a couple of finish cracks where a neck volute would be on some guitars. I m going to share some secrets on how to keep your guitars finish spotfree. Checking will vary according to the extremes the instrument has been through. Neither the color nor pattern makes sense for a finish only issue, especially with polyurethane.
If you start with a bare wood guitar you will need to finish sand and seal it first, then apply your base coat of paint. Ron, current thinking is not to use wax and siliconebased polish on instruments. Luthier question, how to repair cracked poly finish. Guitar wax highest grade brazilian carnauba musicnomad. How to clean a guitar finish, fingerboard and frets. Dec 26, 2003 you can do a crackle finish on a guitar supplies are pretty basic. Some products, including wax, can make guitars resistant to future polishing. Wax hardens on your guitar, making a great protective barrier. Polishing will make your guitar look better, but really doesn.
I would compare it to probably what a surfer would feel with surfing wax on a board and how the feet are. I started with a yamaha eg112 that i had in stock and was bound for ebay but, you know, not everything goes as planned. My favorite polish for gloss finishes is music nomads guitar one cleanerpolishwax. The reasoning is that anything on the guitar would contaminate any exposed wood. I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. The reasoning is that anything on the guitar would contaminate any exposed wood from finish chips or cracks and inhibit proper repair. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. Theres a thin crack under the guitar not far from t. Repairing hairline crack in poly finish telecaster. That era had a known issue whisker cracks from the way the finish was removed from the top prior to the gluing of the bridge. I have customers that just want it because of the smell and then they see the end result and they want it even more.
If your guitar has finish checking, polish will build up in the. Cracks are one of the many ways that coatings film forming transparent finishes and paints can fail. May 16, 2009 i completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year. It is the guitar in hand and all that makes up that guitar which matters, including the finish. Wood glue is great for fixing cracks, but it might not blend well with your paint.
Take advantage of the soft bristles to get into little cracks and crevices. Repair chips and cracks in finish fender stratocaster. This is episode 110 of the guitar builders basics video podcast from crimson. How to clean and polish your guitar crook custom guitars. Whoah playing the star spangled banner was an honor indeed more will be revealed categories. They occur in a variety of forms to include checking, crazing, cracking, alligatoring, and mud cracking. With enough wax you can often fill very small dents and buff out small scratches. Knowing how to evaluate the seriousness of a crack will allow you to determine whether to call a repair person immediately or whether it might be ok to leave it alone for a.
If your guitar has what appears to be a natural finish, skip to the endto the. The longest crack should not be in an area of high stress from the strings. It doesnt seem like there are any cracks in the wood itself, just the. Apply this paste into the cracks and gently smooth it down.
As a chemical cure product, there is no easy way to repair this type of finish. Mamie shared this great tip for making scratches disappear, while renowned guitar photographer john peden shot closeup photos. I wish it had a fender sunburst, he says, meaning the threecolor burst of so many 1960s fenders. A good design which takes advantage of the physical properties of the guitar as well as the use of certain materials for the bridge, end nut and even the tuning pegs is unlikely to be killed by one film. The wax will not provide a great deal of topcoat protection, but it will fill in any cracks, scratches or minor imperfections in the finish of the piece. Hi everyone, first post here i just got myself a beautiful j45 antique natural which i absolutely love. I use standard guitar polish to clean my guitar throughly whenever i change strings. If youve had much experience playing, collecting or repairing vintage guitars, chances are you are familiar with the sight of tiny cracks all across the finish. This occurs when a guitar is regularly exposed to differing.