Current VOS treatment?

[GazzaBloom]

I had a 2016 R8 and now have a 2020 R8, the VOS treatment is different, the 2016 seemed to have a "gunk" applied to hardware and finish which could be polished off. The 2020 hardware is more authentically aged but the body seems to have been wiped over with a mild abrasive cloth of some sort to reduce the gloss, angled ion the light I can see very fine wipe marks all over the body, anyone else notice this?

 

[FloridaMan]

Interesting...on my '08 R8 VOS, the finish has gotten progressively more glossy over the years simply by cleaning the guitar with a dry cloth. My '18 R9 VOS is already very glossy, so much so that I was surprised that it was a VOS. No finish scratches, swirls, or gunky finish on mine.

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

I have a 2020 and 2021 Historic and yes, they are not as gunky as my earlier VOS's. But it could also be that the dealer wiped them down as part of the post-sale setup before they shipped them? VOS's have always had the light scuffing to the finish though, my newer and older ones all have had it. I always take the parts off and polish them to a shine. Hate the VOS finish. It's just a lazy corner-cutting finish

 

[goldtop0]

Interesting...on my '08 R8 VOS, the finish has gotten progressively more glossy over the years simply by cleaning the guitar with a dry cloth. My '18 R9 VOS is already very glossy, so much so that I was surprised that it was a VOS. No finish scratches, swirls, or gunky finish on mine.

Yes some are and some aren't.
I've had 3 VOS LPs since '13 and none of then had gunk or untoward marks scratches etc on them...............guess we're lucky in that regard.

 

[sunking101]

No gunk on my 2020 R7.

 

[Trans-Am]

My 2007 R9 VOS is more of a patina unlike the gunk some others dismiss.

 

[sws1]

I have a murphy-lab, ultra light aged 335, which claims to be VOS, but it actuality, it looks like Gloss, but with some checking in it. No gunk whatsoever.

 

[27sauce]

No gunk on my ‘20 R8 that came directly from Gibson.

 

[C-4]

My 2007 R9 VOS is more of a patina unlike the gunk some others dismiss.

My 60th Anny R9 is the same way. I leave the lemon fade top alone and I like it. The rest of the guitar I have gone over with Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish. There still is a bit of patina around the perimeter of the back and sides, but no gunk as mentioned, and the guitar looks good. Had I had a choice, I probably would have opted for a regular gloss finish, but I can make mine do that anyway if I desire.

I have a M2M Murphy Lab '59 355 on order, and never having owned any aged guitar, I don't have a clue what to expect with the VOS finish, even though the guitar will be done in ultra-light aging. Prior to ordering that, several days just before the Murphy Lab was announced on Marsh 9th, I had bought a CS '59 355 in blonde and it didn't appear to have very much VOS finish on it, compared to other Gibsons I had bought with a VOS finish. When I found that the blonde finish on the 355 was more boring then I had hoped, I returned it on March 9th, after seeing the watermelon finish on the 355, but didn't want a regular "light aging" done. The custom shop would not allow me to order a non-aged watermelon finished 355 with just the fret board edges rolled, so I had no choice.

However, once I get the guitar, if I don't care for the VOS look, I'll just polish it until it becomes a gloss finish.

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

Finally got around to removing all the parts and doing a full buff and polish to my 2020 VOS silverburst Custom. Initially I didn't think it seemed as gunky as my older VOS's, but man, the white T-shirts I used to do the buffing and polishing had plenty of dirty brown gunk on them when I was done. There's also more fine scratches/scuffing all over the guitar than I've seen before as well. But then again, this is the first painted finish VOS guitar I've done this to, so it could be that that stuff just shows up more on a painted finish

 

[sws1]

My 60th Anny R9 is the same way. I leave the lemon fade top alone and I like it. The rest of the guitar I have gone over with Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish. There still is a bit of patina around the perimeter of the back and sides, but no gunk as mentioned, and the guitar looks good. Had I had a choice, I probably would have opted for a regular gloss finish, but I can make mine do that anyway if I desire.

I have a M2M Murphy Lab '59 355 on order, and never having owned any aged guitar, I don't have a clue what to expect with the VOS finish, even though the guitar will be done in ultra-light aging. Prior to ordering that, several days just before the Murphy Lab was announced on Marsh 9th, I had bought a CS '59 355 in blonde and it didn't appear to have very much VOS finish on it, compared to other Gibsons I had bought with a VOS finish. When I found that the blonde finish on the 355 was more boring then I had hoped, I returned it on March 9th, after seeing the watermelon finish on the 355, but didn't want a regular "light aging" done. The custom shop would not allow me to order a non-aged watermelon finished 355 with just the fret board edges rolled, so I had no choice.

However, once I get the guitar, if I don't care for the VOS look, I'll just polish it until it becomes a gloss finish.

I have a VOS Murphy Lab 335 (UL aged). It's like a brand new finish, but with some checking.
If I had to be picky, perhaps the finish isn't buffed to perfection, but it definitely doesn't have any junk on it.

 

[axeman565758]

the gunk is the same, just not applied as "liberally" as in past years.
I bought 1 brand new VOS (R6) back in 2007. I played it for an hour and couldn't deal with the sticky/tacky/gluey feel. I took everything off (as Tommy Tourbus mentioned above), took a few cotton balls soaked in naptha and wiped the whole thing down, the took a clean 100% cotton t shirt and Virtuoso polish. An hour or so later, the shirt was completely brown, but that thing was shining like a new diamond ring. After that, any new guitar i bought was gloss.

 

[Tommy Tourbus]

VOS is different than Gibson's "Aged" guitars, or Murphy guitars. "Aged" won't have the gunk. The gunk is specific to VOS.