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Disappearing finish on neck

dnabbet2

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
211
I have a 1980 Heritage Standard 80 that was moderately heavily gigged for ten years, then sat in a guitar stand and got played on the sofa for the remaining. And the finish on the back of the neck used to be worn through to the wood at the third fret and the fifth fret and the twelfth fret, but I picked it up recently and noticed the finish is worn off ALL up and down the neck.

I'm playing a lot of different genres now, including jazz standards, and I am using more of the neck than when I played mostly rock 'n' roll, but this is not my go-to guitar. I really don't have the feeling of having worn all the finish off playing it. I can post photos if anybody has a thought.
 

brandtkronholm

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Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
2,737
I'm not sure I understand your post. Are you suggesting that the finish on the neck of your Les Paul has further vanished without reasonable explanation?
Yes, please post pictures.
 

dnabbet2

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
211
That's it. I don't play it much anymore, but it used to show wear from my thumb where I'd play in C, G, A, and E, and now the whole back of the neck feels as if it has a matte finish ... but it's the actual wood -- I can feel the grain when I run the edge of my fingernail across it. The headstock's still glossy. Heel too. But not in between.

It hasn't been subjected to extreme heat like some of my guitars. Nor to chemical or abrasive cleaners. And it's lived in Gibson cases or on a stand.

I'm not going to get rid of it or have it refinished or anything, and it's still nice to play. It's just odd to pick up a guitar you know well and find the neck suddenly looks and feels different. Below is a link to a Flickr album. Let me know if the pictures aren't effective or the link is incorrect and you get vacation snaps. or something.

Heritage 80 neck finish
 

corpse

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Joined
Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Never saw anything like that before. I will ping my buddy with a couple of 80-82 reissues and see if he has anything like that going on.
 

DutchRay

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Joined
Mar 15, 2015
Messages
872
I checked the pictures and I don't see anything wrong with it other than it's not glossy, it certainly does not look like bare wood. This type of finish has the tendency to develop moisture bubbles under the finish which causes it to flake off in large chunks.. I bet the gloss will return when you play it for a couple of hours or buff it with a microfiber cloth.
 

dnabbet2

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2017
Messages
211
I'm humbled, embarrassed, and appreciative. Thanks for the advice.

I don't recall eating a bucket of ribs while playing that guitar but somehow it got put away funky.

I used a bit of distilled water and two "grades" of microfiber and some elbow grease, and the gloss is back as are the usual worn spots.
 
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