Walnut guitar finish cracks

You may be tired of hearing that sapwood isnt considered a defect when it comes to grading lumber, however it is an industry fact. A great sounding guitar with a unique tone that is quite different than the similar es335 model. A smallerbodied walnut guitar with a cedar top would likely appeal to fingerstyle players, while flatpickers and strummers on a larger body with a spruce top will find ample horsepower, low end and crisp highs to support an aggressive attack. I tend to use the term finish checking but most people outside of the industry dont understand what that means.

Fixing crack in the lacquer the steel guitar forum. Is the walnut higher than the maple, or vice versa. Thats a nice look and the oil adds protection, but it does nothing to warm the cool characteristics of the hardwood, especially the look of steamed walnut, which is grayish brown when freshly milled. It doesnt seem like there are any cracks in the wood itself, just the clear finish. This finish gives walnut a dark yet warm color, and if you choose to apply it by wetsanding, this too can fill the grain as above. Im assuming a wedding ring, cheap capo, or leaning it up against something instead of putting it back in the case, or using a stand. You can fill cracks, scratches, or even slightly mismatched joints with several different products, including wood putty, wax sticks, and shellac sticks. A finishing trick for a dark, even color in walnut. Everything you ever wanted to know about nitro guitar finishes. Crazing is similar to checking though the breaks are deeper and wider. Epiphone sg special ve vintage worn walnut eguitar for. 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. Finishing techniques for walnut wood home guides sf gate.

Whoah playing the star spangled banner was an honor indeed more will be revealed categories. As the finish ages, the checking will likely get deeper and go all the way through the finish. They occur in a variety of forms to include checking, crazing, cracking, alligatoring, and mud cracking. 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. Walnut is another one of my favorite tone woods, bass guitarists have long known about walnuts tonal qualities.

Oct 03, 2019 how to seal wood scratches with a walnut. A better quality brush translates into smoother finish application because a good brush holds more finish. 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. Oct 15, 2014 it is cheaper partly because the guitar has some cracks around the neck joint due to rapid temperature change. Ibanez gsr200 4string electric bass flat walnut rosewood. Im assuming my best bet is to remove the finish to eliminate the cracks. As a chemical cure product, there is no easy way to repair this type of finish. I have a guild 12 string with a small repaired crack in the back. The sanding dust, called swarf, combines with the stillwet glue to fill the crack as you sand, making an instant patch quite close to the color of the wood. It is the guitar in hand and all that makes up that guitar which matters, including the finish. A guitar doesnt have to cost a bundle to sound good. I wanted to ask i have seen guitars made out of walnut before, and my fatherinlaw who does woodworking is about to come into a lot a whole tree worth of black walnut.

Filling cracks, checks and splits with epoxy youtube. Also i tried pushing both side of the crack but apparently nothing moves. Checking is a mild form of cracking and doesnt go all the way through the finish. Wet sandingcracked lacquer inlays and finishing chat. When repairing cracks it is usually a two part process. Walnut offers high value for money, with the beauty and visual impact of an all koa guitar, but at a much lower price. 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. 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. Get the guaranteed best price on acoustic combo guitar amplifiers like the fender acoustic sfx 160w acoustic guitar amplifier with handrubbed walnut finish at musicians friend. Cracks are one of the many ways that coatings film forming transparent finishes and paints can fail. 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. I also want to make sure the cracks are stabilized and wont spread.

I wouldnt use lacquer to do the repair because the thinner will also soften the original lacquer finish. 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 plan on using a waterborne varnish or lacquer finish, consider warming up the walnut first with a coat of dye. The guitar had two small cracks on the neckbody joint and under the fretboard but its been professionally repaired and is solid as a rock. Honey burst over claro walnut custom guitar build all wrapped up. We used the aged walnut recipe diluted three parts to one. Tung oil 3 layers, and wipeon varnish 3 more layers, with light touch of 0000 steel wool inbetween to get rid of dust.

Just to be clear, i probably think korina is one of the best tone woods for the back of a guitar and isnt necessarily overwhelming as a top. Repair chips and cracks in finish fender stratocaster. This anomaly has earned it the name paradox walnut. This article will show you how to use this clever little snack to do more than just bust. The finish has better resistance to coldchecking and scuffs. So to me it looks like a crack in the finish but im not 100% sure so i wanted to have some opinions.

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. Gibson es325 1972 walnut finish nationwide guitars reverb. The backs are usually a little thicker than either the top or sides, therefore a bit tougher. It takes much longer to finish walnut with oil, but it actually waterproofs better than lacquer. 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. Nitro finishes, however, crack and yellow with age, and they can check guitarspeak for fine hairline cracks with age or sudden exposure to low temperatures. The longest crack should not be in an area of high stress from the strings. 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. An anomaly in the hardwood world, this tree grows quicker than claro or english walnut while yielding stronger and harder lumber. Applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. Many other finishes resemble shellac, and to further add to the confusion, shellac is sometimes used as a generic term referring to any clear top finish. Fender acoustic sfx 160w acoustic guitar amplifier with.

Shellac was not widely accepted as a furniture finish in the west until the early 1800s. Checking will vary according to the extremes the instrument has been through. With maple necks, i roll the fingerboard edges by sanding, so im going from a full fingerboard finish to. Cracks come in many lengths and form various patterns of intersecting lines that predominately run in the direction of the wood grain, brush strokes, or spray patterns. It can be resurfaced and buffed over real nicely too. How to repair acoustic guitar finish guitar repair bench. May 16, 2009 i completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year. Dan erlewine demos three of his favorite finish repair tips.

Bastogne walnut, a prized and exceptionally beautiful hardwood, is a hybrid mix of native claro walnut and english walnut. Repair chips and cracks in finish discussion in techtalk started by jasonyeah, mar 18, 20. Its a 24 year old guitar, and the only dings and finish checking are on the back of the neck. It is cheaper partly because the guitar has some cracks around the neck joint due to rapid temperature change. Walnut is a dark brown, highly figured specialty wood which is. Jun 06, 2011 darker woods like walnut, on the other hand, look better with a warmer finish that brings out the rich, dark color.

The thin, watery superglue will fill cracks in lacquer pretty well. I do custom painting projects, guitar painting, airbrushing, spray can painting, wood working, and a variety of other. The chips are fairly small but go through to the wood and have cracks that are about 1cm long coming out of them. The gio series was developed for players who want ibanez quality in a more. Lacquer is basically cellulose dissolved in a solvent. The guitar has had a past neck reset with some finish touch up in the neck b. Oct 02, 2008 a better quality brush translates into smoother finish application because a good brush holds more finish.

I have an applause ae28 electricacoustic guitar that plays pretty well, but doesnt look so great. Attractive walnut finish, dual mini humbucking pickups, chrome hardware, and untouched electronics with 77129 pot dates. Now at the cracked part, part of the finish is hanging and not attached to the body. Fender acoustic sfx 160w acoustic guitar amplifier with hand. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance. I smooth the final layer with a brown paper sandwich bag but i take out the sandwich first. Your acoustic guitars finish can have all kinds of problems, as you play it over the years. Glued cracks still leave a small valley in the finish. Many other finishes resemble shellac, and to further add to the confusion, shellac is sometimes used as a. Walnut makes a great tone wood for the top or front of the guitar. Sep 27, 2012 fixing a small chip in a guitar finish. Walnut is another one of my favorite tone woods, bass guitarists have long known about walnut s tonal qualities. Besides wood putty, there are several gluebased fill options. 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.

Learn expert tips on using epoxy to hide imperfections in wood and stabilize the piece from further movement issues. Discussion in teletechnical started by kuntry09, dec 26, 2012. This is the perfect product to give your guitar a natural looking finish. If you glue your eyelids shut, id go easy on the acetone and maybe seek pro help. How to repair a lacquer finish home guides sf gate. Filter by brand fender martin collings eastman godin seagull gold tone kala deering framus mitch.

Darker woods like walnut, on the other hand, look better with a warmer finish that brings out the rich, dark color. Filling voids, cracks, and defects in wood with epoxy. My fool proof finish i realize it isnt actually fool proof is to use wipeon products. Would it be appropriate to make a guitar body out of this stuff. Tips for finishing walnut popular woodworking magazine. An allwalnut guitar provides rich and warm bass with plenty of crispness on the mid and treble side.

For very small cracks, add drops of cyanoacrylate into the crack while sanding the area. There are a couple of cracks in the thick plasticy finish. This is an extremely common, somewhat expected condition on older instruments with lacquer finishes. The lumber itself is not only good in gluing, working and staining, it yields. Ibanez gsr200 4string electric bass flat walnut rosewood fretboard. Itll fill the crack and make the finish blend with the rest of the guitar. Lacquer can be a very forgiving finish material, and if you understand its characteristics, repairing damage to a lacquered surface can be easy. These oils tend to bring out the curly or tiger looks of the maple. Jan 08, 2018 how to paint a burst with spray cans brad angove. Our 150ml bottle of penetrating guitar finishing oil is enough to cover one full.

The tru oil blends all of these and you really cant even tell that its not one finish. Wax and oil finishes had been the finish of choice throughout the west until that time. Dont forget that acetone nail polish remover is your best remedy for getting your fingers unstuck with crazyglue. None of my poly guitars have finish cracks either, except for my ebm. I was rubbing some blo into the wood on my ancient m1 carbineand noticed a couple hairline cracks in the wood that i hadnt realized were cracks about the only thing to do that i can think of is to degrease these areasand work some thin superglue into the cracks. Finish crack in polyurethane how to repair the gear. Depending on the crack, finish repair may not be advisable or necessary. Is it possible that it could be more reflective of a wood crack, perhaps, but i really think this pattern is completely consistent with the following observations1 new nut installed at exact site of crack origin. The backs of guitars probably finish third in terms of frequency of cracks. Another commonly used finishing technique on maple is to apply tung oil or linseed oil after the final sanding. Sometimes what looks like a crack in the wood is actually just a crack in the guitar s finish. Finish crack in polyurethane how to repair discussion in.

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. 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. The appearance is only slightly different but different nevertheless. I completed a solid body electric guitar in december of last year. Does anybody have any special favorite superglue brand that is clear, thin and holds well. What to do about cracks in guitar finish acoustic guitars harmony.

Finish crack in polyurethane how to repair the gear page. Nitro finishes, however, crack and yellow with age, and they can check guitar speak for fine hairline cracks with age or sudden exposure to low temperatures. Mar 18, 20 i have a 1999 american strat that has a couple of chips in the finish. In this episode ben answers a viewers question on how to repair a dent or possible crack in a guitars lacquer. For a more durable finish, topcoat over the shellac with a clear lacquer or polyurethane. If you drop a poly guitar, the poly will crack and sometimes even shatter in that area. But nitro is also prone to checking and cracking over time fig. Matters of improper humidity usually dont affect the thicker, harder woods on the back as much.

Shop for the fender acoustic sfx 160w acoustic guitar amplifier with handrubbed walnut finish and receive free shipping on your order and the guaranteed lowest price. 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. Identifying a shellac finish can be difficult, however, and if you repair a nonshellac surface by laying shellac over the top of the finish, it will not produce good results. There doesnt appear to be a crack in the wood, but i can feel the cracks in the finish when im playing open chords. Its been a while since weve been to the belly up in solano beach and it was good to be. Repairing cracks in acoustic guitars examples of cracks.