How to fix sticky nitro finish on my Les Paul

57Strat777 · Apr 20, 2018

I have a 2003 Custom Shop 58 RI that I've owned for about 3 years. I have been playing it a lot in the last few weeks and I noticed the guitar top area under my forearm is getting sticky and turning dull. Is there anything I can do to fix the sticky feel?

moonweasel · Apr 20, 2018

Hi!

I had this problem with my 54 RI when it was new. I learned here at LPF to just leave it out of its case for 6 months or a year to let the finish completely cure. There are obvious downsides to this approach! I don't have kids and my pets stayed away from it, so it was no problem.

I am a little shocked this is happening on such an old guitar for you. I would have thought that even case queens would have cured by now. Is it a minty case kept guitar before you bought it?

57Strat777 · Apr 20, 2018

moonweasel said:
Hi!

I had this problem with my 54 RI when it was new. I learned here at LPF to just leave it out of its case for 6 months or a year to let the finish completely cure. There are obvious downsides to this approach! I don't have kids and my pets stayed away from it, so it was no problem.

I am a little shocked this is happening on such an old guitar for you. I would have thought that even case queens would have cured by now. Is it a minty case kept guitar before you bought it?

Thanks for the response, Moon. The guitar was in really nice shape when I bought it. It has been on a stand in my bedroom since I bought it 3 years ago. I don't leave any of my guitars in the case.

tripletime · Apr 20, 2018

unfortunately the old nitro was not the best - you may wat to send it off to one of the custom guys and have it re shot with low plastizer nitro

if it was me I would flip the guitar and get a newer 2013 + as they are a big step up in finish / construction and pick ups

Hotshot · Apr 20, 2018

Should see the one I just sprayed. Heat does effect it a little. I found that a wet sand with 2000 does wonders. WET. Couple passes on a clean neck after a pass with NApta ( lighter fluid ).

If if you really want it super gloss again, it’s a buff away.

Big Al · Apr 20, 2018

Sometimes different solvents in polishes etc.. can be the problem. I hand sand the neck clean with MICRO MESH. You sand off the top layer of gunk and get down to the original top coat and if you use the finer grits it will be more smooth and shiny than when new. I like to get a smooth satin type finish, but you can get whatever you like and SAND is misleading as you really aren't sanding the finish away.

After you are done wipe it down with naphtha and wipe it clean, leave it out in a room with about a relative humidity of 60% and after a couple of weeks you should be alright. I notice the difference right away and only need to let new guitars cure as older finishes set up rather quick.

I hope this helps.

Hotshot · Apr 21, 2018

Big Al said:
Sometimes different solvents in polishes etc.. can be the problem. I hand sand the neck clean with MICRO MESH. You sand off the top layer of gunk and get down to the original top coat and if you use the finer grits it will be more smooth and shiny than when new. I like to get a smooth satin type finish, but you can get whatever you like and SAND is misleading as you really aren't sanding the finish away.

After you are done wipe it down with naphtha and wipe it clean, leave it out in a room with about a relative humidity of 60% and after a couple of weeks you should be alright. I notice the difference right away and only need to let new guitars cure as older finishes set up rather quick.

I hope this helps.

Bang On ^

I wish you can feel the neck on the studio thats nitro is 2 months old. Not as Had as my modern Gibson but not gummy.

57Strat777 · Apr 21, 2018

Big Al said:
Sometimes different solvents in polishes etc.. can be the problem. I hand sand the neck clean with MICRO MESH. You sand off the top layer of gunk and get down to the original top coat and if you use the finer grits it will be more smooth and shiny than when new. I like to get a smooth satin type finish, but you can get whatever you like and SAND is misleading as you really aren't sanding the finish away.

After you are done wipe it down with naphtha and wipe it clean, leave it out in a room with about a relative humidity of 60% and after a couple of weeks you should be alright. I notice the difference right away and only need to let new guitars cure as older finishes set up rather quick.

I hope this helps.

Al- I am going to give this a try. Thank you so much!

Thank you everyone for the replies and tips!

mdubya · Apr 22, 2018

I have used carnauba wax on sticky nitro to good effect over the years. Some guitars I have had to wax after or before playing for the better part of a year before the stickiness went away. It may be ultimately having the same effect as what Al is describing/recommending.

I have recently got 2 new Memphis made ES guitars that had heavy VOS treatment and both have needed to be cleaned up with carnauba for me to be really happy with them.

But what you are experiencing is not all that unusual.

EdwardR9 · Apr 22, 2018

This is an easier fix than wet sanding. Since the finish is plasticized, I decided to use the Novus plastic polish kit with incredible results. Start with the heavy scratch remover
and move to fine followed by plastic polish. I have used this to great effect to remove scratches, minor dings, arm cheese and t-shirt decals that stick to the back of the lovely
nitro Gibson used on these guitars. You can get the kit on E-Bay for $ 9.00 and a few microfiber or Terry cloth towels at the Dollar Store.

Hotshot · Apr 23, 2018

EdwardR9 said:
This is an easier fix than wet sanding. Since the finish is plasticized, I decided to use the Novus plastic polish kit with incredible results. Start with the heavy scratch remover
and move to fine followed by plastic polish. I have used this to great effect to remove scratches, minor dings, arm cheese and t-shirt decals that stick to the back of the lovely
nitro Gibson used on these guitars. You can get the kit on E-Bay for $ 9.00 and a few microfiber or Terry cloth towels at the Dollar Store.

To to add to that. Mguires PlastX on a drill polish pad works nice too

EdwardR9 · Apr 24, 2018

Hotshot said:
To to add to that. Mguires PlastX on a drill polish pad works nice too

It does, but I never try to introduce heat to the finish so go really slow. It seems to get even stickier from heat. Works great by hand too.

RJLII · Apr 24, 2018

The neck on my R6 was gummy when I got it. I cleaned it with Naptha and hit it with a hair dryer to warm it up. I repeated the process a couple times. After a few days on the stand airing out, I hit the back of the neck with a little automotive polishing compound followed by some paste wax. No problem since.

thejaf · Apr 25, 2018

Back when I had Corvettes, I used an automotive wax called Zymol. Those cars had nitro finish over fiberglass bodies. I once tried it on a sticky finished Les Paul, and it worked great to create a hard, shiny surface. I still have the bottle after 15-years, so it lasts a while.

How to fix sticky nitro finish on my Les Paul

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