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finish on late 70s Gibsons

sliding-tom

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Feb 11, 2005
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Does anybody know what kind of finish Gibson used on their late 70s models? No matter what I use and how much time I spend cleaning and polishing my '79 Pro Deluxe, there's always
some kind of haze left that won't go away, same with my '78 ES 355. They can't be nitro-finished - there's none of the typical checking at all. I don't have this problem on my other Gibsons nor any other brand guitars.
 

murkat

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Dec 5, 2003
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the meguires polish kit that is marketed and pumped out by Fender will take care of that haze. I have used, witnessed such a miracle with said product(s). Don't use the cloth that comes with the kit though......
 

DonP

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Feb 21, 2003
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sliding-tom said:
Does anybody know what kind of finish Gibson used on their late 70s models? No matter what I use and how much time I spend cleaning and polishing my '79 Pro Deluxe, there's always
some kind of haze left that won't go away, same with my '78 ES 355. They can't be nitro-finished - there's none of the typical checking at all. I don't have this problem on my other Gibsons nor any other brand guitars.

The newer nitros contain additives to prevent checking.
 

sliding-tom

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Feb 11, 2005
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DonP said:
The newer nitros contain additives to prevent checking.
Well, interesting,thanks, but then, my '82 335 has lots of checking, so did they go back to the old formula?
 

Stevedenver

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Jul 17, 2001
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nitro gasses out after being sprayed-it may contain differing amounts of plasiticizer which keeps it flexible longer, but eventually nitro becomes as hard as glass-id bet you 335 is this way -my 79 LP is-

because your 335 is semi hollow you will get more rapid expansions and contraction of the wood than the nitro finish itself-usually from rapid changes like temperature-but with a hollow-also humidity-and a 335 , due to its lamination, is probably more stable than say solid wood guitars like an L-5 or typical accoustic

i havent personally mixed and shot nitro but i do know that there are a variety of ways to do it-and the compensation for humidty while shooting is one of the reasons-
i have no doubt that over the course of time gibson and others experimented with ways to reduce checking and extend curing time so as to avoid checking (as new wood "settled in" after the inital manufacturing period)

becuase manufacturers generally do not age wood as it once was, due to sheer numbers, you get more changes in moisture content-couple this with a very hard finish and the other enviromental factors and you get checking-i have it on my older martin (due to lots of travel when i was a kid-from frozen trunk into warm rooms, or vice cversa in the summer) i have it on one les paul, mostly around stress areas like the neck pocket and volute area, but also an odd one or two meandering over the top

whle plasticisers are frowned upon because they soften the finish for a while, i need to say i have a lentz, and he is a master of nitro, and if he uses platicizer, it is the minimum, because the finish is gorgeous, but really fragile, i have had tiny bits chips by simply and very gently and carfeully removing a control panel-its like rolling papar thin glass-it made me realize why a slightly softer finish has merits to a builder


hope this helps
 

DonP

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Feb 21, 2003
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sliding-tom said:
Well, interesting,thanks, but then, my '82 335 has lots of checking, so did they go back to the old formula?

It's possible. Besides what stevedenver has said, those weren't the best of times for Gibson. You had one factory in Kalamazoo, one in Nashville. Each could have been using different paints, and the paints might have been different on different models.

Also, checking hasn't been stopped completely, it's just harder to do. A lot of people want there historic reissue LP's to check, and they take extremes to get them to do this (freon sprays, freezing/heating). The extra stuff just makes it harder to check.
 
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