DIY finish checking

[les strat]

Led Zep Fan, do you suggest that the guitar be a few years old so it would have cured more, be harder, and be more apt to check?

 

[Greco]

Led Zep Fan, do you suggest that the guitar be a few years old so it would have cured more, be harder, and be more apt to check?

I would suggest that it be left out of the case for a few months and the finish micro meshed or rubbed down to get rid of the stick layer - hence the green scourer pad used to acheive zep fan's checking.

Anyway here's some Xacto knife checking which IMO doesn't look too bad: :hmm

 

[steve(UK)]

It doesn't get very cold here in the UK; maybe -5C or so on a bad night in winter. Anyway, this winter I'm gonna leave my 98 R8 out all night then bring it into a nice hot room in front of the fire and we'll see what happens. Either way, I'll let you know the results. Last year I tried it and sod all happened. I think you guys in the US with your higher temperatures get your guitars cured better and more ready/able to check when a low to high temperature change is applied. I reckon the finishes on our guitars in the UK are generally too 'plastic' to check.

 

[buyusfear]

It gets cold here, like -25 to -30 isn't rare, so sticking the guitar on the patio for a few minutes isn't a problem. I've though about it, but then i've seen some premature checking that runs length ways instead of across the top and I would be choked if either of my guitars checked like that. Thus preventing me from trying it. If I knew it was guaranteed to check like led zep fan's, then they'd be out side yesterday.

 

[Werloc]

led zep fan gave me the idea, and I tried it too. It works great. You do have to really look at it at the right angle to really see it though. So what I did was put it back in the freezer for an hour, then as soon as I removed it from the freezer, I rubbed in some brown KIWI shoe wax to get into the cracks. This made them easy to see. Now it looks great.....

 

[J.D.]

Trick is to get the guitar warmed up through it (the entire wood body) then put it into a very cold environment until the wood gets extremely cold through it (shouldn't take all night), then bring it back to a nice warm heat source. The larger the temperature difference, the more the effect will be. The reason why this works is the wood and laquer expand and contract at different rates and the rapid temperature "shock" will be enough to crack the finish as the wood expands and contracts. Of course don't heat it up enough to melt or burn it.

 

[buyusfear]

Heres the picture that turned me off of trying this....
No offense to the owner, but if I were to bring my guitar in from the cold and it checked like this, I would fuking cry.

 

[J.D.]

Yowww! Yeah, I guess there is no guarantee as to how it's going to check. Maybe that is why Tom Murphy breaks out the blades.

 

[rrrcustom]

Have all the originals checked width-wise?

I think the length-wise check looks real good, but if none of the originals do it, I wouldn't want it.

 

[buyusfear]

Yeah, originals do check length ways but very randomly.

This is my former boss's '56, and you can see by the controls some lengthwise checking.

 

[shuie]

What are your expectations as the guitar ages naturally? Has anyone kept and continued to play a relic type of guitar long enough for it to age naturally? What does the guitar look like after natural aging process takes over?

 

[Yunpac]

I've got my R8 in the freezer right now!

I'll let you know how it turns out- HAHA

 

[Yunpac]

well - 1.5 hours in my basement chest type freezer!

took it out and the min. it hit room temp air - you could hear it crack!!!

the body is completely checked! the kind you can only see from 1 or 2 angles! totally awesome!

I have it back in there upside down now to do the headstock!

pics tomorrow...


It was already naturally aged (it's a 98) I play it everyday, so its got some forearm wear and a couple pretty rough dings in the top. Around those dings, the checking is more complex - really cool!

 

[bluesjuke]

Todd Louis did an R8 not that long ago that turned out well.
Can't find the thread though.

 

[alexanderja]

well - 1.5 hours in my basement chest type freezer!

took it out and the min. it hit room temp air - you could hear it crack!!!

the body is completely checked! the kind you can only see from 1 or 2 angles! totally awesome!

I have it back in there upside down now to do the headstock!

pics tomorrow...


It was already naturally aged (it's a 98) I play it everyday, so its got some forearm wear and a couple pretty rough dings in the top. Around those dings, the checking is more complex - really cool!

yunpac,
Im really interested in your checking. :dude:

You have to let us know how the headstock goes.

Also, when you say you put it in the freezer.....how ?
.......the whole guitar ?
.......did it get very damp ?
....... any neck/fret problems ?

 

[Greco]

hotos

 

[led zep fan]

Led Zep Fan, do you suggest that the guitar be a few years old so it would have cured more, be harder, and be more apt to check?

Mine is an 03, bought in Feb 04. I froze checked in almost immediately.

 

[led zep fan]

I would suggest that it be left out of the case for a few months and the finish micro meshed or rubbed down to get rid of the stick layer - hence the green scourer pad used to acheive zep fan's checking.

YES! I almost forgot! I did rub it down with one of those Scotch Brite green pads first!

 

[led zep fan]

led zep fan gave me the idea, and I tried it too. It works great. You do have to really look at it at the right angle to really see it though.

Same with mine, it's all about the angles (in photos mostly).

You can barely see the checking from this angle:

 

[thin sissy]

FWIW, I was waiting for the bus a couple of weeks ago. The bus didn't show up for some reason, so I stood with the guitar there for about an hour (I was NOT trying to make the guitar crack or anything, just trying to go to rehearsal). The guitar is an 07 R8 and the temperature was -5C. Nothing happened to it when I brought it inside again.

It made me glad to see that, as it will experiance it's first winter soon. However the weather wasn't cold yet, and the guitar's finish is still a bit "soft" I guess so who knows what will happen during winter a few years ahead...