Guitar clear coat cracking

I then sprayed another couple of coats of lacquer to seal before moving on to the tinted coat. This clear nitrocellulose guitar lacquer can be applied over smooth bare wood, sanded basecoats of grain filler, colortone sanding sealer, and over colortone stains. It says your style is flamboyant or that its laidback. There may be a structural issue in the sheet metal below the paint that results in cracking. These oils tend to bring out the curly or tiger looks of the maple. I cant tell if its the clear coat thats cracked or the paint underneath. Stewmac visited mamie minch and chloe swantner at brooklyn lutherie. There are a few different reasons that this can happen. Even using the best carwash soap, clay bar, and wax will result in a cleaner, betterlooking exterior, but the damage is still. After dan repaired a crack in a gibson acoustic guitar the finish didnt look to good. You cant simply sand a little into the clear coat to get rid of them.

It doesnt seem like there are any cracks in the wood itself, just the clear finish. Imagine an old car with a tinted back window that is starting to bubble and peel. Clear coating helps to protect the decal from peeling, cracking or sustaining other damage from exposure to the elements. In 10 years your guitar will have some serious mojo. It gives the instrument a big part of its character and its soul. It is the constant movement of the wood, the guitar swelling and contracting, over years that cause the finish to craze. Same setup as i have been using for the past 3 years with no problems at all. And then you polish that, and you get that magical feeling when the guitar starts to shine. If you keep your guitar in a controlled environment for its lifetime, the finish would probably never crack or craze. Every guitar is different, woods are different, even the electronics can be subtly different.

I just got finished painting my guitar and i put the clear coat on when i turned away for about 5 sec i started to notice some crack and shrivel up. As soon as you start with ssr definitely necessary on th. He has a 11 yer old class a, good brandi dont want to talk bad about the brand who is still in business, and he has these small cracks in the gelcoat, mostly where the darker colors are located. I use sc9000 waterborne urethane as a top coat, and can dip my lures immediately after the last coat of paint is heat set. It simulates the look of old paint, but a clear coat is used over the crackle layer to protect it and the substrate. Unfortunately the red filler caused dust which contaminated the factory and other finishes ended up with flecks of red in them so gibson changed to using a coloured lacquer.

Acoustic guitar top crack repair cleating cracks n sealing outter. That means a white guitar may eventually turn yellow and, since blue and yellow make green, older blue instruments can eventually turn green. But i have o admit that the crack through the binding does throw me a bit. Dan teaches you how to blend new lacquer with old lacquer. Im pretty upset since it was an expensive guitar, and ive only had it for about a month and have taken really good care of it until yesterday, but i was careless. Colortone clear grain filler is truly transparent when dry. Rather than only working on filling and painting the tiny chips themselves in this instance after touching up the chips he resprayed the entire back of the guitar with clear. These marks were not apparent during the wash or claying process. I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great.

Im assuming my best bet is to remove the finish to eliminate the cracks. But for some reason the clear coat that i put onto 2 guitars this month just peels off. This waterbase filler dries much faster than messy old paste fillers. How to touch up and repair electric guitar finish guitar repair. The best prevention for clearcoat cracks in my opinion is to keep you guitar in a stable environment about 70 degrees and 40% humidity. In this video, i talk about those reasons, and how to avoid this problem. The cure for this type of cracking is to sand it back and recoat as soon as its dry enough. If your using enamel paint,its best to base and clear in one shot. Move the sandpaper in small, circular motions to remove the flaking and crackling paint and to create a smooth surface. Clear coat applicationspider crack questions dont see why you couldnt clear coat gel coat many fiberglass hulls get coated with two part lpu coatings.

Brush off the sanded object, using a paintbrush to remove debris and dust caused. I took a guitar to a luthier recently to fill in some tiny chips around the binding on the back of the guitar. I have had the wrinkling, like in the picture, but that was when i dipped into my top coat for the second coat without waiting a full two hours. Without a clear coat, the raw paint will chip but again, if thats what youre looking for. If the instrument is merely clear coated, the same applies, sanding or buffing thru the finish will leave bare wood exposed. A faded or peeling clear coat is too late to save with preventative treatments. 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. Its compatible with all finishes and environmentally safe.

If the guitar is otherwise exactly what you want keep it. A guitars look is a major part of the statement that guitarists make to the world. Your guitar has just started on its way to becoming a vintage instrument. If too much clear is removed you may buff into the color coat. Removing clear glossy finish from acoustic the gear page. Regular waxing can help prevent clear coat damage by placing a thin invisible barrier between the clear coat and the suns damaging rays. Next rub by hand with fine white rubbing compound till clear luster is attained. Remove the tip and flip it around for pinpoint application. The paint is starting to get cracks on the hood and fenders of my 2008 honda civic its dark blue with 43,700 miles the dealer said the warranty for paint is 36 months or 36,000 miles. The rotatingtip nozzle can spray a horizontal or vertical pattern. The body was a swamp ash tstyle finished with clear cellulose sealer coats. Another commonly used finishing technique on maple is to apply tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding. As the warm air in the room hit the guitar, we actually watched, in real time, as the previously virginlooking lacquer on the body of the guitar crazed really badly and finally looked like.

I started with paint that was very dirty and rough to the touch. This way, ive hopefully got the filler built up in the pores of the grain, and the entire surface sealed. For a more durable finish, topcoat over the shellac with a clear lacquer or polyurethane. John levan has written five guitar repair books published by mel bay. John also authored pgs guitar shop 101 column, hosted several pg diy videos, and is an authorized warranty technician trainer for taylor guitars. Grab some paint from your dealership and repaint the area and let dry for a day or two. Mamie shared this great tip for making scratches disappear, while renowned guitar photographer john peden shot closeup photos. Removing scratches from guitar finishes lacquer repair. We usually have to spray a light coat or two of basecoat over the bad area creating a band aid and clearcoat the panel. Paint cracks andor bubbles after clear coating hard. The wax and cleaner lodged itself in teh micro cracks and made them. Since the lacquer is sprayed on top of a clear coat or sealer coat, the lacquer is. Since the 1980s, automotive manufacturers have been painting cars with twostage base coatclear coat systems. My 2001 american standard strat has got the clear coat chipping and peeling in about 5 places along the edge of where the maple meets the rosewood on the fretboard.

Once the final coat is dry, sand the whole guitar again with 320. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. Luthier and instructor, robert obrien, shows how to fix hairline cracks in a brazilian rosewood guitar back and then repair the finish. The same effect happens on lake placid blue guitars that can appear more green with age.

They said its the clear coat and the black and dark blue paint has. Blend new lacquer into old lacquer with flash coats youtube. To learn more about johns repair and restoration workshops for players. While back, i refinished one of my guitars, and all was well, until i began to apply the clearcoat, to my horror, the paint quite literally, cracked. And ive been told that the poly on guitars is like the clear coat on cars, where it takes more flex than wood could take to crack the finish. Stupidly, i accidentally hit my guitar troy van leeuwen jazzmaster on my laptop yesterday and it produced a small crack in the finish amongst the bottom corner of the guitar. Spraying the neck before spraying i sanded the neck again, checking that everything was clean and wiped over with a tack cloth to remove any dust. After enough coats this way you can completely fill in the cracks. Use clear gloss for repairs in clear finishes, for spotsealing tints, and to mask bindings before you stain the surrounding wood.

Once the grain filling coats have been applied, i give the entire neck of the guitar which im finishing clear a light sealer. Doing so leaves a hazy dull ring around the area of transition. What to do about cracks in guitar finish acoustic guitars harmony. Which is the one you sand after the clear coat has fully cured. How to repair acoustic guitar finish guitar repair bench. Simply respraying clear over the cut through will most likely show the spot. Bend the sandpaper to fit it into small crevasses and holes.

How to repair clear coat kevin tetz shows the best way to fix paint. I then used meguires paint cleaner in one spot and carnuba wax in another to see what workrd better. On my 1512 it still plays the same but under dim light gives it a sort of light capturing rippled effect. You said you sanded after the first coat of clear usually, i put 23 coats of clear down urethane material before sanding. Sand the surface of the crackling spraypainted object, using mediumgrit sandpaper. Discussion in guitars in general started by green pro am, jun 4, 2007. The reason why the cracks feel smooth on the outside of the guitar is because. That may not seem all that long ago to some of us older guys, but these cars are. Get some 2000 grit sand paper and lightly sand it down a bit. A guitars look is a major part of the statement that guitarists make to the world about themselves. With age this clear top coat begins to turn yellow.

Cracking in an automotive paint job may occur in the clear coat over the paint or in the base color of the paint. A short tutorial showing how to get that cracking checking effect on a nitrocellulose guitar finish. It is just that i have some 35 year old poly finished set neck guitars with no such cracks not epis. How to stop a lacquer crack from spreading on a guitar. If you want a satin finish, thats fine just dont wet sand the clear beyond or 1500 grit, and dont polish it. Put a stiff coat on a soft, moving object and the stiff material is going to snap rather than give. The 2007 toyota tacoma has 2 problems reported for clear coat peels and cracks when waxed. I also have this problem and have been told by our local tech that custom builds guitars that they indeed are just surface blemishes in the clear coat. Clear top coats were always nitro, but not all custom colours had clear coats.

Theres a specialty finish called crackle lacquer thats designed to produce cracks for the visual effect. Im no expert on these things, so maybe other can chime in with opinions as well. If it still looks very white, chances are theres no top coat. Id protect the bridge and neck, carefully strip and sand the top, then refinish with clearcoat. Finally, a clear grain filler that actually dries clear. Itll leave you with a nice satin finish, but protect the color. Is there a method to get the rest of the clear coat off. Its almost like taking a jacket off of the body, there. On instruments with color, a clear coat sits atop the color coat. Rich folks buy new boats and remove the gel coat then paint with an lpu coating. An instruments finish can consist of a color coat and clear top coat or simply a clear coat.