Why did the custom shop change the pore filler and back finishing?

[Ed A]

Maybe nobody has the answer and maybe nobody cares!… We all know that the R9s have gotten much more accurate through the years. But I’m curious why in recent times to my eye the way the backs are finished with the pore filler currently is nothing like they were done 20 years ago, which I felt was more accurate. The first photo is from a 2005 Jimmy Page where you can see the pore filler is cherry and it’s leaching out into the surrounding lacquer which I’ve seen many times on vintage guitars. The second pix is a new Murphy Lab, the filler almost looks black and doesn’t leach at all. Am I right in thinking this is one thing that they’re not doing as accurately as they had done in the past?

 

[MarcB]

My 2c worth is maybe the black was introduced to show off the wood grain more?

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

Maybe nobody has the answer and maybe nobody cares!… We all know that the R9s have gotten much more accurate through the years. But I’m curious why in recent times to my eye the way the backs are finished with the pore filler currently is nothing like they were done 20 years ago, which I felt was more accurate. The first photo is from a 2005 Jimmy Page where you can see the pore filler is cherry and it’s leaching out into the surrounding lacquer which I’ve seen many times on vintage guitars. The second pix is a new Murphy Lab, the filler almost looks black and doesn’t leach at all. Am I right in thinking this is one thing that they’re not doing as accurately as they had done in the past?
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Oh these cursed first world dilemmas. We're all doomed.

By the way, I'm with you in liking the more subtle grain filler vs the harder contrast with the dark grain filler.

 

[60thR0]

Do you have binding bleed yet?

Looks like they used the dark cherry stain (ala TH and at various times later) rather than a lighter stain for a faded back. Looks cool though,

 

[Ed A]

Do you have binding bleed yet?

Looks like they used the dark cherry stain (ala TH and at various times later) rather than a lighter stain for a faded back. Looks cool though,

No binding bleed, and I didn’t see any binding bleed on any of the Murphy labs I had or I saw in person. I had many reissues 25 years ago and they did have the binding bleed. I’m not a Vintage expert but I thought that’s typical for vintage instruments as well. That’s why I’m just questioning if they’re doing something different now intentionally and what the reason might be. Don’t get me wrong. I think the color and the back of my current Murphy lab is beautiful. I’m just not so sure how accurate looking it is.

 

[HanaBanana]

No binding bleed, and I didn’t see any binding bleed on any of the Murphy labs I had or I saw in person. I had many reissues 25 years ago and they did have the binding bleed. I’m not a Vintage expert but I thought that’s typical for vintage instruments as well. That’s why I’m just questioning if they’re doing something different now intentionally and what the reason might be. Don’t get me wrong. I think the color and the back of my current Murphy lab is beautiful. I’m just not so sure how accurate looking it is.

That's interesting, what year is the guitar in the picture? I have a 2021 R9 which is a "normal" gloss admitedly, so not ML, but it has bleeding gallore.
What's more, the paint would bleed onto my shirts and stain them red for the first 2-3 weeks of owning it.

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

That's interesting, what year is the guitar in the picture? I have a 2021 R9 which is a "normal" gloss admitedly, so not ML, but it has bleeding gallore.
What's more, the paint would bleed onto my shirts and stain them red for the first 2-3 weeks of owning it.

Sounds like Aunt Flo was in town.

 

[Wilko]

That bleeding color is the source of a lot of whining.

 

[HanaBanana]

Sounds like Aunt Flo was in town.

No kidding, look at this thing:


So it's interesting to hear newer ones don't have the bleeding. Are they overcorrecting or maybe they changed the process again?

 

[JazzMuzak]

My 2023 R9 has some bleeding, but not as much as yours. It's also a gloss, not a Murphy Lab. Maybe the different lacquer used on ML's prevents bleeding? From what I understand the ML's use a completely different formula from VOS and gloss guitars.

 

[Flogger]

I have a gloss 2019 R8 with enough binding bleed for a crime scene.

 

[Ed A]

That's interesting, what year is the guitar in the picture? I have a 2021 R9 which is a "normal" gloss admitedly, so not ML, but it has bleeding gallore.
What's more, the paint would bleed onto my shirts and stain them red for the first 2-3 weeks of owning it.

The second pix is a late 2023 Murphy lab.

 

[jb_abides]

Let It Bleed

 

[Red Baron]

I much prefer the more brownish backs, especially on guitars with faded tops. I'm very happy to not see any binding bleed on my 2024 R9.

 

[pqs]

My 2019 R9 didn’t have any bleeding when I first got it. I purchased guitar as GC wad unpacking a new shipment, so I was among the first to play it. Over time as I played the guitar, the finish bled through the neck binding and the spots on the body where I rested the guitar when playing while sitting. Then the bleeding over the biding started to fade due exposure to light. Now it just looks like an aged binding, though on the treble side you can still notice hints of finish bleeding. Just the nature of aniline dye, I guess.

 

[DANELECTRO]

The backs on my 2018, 2019, and 2020 Historics all look about the same as the backs on my 2003-2004 Historics. They're all a medium red color with pore filler that bleeds.

From around late-2006 to 2012 the back finishes were changed to a recipe that didn't bleed at all. I believe that both the filler and the lacquer changed, but I'm not sure. The color was more rust-like and the grain didn't pop out as much. Late-2006 was also the start of the VOS finish as I recall.

I haven't owned any Reissues newer than 2020, but I do recall seeing photos of some later models which had overly dark back finishes. This may have been in 2021 or 2022.

 

[thin sissy]

...
From around late-2006 to 2012 the back finishes were changed to a recipe that didn't bleed at all. I believe that both the filler and the lacquer changed, but I'm not sure. The color was more rust-like and the grain didn't pop out as much. Late-2006 was also the start of the VOS finish as I recall.

Just to confuse everything a little, my 2007 R8 had a lot of binding bleed the first years. It has faded since though

 

[DANELECTRO]

Just to confuse everything a little, my 2007 R8 had a lot of binding bleed the first years. It has faded since though

Come to think of it, I have a 2007 R9 that does have the old-style pore filler and binding bleed, but my two 2007 R8s (plus another that has since been sold) have the no-bleed finish, so maybe the transition occurred in 2007 not 2006.

 

[thin sissy]

Come to think of it, I have a 2007 R9 that does have the old-style pore filler and binding bleed, but my two 2007 R8s (plus another that has since been sold) have the no-bleed finish, so maybe the transition occurred in 2007 not 2006.

I remember that back in those days, there was a theory on this forum that there were 2 versions of backs in 2007. I don't know if it was ever confirmed, and I don't remember exactly how they differed.

 

[DANELECTRO]

I remember that back in those days, there was a theory on this forum that there were 2 versions of backs in 2007. I don't know if it was ever confirmed, and I don't remember exactly how they differed.

The "fade/bleed resistant" finish was used from 2007-2012. I've owned 4 Historics from this era and I never saw any bleeding into the binding whatsoever on these guitars. I don't mind that the dye doesn't bleed, but the finish was more of a rust color rather than the deeper red which I prefer. Gibson changed back to the regular aniline dye finish in 2013 in order to be historically correct.