Many players desire this roadworn look, and finishes such as waterbased lacquers and polyurethane finishes do not age like nitrocellulose lacquers. Repeat this procedure until superglue has filled the crack and is slightly higher then the guitar finish. Ding repair taylor guitars guitar blog the official. So i set the calendar for a month, and put the guitar aside to dry. Instead, paint it into the crack in a thin layer and let it dry for a few hours. Dealing with a guitar finish repair using gluboost products. Get rid of fine scratches and swirl marks in a guitar finish duration. For solid color guitars i use two component wood filler as you would use for repairing. Fixing crack in the lacquer the steel guitar forum. See more ideas about guitar, swirls and cool guitar. With maple necks, i roll the fingerboard edges by sanding, so im going from a full fingerboard finish to edge wood to back of the neck thin poly. If you start with a bare wood guitar you will need to finish. How to age the finish on a nitro finish guitar our pastimes.
How to remove dirt and scratches from your guitars finish, clean a dirty fingerboard and. Most often, this will be caused by the finish reacting to extreme cold or rapid changes in temperature, resulting in whats generally referred to as checking, a weblike spread of damage many modern polyesterbased finishes are immune to this damage, but nitrocellulose lacquer can be very sensitive in this regard. Guitar scratch remover polish guitarscratchremover by. Since the guitar sides are usually the thinnest woods on the body, and since they are in just the right position to get whacked on something often while playing, they sometimes get cracked.
While it is difficult to tell anything from the posted pics, there is really no such thing as a finish crack on a poly finished guitar like an epi. Each knick, ding, buckle scrape and finish crack is an element of the battered past of the guitar. Ditto on the thin superglue, ive used it to fix some pretty big dents in guitars. Poly finishes completely harden and solvents cannot break them down, poly finishing is very resistant to cracks, dulling and scratching while also being durable. I started with a yamaha eg112 that i had in stock and was bound for ebay but, you know, not everything goes as planned. If you dont, you could easily end up with a cracked body or other problems. That infamous nitro nitrocellulose haze on strat and les paul guitars haze, residue, and fog so common with nitrocellulose instruments like many fender strat and gibson les paul guitars is normally very resistant to cleaning due to years of playing. Repairing hairline crack in poly finish telecaster. Itll fill the crack and make the finish blend with the rest of the guitar. Tips on repairing acoustic guitar cracks proaudioland. 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.
Nov 17, 2007 i tried the method above and it worked fine. I tend to use the term finish checking but most people outside of the industry dont understand what that means. You have to be careful with the clamping so as to protect the finish. Both luthiers are reliable ive read a lot about the super glue fix, but havent heard as much on the airbrush approach. Applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. Removing swirls and light scratches from guitars discussion in. Apart from the above, small cracks can appear in a nitro. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. May 16, 2009 i completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year. Acoustic guitar top crack repair cleating cracks n sealing. That is because poly remains more flexible than the wood, and will not crack unless there is a crack in the wood beneath it.
It will not affect the guitars tone, and personally i would leave as is. Jul 22, 2014 check out the video how to swirl paint a guitar below. The quality of a finish created with these aerosols will be the same professional grade as that which is sprayed from a gun. It builds up over time, and before you know it these instruments oft. Removing swirls and light scratches from guitars the. However it can be fixed by a good repair man, as being nitrocellulose, the finish can be blended back together. Anyway, does anybody have any suggestions on repairing the cracks. My experience is that the cracks are finish deep with no effect on the stability of the strat.
As an instruments wood expands and contracts with moisture content stress is placed on the finish. Repeat this process multiple times until the finish repair is higher than the surrounding area. Sep 15, 2011 i made this video because i didnt see any other complete video on how to swirl paint a guitar. Repairing polyurethane finishes diy do it yourself harmony. Mamie shared this great tip for making scratches disappear, whil. The wood moves around under the solid finish coat and applies pressure on the screws making these cracks, but the guitar is still solid. Tutorial courtesy of wade finchthis swirling technique is for oil paint although i think urethane paint will work also i dont have any urethane paint to test with so ill just say oil paint for now. Vintage sunburst stock photos download 1,368 royalty free. Frequently asked questions guitarscratchremover by eternashine.
Guitar finishes by liquid fx paint include unique swirls made popular by ibanez. Im assuming my best bet is to remove the finish to eliminate the cracks. Any body shapes besides rg to do a swirl on are welcome. A wide variety of swirl finish metal options are available to you, such as polished. If you want to literally crack the finish in some of those areas pickguard, coverplate mounting etc. Obviously scratches are a part of life, but on occasion we want to spruce up our instrument and erase some of the wear and tear associated with playing. Under close inspection with a bright light, you can still see a hint of the cracks because the lacquer did not seep all the way down into the crack this could have been remedied by first widening the cracks with a knife but it is good enough that it will never be noticed by anyone but me and that is only because i know they arew there. In this article, we compare the two main types of guitar finish that youll come across when shopping for a new instrument nitro and poly. If its used, it plays well, and you got a good deal on it, id definetly keep it by common on teles he must mean common on all bolt on neck guitars, they crack right about there from the screws stress. On top of that i have a crack where the neck meets the body that id like to repair. Apply by hand and wipe off to restore your guitar finish like a pro.
Some of these images are of customers bodies that they wished to customize and the others are bare wood bodies that were prepped, primed, swirled, clear coated and then polished to a high shine. Not two swirls are alike, ensuring your guitar is like no other. Want to complete your instrument project with a professionallooking finish, but dont have the space, budget, or longterm need for a spray gun and compressor system. Jan 05, 2012 taylor factory service centers and uv finishequipped service centers can to touchup dings and, in many cases, make them disappear completely.
My david flammang j35 will get the call to serve tonight although i will have two old friends on stage with me for inspirations. Long story short, i found the project guitar swirling tutorial and wanted to try it. Mar 04, 2010 you have to actually apply reverse pressure to open the crack so the glue can work in. Now at the cracked part, part of the finish is hanging and not attached to the body. Using the right product to repair these issues is very important to a good end result. Then take a wallboard knife and use it to coat the entire ceiling with wallboard compound.
Repair chips and cracks in finish fender stratocaster. Use a broom handle or piece of wood to mix the colors together in a swirling pattern. Tutorial courtesy of wade finchthis swirling technique is for oil paint although i. The problem is that when you say cracks people do not distinguish between finish or wood and the majority of people think finish cracks means the top is cracked all the way through. In an effort to avoid a repeat, and keep the new adhesive from pulling up wood fibers if removed again, this bare area of wood beneath the guitar is usually sealed with finish. We restore, customise, and repair guitars with the highest quality paints available and we colour match our finishes are unchallenged.
Since guitar finishes are very durable, you have to get the real aggressive stuff so. Swirling a stratocastershaped guitar with magic marble paints in blackbluesilver. Watch the trade secrets video, a shrinking pickguard cracks the guitar top. Feb 24, 2014 swirl painting my 1979 ibanez iceman guitar with magic marble paints this was my first attempt, but it wont be my last crank it up. It is hard to avoid tiny swirl marks in any finish so you want to use the softest material. After a few different tests i finally swirled my first guitar.
The finish dries to the touch almost immediately because of the fast evaporating alcohol solvent but it takes weeks or months for it to fully cure. Directions for using colortone polishing compounds and swirl remover. The colors were picked to go with the surf guitar theme and the walnut wood that would be surrounding the top. Guitar center most likely does not do the work, but can farm it out to somebody who does. As the two names suggest, these cracks are in the finish paint of the guitar and are caused by extreme changes in temperature. With how many scratches there are i can only imagine that this is a consequence of the manufacturing process and is present on all guitars with this kind of finish. There is nothing worse than a nasty chip, ding or crack in your favorite guitar. For the smaller cracks i used the thin super glue, for the deeper cracks i used the medium superglue. Fender fsr splattercaster standard stratocaster reverb. Each individual person who picked it up and played it left a little piece of himself behind. Polishing a satin finish to a gloss acoustic guitars. Mar 01, 20 on the bassside lowerbout, there are some little chunks of spruce, finish and binding missing, the top is separating from the lining inside the guitar, there are loose pieces of finish surrounding the ding and there is a 2. Show all violet, graffiti yellow, dakota red, and orange swirl over surf green violet. Wet sandingcracked lacquer inlays and finishing chat.
Apr 17, 2012 allnatural finish checking, to me, provides a level of character and history which you simply are not able to find on a brandnew guitar. 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. You will see my 1958 j35 the guitar that my musical identity sprung from and my 1936 gibson advanced jumbo. It was frozen solid like this and may have been for years, as the guitar had been in a closet for a long time. On sunburst guitar vintage semiacoustic bass guitar. The trick is building it up in layers to slightly higher than the surrounding finish, and carefully polishing it out with extremely fine polish. Completely sanded, under coated, swirled in these 2 beautiful colours then clear coated in a high gloss then polished to a mirror finish. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. The guitar is still beautiful from 5 feet away and plays and sounds like a dream.
How to clean a guitar finish, fingerboard and frets. The difference between nitro and poly guitar finishes. Gibson les paul custom paint cracks discussion in guitars in general started by mrsleepy, sep 23, 2010. It doesnt seem like there are any cracks in the wood itself, just the clear finish.
Discussion in guitars in general started by jman, jun 21, 2015. When you are satisfied with the results, apply a finishing layer. The finish is basically cracking and peeling off, and. Test the swirl paint with different objects, such as rags, pieces of paper, pieces of wood, etc.
Ive seen some posts recommending auto finish swirl removers, and there was some mention of 3m products, but no specfics on which products, and how to apply them, and what type of applicator to use. What the op is seeing is finish cracks due to the binding shrinkingmoving andor a bit of a wide binding glue line revealing itself. Below youll see some examples of the different types of swirl guitar finishes we have done on. The tru oil blends all of these and you really cant even tell that its not one finish.
What about some of the new worn or faded guitar finishes by gibson and fender. New custom shop crackle finishes posted on january 19, 2018 by webmaster the kiesel guitars usa custom shop is excited to announce our newest and most unusual finish option, the crackle finish option code cf. Any suggestions on repairing a crack in the finish. How to make a swirl guitar with paint our pastimes. Since swirl paint jobs can never be duplicated it leaves your instrument with a. It is critical for you to know the potential causes of guitar cracks so that you can protect your instrument and avoid the recurrence of the damage. Stewmac visited mamie minch and chloe swantner at brooklyn lutherie. A noobs experience with drop fills and finish fixes.
There wasnt a lot of info posted with the clip, but there was this. Fill the crack with the nail lacquer, but not all in one go. Ive actually read stories of those who used a polish to add a nice semigloss shine to a satin finished guitar. Lacquer, polyurethane, polyester poly, even nitro nitrocellulose finishes for the best results ever. Light surface scuffs and swirls literally wipe away in seconds. Typically a guitar that has got cold and then warmed too quickly. Repairing cracks in acoustic guitars examples of cracks. Guitar painting refinishing price list sims guitar.
Sometimes what looks like a crack in the wood is actually just a crack in the guitar s finish. Guitar finishing instructions using guitar aerosols behlen stringed instrument lacquer, vinyl sealer, and guitar toner aerosols are formulated specifically for use on stringed musical instruments. Wood shrinks or expands due to weather conditions and your chrome finish cant handle that giving all kinds of cracks. Let the guitar finish wick up the super glue and wait 30 seconds for the super glue to set. Repairing hairline crack in poly finish discussion in finely finished started by andrewnelles, sep 30, 2017. The ingredients that you need are meguiars scratchx, which comes in a black tube, and meguiars deep crystal polish step 2, which is the polish and comes in a maroon container. Hey guys, just got my schecter tempest off ebay and it has a crack chipding on the sides of it. Oct 27, 2014 failed bass guitar swirl paint job video shows how tough it is to get this kind of finish correct october 27, 2014 october 27, 2014 by best bass gear the owner of this video himself admitted that his attempt at swirl paint didnt work out the way he wanted.
Brought a dull looking sg standard back to a mirror like finish. It is important to test the dipping and paint process before dipping your guitar into the paint. If you want the new shine finish to last a long time, as long as you have your guitar, then a poly finish is what you want. Other brands of guitars may use different finish materials for which this process may not work, or may even be harmful to the finish. There are 66 suppliers who sells swirl finish metal on, mainly located in asia. Take advantage of the soft bristles to get into little cracks and crevices. I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. A friend of mine went at his black les paul standard with compound, thinking that it would get some swirl out and had some nasty haze and more swirls afterwards. Stave and honey sunburst vintage electric guitar on the left closeup of vintage guitar bridge and finish crack. Please tell me what you think, and ask questions if. The system 65 guitar tech kit contains all you need to properly maintain your guitar s fingerboard, finish, and strings. However, if its a new guitar, bought and paid for as new, id take it back, no reason to even be asking questions. This will hide any cosmetic flaws that were caused by the original damage or the repair processes. Oct 15, 2014 it is cheaper partly because the guitar has some cracks around the neck joint due to rapid temperature change.
Swirl guitar finish with magic marble paints youtube. The longest crack should not be in an area of high stress from the strings. I dipped my rg and when i pulled it out, the body had deep cracks. Mar 18, 20 ive showed my guitar to 2 luthiers and they have suggested 2 different approaches. Guitar finishes swirls custom guitar paint liquid fx.
You can do a crackle finish on a guitar supplies are pretty basic. If you want to just get rid of the swirls entirely, put a coat of primer sealer over the ceiling after you have sanded down the raised areas. This is my 4th time wetsanding a guitar and i was being as careful as i was with the previous 3 which did not crack oh well, this guitar build has been cursed from the start. Well, this one was made in 1997 this is the guitar i cut blue country heart. What to do about cracks in guitar finish acoustic guitars harmony. Fender fsr splattercaster standard stratocaster with splatter finish 2003 2004. A vintage semiacoustic archtop bass guitar with sunburst finish in original tweed case honey sunburst vintage electric rock guitar closeup on black background. I only reason i brought the guitar into a shop was because i was. There is no reason for the wood to crack like that, so, it must be the paint, as paint does crack like that. This is an extremely common, somewhat expected condition on older instruments with lacquer finishes.
Failed bass guitar swirl paint job video shows how tough it. Removing scratches from guitar finishes lacquer repair. Ive seldom seen a case where a brace stopped a crack on a guitar. I recently purchased a beautiful sounding martin d15 custom spruce top. I have a jackson that, apparently, has a polyurethane finish and id like to redo. It is generally known as finish checking and it is typical on slightly older instruments that have a lacquer finish but can arise on new. To repair these cracks the stress must be eliminated by removing the pickguard and reattaching or replacing it. I recently bought a used epiphone zephyr regent jazz box, and found two very thin hairline cracks in the polyurethane finish right by the nut where you would hang the guitar.
Because my new lacquer had a slow acting solvent under it, and because my new lacquer fill is actually deeper than the original finish, i wanted to wait longer to allow it to dry than i would have even for a full finish. Swirled guitar finish entry for april 2020s guitar of the month is open. Even if the sides of a body are braced, a crack can still run right through the brace. These arent very noticeable unless you put the guitar against the light at the right angle, but what i am wondering is. Bass guitar tattoo ideas awesome calum hood bass guitar 5 seconds of summer code. Finish crack in polyurethane how to repair the gear page. Pros easy, fast clean up, no residue to accumulate in cracks. The advantages of using french polish as a guitar finish are related to both the finish and the process.
There doesnt appear to be a crack in the wood, but i can feel the cracks in the finish when im playing open chords. Taylor top crack and finish repair finger lakes guitar repair. French polish finish instructions luthiers mercantile. Dunlops formula 65 has become the standard dailyuse guitar care product line for pro guitar techs, repair shops, and guitarists worldwide. Checking will vary according to the extremes the instrument has been through. Its important to note that a ding or a finish chipout wont affect the guitars sound, playability or humidification and repair is generally not something required for the performance of your. Solid nitro paint paint finishes such as fiesta red and surf green are classics of vintage guitars follow our guide alongside our solid colour guitar body.
If your guitar has what appears to be a natural finish, skip to the endto the section titled. I have the guitar scratch remover blue and red stuff. I do know how to work on my guitars, and when im stumped i. Every time i play this guitar im more and more impressed with the build quality and the tone. Do a swirl paint job on a guitar body, not my sg build. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. The neck shows heavy finish checkingcracking around the neck joint, and long finish checking cracks running lengthwise on much of the neck, though its only severe around the last 8 or so by the joint. Poly is very hard, which makes it difficult to remove scratches, and prone to swirls.
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