Guitar finish-Should I be worried

Paddy

Hey

I have a Strat with a very thin Nitro finish on it. So thin you can feel the grain of the wood.

Well I've noticed the area where my arm touches the body seems to be going a bit greenish. I assume its the sweat from my arm.

Don't know if you can see it. It's a small amount at the moment. But I want to get a jump on it before it becomes NASTY.

So to all the guru's. Is there something I can do to prevent the spread.

Or do I just wipe the guitar down after I play?

MikeM

If you want your guitar to stay looking perfect, have a coat of poly or something sprayed on ?

AlanRatcliffe

Yeah that's sweat and oxidisation of the wood. The finish is basically rubbed through to raw wood. Real, honest road wear. First step to looking like the Rory Gallagher Strat... ?

Not really anything to worry about unless you like your guitars pretty and new. If you do, it can easily be touched up (the biggest advantage to nitro IMO). You can even put a thicker finish on the edge to slow down recurrence. Or a thin layer of poly as Mike suggests.

MikeM

Or just let the guitar live with you ? It'll age, weather and get scars with you.

Reinhard

If it came that way from Fender it would be one hell of an up charge ? Nice looking strat!

Tokai-SA

All Fenders, since the early 60s, including 'Nitro' models, have a 'Fullerplast' undercoat/sealer sprayed on them.
Nitro is sprayed on top of the 'Fullerplast'...so don't worry, the wood is completely 'sealed', it cannot breathe, and it cannot stain.

Perhaps your sweat is reacting with the nitro, similar to the way rubber stands react with nitro, a quick polish will get that 'green' off.
I use Farecla G3, works great.

giggsy

MikeM wrote: Or just let the guitar live with you ? It'll age, weather and get scars with you.

+1 ?

Paddy

Well I doubt it has that Fullerplast on it. It ain't no Fender. It's a........ Mighty Mite body and neck (everyone gasps) ?

Foster in Cape Town put it together for me and as you can see he did an awesome job. Asked him for the thin Nitro with the theory of a wood that is breathing more and better tone etc.

Maybe I should get in touch and ask him about that Fullerplast.

And I don't mind the guitar looking worn in. I was more worried about the wood going rotten and inevitably the guitar giving me VROT tones. ?

And plus. Now I feel like my guitar has I little bit of me in it, forever and ever and ever and..... you get the picture.

As always, the members of GFSA are helpful and awesome!

Thanks

slyd

Man, that's a pretty strat, Mighty Mite an all !

I think the thin finish is great, and looks good.
As mentioned, a quick polish, and she won't feel green anymore ? and won't rot . . . hehe. (Any vrot tones won't be from the guitar ?)

Let her age with you . .

DaFiz

Simply leave the finish to absorb sweat and get scratches and scars from use and abuse.
No amount of accumulated sweat in that wood will detract from the tone of the guitar as long as you're alive. :-\

ThomasN

Paddy

Yeah I'm gonna let her age with me. Would be awesome to work her so hard over the years to get to Rory Gallagher's standards.

She's an awesome guitar with better quality than what I was expecting from mighty mite. Plays very well with a nice thick chunky neck, had initial problem with it but Foster fixed that up quick quick.

The only problem I have is the love/hate relationship with the pickups. It's the Fender Hot Noiseless pickups. But that is a topic for another thread ?

Thanks guys