As the two names suggest, these cracks are in the finish paint of the guitar and are caused by extreme changes in temperature. The wood moves around under the solid finish coat and applies pressure on the screws making these cracks, but the guitar is still solid. Is it because the back is not wood and does not allow the top to exspand. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. This video i put to use my new magnets and cleat the first crack in the bottom of the lower bout of the guitar top. Sharpie guitar zentangle guitar by maggie stiefvater 2 of 2 diy art on guitar with a sharpie this one is by maggie stiefvater. Luthier and instructor, robert obrien, shows how to fix hairline cracks in a brazilian rosewood guitar back and then repair the finish. Sharpie guitar art by maggie stiefvater zentangle guitar by maggie stiefvater very cool reminds of my brother. In order to do it properly, you need to sand off, fill, and refinish the area then blend it. Using the right product to repair these issues is very important to a good end result. Im going to touch up the finish with the clear lacquer pen now. It will not affect the guitars tone, and personally i would leave as is. Car seat headrest on their new album, making a door less open gary walker 21st april 2020 an unusually long gestation period gave the band time to broaden their musical horizons on the new album.
Stewmac has everything you need to set up, repair or build guitars. What to do about cracks in guitar finish acoustic guitars harmony. Whoah playing the star spangled banner was an honor indeed more will be revealed categories. At our shop, we use it in dozens of ways, but unless you understand its properties and know how to handle it safely, you can wind up in trouble in a matter of seconds. I also know some of them that will use the knife to score the finish and then it will crack just where they want it when they apply cold air. And i even put a strong torchlight in a dark room to see if the light went through the guitar from the inside out but it didnt. If the damage is extreme, we may suggest a neck or body replacement. Also i tried pushing both side of the crack but apparently nothing moves. Can you damage a guitar this way cause the wood to crack, etc. Acoustic guitar top crack repair cleating cracks n sealing outter. Wet a clean soft lint free cloth with the fluid and wipe the.
How to hide a scratch in your big brothers guitar stewmac. Naptha lighter fluid is safe, but it might have little effect on the sharpie. The wd40 shouldnt damage the clear coat but, like any other. I imagine your guitar tech knows how to use super glue and accelerant. Here you see my way of repairing a typical top crack. Does anyone know how i can get this sharpie off without removing the lacquer too. Seems a kid in the church youth group promised to re finish a guitar for the youth minister. I suggest you do what you can with the acetone, either way, have a burst finish applied and sell it as a custom. You might try a dab in an inconspicuous spot to see, but dont be pissed if it dissolves the finish. A thin acrylic lacquer finish will be basically indistinguishable from nitro, except that it wont yellow and crack over time. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. This is why i always just have the trem cover signed. This is a subject ive been avoiding because you cant talk about nitrocellulose lacquer finish without talking about relicing, so im going to cover both those topics.
Repairing cracks in acoustic guitars examples of cracks. But it didnt remove the sharpie either didnt even phase it. Many players desire this roadworn look, and finishes such as waterbased lacquers and polyurethane finishes do not age like. The finish is plain white and the kids in the youth group are supposed to sign the guitar with. Blend new lacquer into old lacquer with flash coats youtube. After dan repaired a crack in a gibson acoustic guitar the finish didnt. Its been a while since weve been to the belly up in solano beach and it was good to be. Low humidity causes wood cracks, not finish cracks. Stewmac sells perfect tools for it, but when i want to get them to europe i pay the price of.
It really depends on how far into the lacquer the sharpie has burned itself. When that heartbreaking first ding appears on your new guitar, these convenient colortone touchup pens come to the rescue. However, if its a new guitar, bought and paid for as new, id take it back, no reason to even be asking questions. The brief was merely a surf green finish with medium distress and lots of lacquer checking. I tried some naptha knowing it wouldnt remove the lacquer, and it didnt. Applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. The trick is building it up in layers to slightly higher than the surrounding finish, and carefully polishing it out with extremely fine polish. It does not make it more structurally sound, and unless the guitar is almost brand newwhen finishes are more easily rebondeda finish touch. Moisture in direct contact with the guitar could cause damage, as can the rubber or vinyl parts of a humidifier.
This shortish video looks at neck pocket cracks the scourge of just about all boltnecked guitars bought online. Everything you ever wanted to know about nitro guitar finishes. Its a 24 year old guitar, and the only dings and finish checking are on the back of the neck. The difference between nitro and poly guitar finishes. Ditto on the thin superglue, ive used it to fix some pretty big dents in guitars. Dealing with a guitar finish repair using gluboost products. Finish cracks on a new martin guitar the unofficial. Cracks are one of the many ways that coatings film forming transparent finishes and paints can fail. Also, i prefer to fill the crater with color until its almost level, then fill the rest with clear. If they mention them at all, sellers tend to describe them as superficial. Using a marker to color the wood may not be a bad idea ive used a sharpie to touch up minor chipsscratches on black guitars, but the color will fade over time, even if its sealed in polycyano. It usually takes acetone or lacquer thinner to get sharpie marks off, but that will also likely ruin the finish.
Try in an inconspicuous place, since you need to make sure the acetone wont also strip the finish from your guitar. So to me it looks like a crack in the finish but im not 100% sure so i wanted to have some opinions. The chips are fairly small but go through to the wood and have cracks that are about 1cm long coming out of them. 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. I discovered it a long time ago when i was at my brothers soccer camp to pick him up. A short tutorial showing how to get that cracking checking effect on a nitrocellulose guitar finish. If lighter fluid proves not to be safe to use with the finish, use rubbing alcohol. If you know that youre not looking at a finish crack and the top is indeed cracked, remove the string tension and get the guitar to a good repairperson as soon as possible. Clear coat options for over a sharpie entry for april 2020s guitar of the month is open enter. 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. Thats because the type of finish that is applied to a guitars body and neck can actually affect how the instrument sounds and feels. The best sharpie remover i have found to be spray sun block. The purpose of a guitars finish goes beyond just its aesthetic value. His name was written in sharpie, and i picked it up right after putting sunblock on.
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. Im staying away, but i wondered what others thought. I was wondering if anyone can help me figure out why so many older ovation guitars develop cracks in the finish on the soundboard. 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. 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. Mark off chipped cracked area with tape 2s around chip. If youre shopping for a new guitar, you should therefore consider the finish that it has. All i need to do is tint the bare wood with the marker to match the surrounding color.
Checking is a mild form of cracking and doesnt go all the way through the finish. The finish on my pawn shop takamine had cracked, my moms watercolor tree painting inspired me, and i found some sharpies. If the sharpies migrated into the finish you may never get it all the way off. The body was a swamp ash tstyle finished with clear cellulose. Erick colemans neighbor has put a chip in his big brothers guitar. High humidity can cause finish cracks, but cold temperature or a rapid temperature change are the usual causes. One guy told me it is because ovation uses thin finish on the tops of its guitars, and it cracks easily. Genuine nitrocellulose guitar lacquer, easy to use easily repair minor finish dings and scratches. How to age the finish on a nitro finish guitar our pastimes. Nitrocellulose lacquer naturally ages over time, giving the guitar a yellowish, antique quality, often with accompanying spider cracks, also known as crazing. 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. Poly finishes completely harden and solvents cannot break them down, poly finishing is very resistant to cracks, dulling and scratching while also being durable.
If its in the clear coat you should try a mild rubbing compound as mentioned. Repair chips and cracks in finish fender stratocaster. Is there a way to get a black sharpie signature off of a. 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. It may take about 50 coats of paint before the sharpie ceases to bleed through but just think gibson. Im assuming a wedding ring, cheap capo, or leaning it up against something instead of putting it back in the.
If im repairing a crack, the glue will migrate up into the crack in an amazing way to repair. Fixing crack in the lacquer the steel guitar forum. I probably have to use lacquer thinner and start all over on the finish. There is nothing worse than a nasty chip, ding or crack in your favorite guitar. I have a 1999 american strat that has a couple of chips in the finish. Most finish dings arent too concerning, but inspect the ding closely to make sure the impact didnt crack the wood. The cracks may be loosely spaced or very tight, and can appear on any part of the guitar. If you want to literally crack the finish in some of those areas pickguard, coverplate mounting etc. 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. I found you can draw over any sharpie mistakes that youve made with a dry erase marker and then wipe it clean without any lasting marks left on your guitar. Im assuming my best bet is to remove the finish to eliminate the cracks. Checking cracking a nitro guitar finish nitrocellulose relic tutorial. If you know that youre not looking at a finish crack and the top is indeed cracked, remove the string tension and get the guitar to a good. I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great.
The finish is very thick on those, and the cracks go to the wood. I guided him through the process and he did pretty good. They occur in a variety of forms to include checking, crazing, cracking, alligatoring, and mud cracking. Stewmac visited mamie minch and chloe swantner at brooklyn lutherie. Mamie shared this great tip for making scratches disappear, while renowned guitar photographer john peden shot closeup photos. These cracks in the finish are most often caused by rapid changes in temperature, when the wood warms or cools at a different rate than the finish applied to it. To repair these cracks the stress must be eliminated by removing the pickguard and reattaching or replacing it. Modern polybased guitar finishes are hard plastic, and when theyre damaged, pieces fall off.