Conference napalm::guitar

    RE: The white finish on my Ibanez RG550 is SHOT.
    
    So you finally get the finish so it looks cool and now you want to ruin
    it by making it look new?
    
    I don't get it?
    
    		Fred (who's Strat is just starting to look cool)    ;^)'s

    -1
    
    C'mon guys, I'm serious.  I'm not into the "nicks and dings" look.
    
    Thanks once again...
    B

    Buck,
    
    Do look into the folks who do custom airbrush work (read on, read on...
    :-)
    
    I had one guy tell me that he'd undercoat refinish the guitar (ya
    know, normal cellulouse/guitar paint stuff) for nothing if I'd pay 
    some some art work... I was thinking of doin' my pink RG550 with some
    sort of cool black air-bruch type work like scrimshaw or something,
    and it wasn't going to cost ANYTHING (comparatively) to do it ($100?).
    This guy did a HELL of a nice job on cars, bikes, jackets, etc...
    It's something to think about anyway - I mean it doesn't *have* to 
    be anything gaudy to have that 'custom shop' look.
    
    Give it some thought...

    Geez Coop... You're not really gonna paint over that screamin' pink??
    
    Pesonally, I prefer the basic black... finger smudges give it a
    different look every time I play it!!
    
    /Billy_K
      

>    Pesonally, I prefer the basic black... finger smudges give it a
>    different look every time I play it!!
    
    Eat plenty of potato chips while yer playin, enhance that look.

    Greg,
    
    Why didn't I think of that... The oil from the chips would 
    refract the light really cool!!
    
    /Billy_K
    

    You could draw little things on the finish with your finger grease. 
    It could be like a total look!
    
    Greg

    Fear not - Pinky will stay the color it is...  
    
    That guitar roolz just the way it is..

    If there was ever a sale made in error, it was that Pink Ibanez!!!
    I played some of my quickest licks on that neck!
    
    Coop, if you ever get the notion to sell, call me!!!

    
    So that's why that guit sounded so cool... it's still got the 
    ghost of Buck-licks in it...
    
    /Billy_K

    And still has smudges from Bucks favorite key on the fret board...
    
    :-)

    Worcester area
    
    Contact Kevin @ 852-6055  
    
    FAVORITE FINISHES
    
    
    Rich

    My son recently purchased an '84 white Gibson LP Studio that has some paint
    chips. Since I do car restoration as a hobby, I was thinking that I
    could repair the chips with an airbrush using an automotive acryllic laqcuer
    followed by 1000 grit wet sand to blend and polish.
    
    The chips are on the front edges where the Studio model lacks
    protective edge binding and on the back where I would guess a belt 
    buckle inflicted damage.
    
    Is this worthwhile if done well or will it detract from the value.
    Since we are dealing with a white finish...I'm assuming it will be easy
    to  tint the white to get the correct "aged" white hue.
    
    Is it common for the white finish on guitar necks to yellow more than
    the body....I'm assuming that this has something to do with the hand
    oils getting absorbed into the finish?? 

I'm no expert, so this is not 'the definitive answer' but
I would guess, yes, touching up the finish would probably
devalue the guitar a bit,, but it's not like your talking
about a 59 gold top, or some other vintage item ..  That
would be taboo, without a doubt.

Mark Jaques. is probably one of the guys that could give
you a better idea on what you're up to, Mark, jump
in any time..

Studio's typically resell for anywere from $425 -> $600 
depending on condition, I wouldn't imagine making it cleaner
would hurt your resale value *a lot*...  question is,
are you planning on selling it ??


/pelksta...

re: .13

>    My son recently purchased an '84 white Gibson LP Studio that has some paint
>    chips. Since I do car restoration as a hobby, I was thinking that I
>    could repair the chips with an airbrush using an automotive acryllic laqcuer
>    followed by 1000 grit wet sand to blend and polish.
    
I agree with .14 that Mark Jacques probably knows more about this than I do,
but the Gibson is probably finished with nitrocellulose lacquer, and I'm
fairly sure that I've heard that acryllic lacquer isn't compatible with
nitro.  

-Hal

    Actually lots of '70's European cars (BMW, Mercedes, etc) used
    Glassurit nitro-cellulose lacquer....I've never had a problem with 
    incompatability between nitrocellulose and acryllic; and I've been able
    to spot-blend without difficulty.
    
    Is it true that the Gibson whites seem to be more prone to
    paint-cracking (spider cracks) than other colors. The fellow at Action
    Music in Acton said he saw alot cracking on older whites and he
    attributed it to thermal expansion-contraction cycles.
    
    Thx,
    
    Jonathan

    This is a bit off the subject, but was Gibson even making the LP Studio
    back in '84????  Better check that date, or that model.
    

    I checked the serial number on the Gibson web site and came up with the
    '84 date. No corresponding model info available on the web site to
    match with serial number....so I'm just going with the headstock
    decals.
    
    

Cracking,,, spider cracks...  finish cracks...

Known as, Finish Checking....

--- as you were....

/pelksta

    ...and those aren't chips - that be character!

    From what I've read Gibson has always used nitrocellulose lacquer....
    
    Rick
    

    
    I'm really no expert on guitar finishes, but I have done a couple with
    good results. I refinished a Telecaster body and did a complete refin
    on a Gibson SG. On the SG, I left the back of the headstock in tact so
    the serial number and "Made in USA" stamp would not be lost. Blending 
    the rest of the finish with the back of the headstock was easy. In both
    cases, I used nitro-cellulous lacquer. My understanding is that acrylic
    and nitro are not compatable. Lacquer *thinner* is universal, but acrylic 
    resin is synthetic material and nitro-cellulous resin is organic. When 
    you apply a coating of anything over another material, it tends to sit on
    top of the finish with a limited bond. If you apply nitro-cellulous
    over nitro cellulous, you can use a mixture of naptha and thinner to
    "reflow" the two materials into one. This would not work if you sprayed
    acrylic over N/C. This combination of chemicals is also known as "blush
    remover". It is used whenever there is moisture trapped below a layer
    of lacquer. This shows up as a white residue below the surface. Usually 
    one squirt of blush remover will reflow the lacquer and allow the moisture 
    to escape. It's amazing how well this stuff works! If you are trying to 
    blend colors and get a level finish, you don't need to take chances
    mixing two differant materials with known compatability problems.
    
    Guitar finishes tend to be quite thick after all coats of color and
    clear have been applied. Generally we are talking 20 or more coats 
    of lacquer. You would have to build up a new finish in the chip and
    wet sand all of the excess lacquer around it. Usually there is about
    6 coats of clear lacquer applied first to seal the wood. Next comes
    about 6 coats of colored lacquer to acheive the desired color. The
    remaining 8+ coats are clear. You would have to experiment with
    differant pigments to match the original finish. Once you get the chip 
    level with the rest of the finish you could shoot a coat of clear over 
    the entire guitar. There is no guarantee that you will be happy with 
    the results. I wouldn't attempt this on a white finish. It just seems 
    unlikely you will be able to match the color and get a level finish. 
    
	Personally I think this would be a tedious process and after all
    is said and done, you may not be happy with the result. If the finish
    is really beat and you are intent on improving it, I would refinish
    the entire guitar except for the back of the headstock. This way you
    are pretty much guaranteed a nice level finish across the entire
    guitar, and you don't have to worry about matching the color 100%.
    
	In general, lacquer cracks seem to show more on an opaque 
    finish than they do on a clear finish. All lacquer finishes are
    susceptable to this. 
    
 	If you like a challenge, you might consider routing the body
    and apply a binding around the front and back edges. You could
    always recruit the help of a luthier to do this. Bear in mind there
    is a lot more work refinishing a guitar with binding. You have to
    scrape the lacquer off the binding before you start into the clear
    coats. This is one of the reasons why fancy guitars with lots of
    binding around the neck, headstock, body, f-holes, etc. are so much
    more expensive than their plain-Jane cousins. 
    
        When I read the basenote, I thought the same as Rick. Did Gibson
    evan make a LP Studio in the early 80's? To my knowledge they didn't.	
    
    	Mark
    

    
    >nitrocellulose lacquer....
    
    	Cellulose heroes never really dye ... is that what they say?
    

    re LP Studios from 1984...
    
    Well, I just saw another one listed on Gruhn's web page, so I guess
    they were indeed making em back then.