Differential paint fading/yellowing - normal?

[singlehum]

I have a white Hamer Special (1987) that the paint has aged to a creamy color...but on the body only. The neck is much whiter, and the difference occurs right at the heel. This seems odd to me...but could it be normal? I'm questioning whether the neck was repainted at some point (hmmm - headstock repair?) The guy who sold it to me insists there have been no repairs, and that he bought it new.

Anybody seen this type of differential fading/yellowing before?

[Jem]

I think you'd probably find that although the body's mahogany the neck by that time was maple and this is causing the difference - maple being a whiter wood and less prone to ingress. May be wrong, not for the first time, but that would be my assumption.

[singlehum]

Interesting.

I've posted some pics. The more I look at this the more I suspect a repair, although the inked serial looks original (?) and brighter white the color is consistent on the headstock behind the serial. Have a look at the neck joint pic - not sure if the paint there looks normal...seems like it should be "smoother"...?

Ugh.

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[specialk]

I had a 1993 Special in antique white. It didn't have that difference in color at all. Here's a pic of the back:

[mirrorimij]

I don't think those necks were ever made of maple unless it had a trem or was a custom order.

I had a white Blitz bass with some inconsistincies in the fading, but it was not any specific pattern.

[murkat]

clearly a refin neck.

matching serial stamping font is easy to come by.

[cmatthes]

Agreed - you can totally see the masking lines at the base where the neck joins the body.

[crunchee]

I didn't know they made Specials in 1987! Subtract or add 5 years (either way), sure, but....

[singlehum]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I did ask Hamer about this guitar - they gracioiusly replied as follows:

Hi, Bill!

I looked up the serial number on your cool new guitar and it listed it as a “G.M. SP. WT”. We believe this means Gary Moore Special in White. It was completed on September 16, 1987. You are correct that there wasn’t an official Gary Moore-endorsed model at any time, rather, this was a combination of options that he preferred and the guitars were only built to order.

OK, so it checks out as a white Gary Moore Special from 1987 (hey, maybe we all learned something here...others have said this model was only available in 84/85!). Maple neck because of the Floyd? Maybe. Yes, the masking "evidence" at the base of the neck/body joint was a red flag upon closer inspection. I black-lighted the guitar today and the back of the neck is distinctly different than the body No evidence of a headstock repair, although a dark spot on the back of the neck around the middle of the fretboard shows up as if a ding was repaired and perhaps the neck was resprayed...maybe just because of that? You can see some edge lines along the fretboard edge that light up like the color of the body, suggesting that the original finish was present on the neck at some point. Man. the blacklight really tells the story.

As far as the ink serial - please look at the pic I posted. Does the font/character spacing look correct and uniform based on other known original examples? Could it have been re-done as part of the suspected re-fin? Hmmm. If not, it seems it would be hard to mask/retain the original serial and refin around it and get it to match. Someone suggested that perhaps it is a factory repair done sometime later. Possible?

This guitar is a fantastic player and sounds killer, and I'm glad to have it - I can't say I've ever seen another white one ... but perhaps there are lessons to be learned here when buying long-distance with limited pics and going on the sellers "word". If it is a re-fin neck, the seller should have manned-up and said so. It wouldn't be the first time I (or anyone else) got snowed on an internet guitar ""deal"...

[Jem]

With the better pictures it does look like it's been refinished, the contrast is too stark.

[GusS]

no, that serial number font is not the same as the one used by hamer. 100 % refin, though good on them for stamping the serial number after the refin

[singlehum]

Here's the word directly from Hamer on the serial number stamping...

Bill,

The serial looks consistent with ’87 construction. The numbers were hand-inked with individual number stamps in those days, accounting for the uneven appearance.

Well, now...

[crunchee]

no, that serial number font is not the same as the one used by hamer. 100 % refin, though good on them for stamping the serial number after the refin

Here's the word directly from Hamer on the serial number stamping...

Bill,

The serial looks consistent with ’87 construction. The numbers were hand-inked with individual number stamps in those days, accounting for the uneven appearance.

Well, now...

Does anybody out there have a late ('86 or '87) stamped serial number USA Hamer to compare this with? I'm pretty sure that the S/N font on this Special IS from that time frame and will match others. The font on late '70's/early '80's Hamers is a bit different, but those early ones are the ones that most people notice, photowise. Nobody seems to pay much attention to later stamped S/Ns...until now.

[GusS]

1. as mentioned above, the masking tape outline (on the body!) at the neck joint is a dead give away

2. the font is not the same as the original one

3. original finishes on white hamers have yellowed uniformly across the body and neck

[singlehum]

OK...as someone else requested...does anyone have a circa 1987 Hamer with inked serial that we ca compare to?

[chewie37]

I've got an '87 Chaparral and the serial number pattern looks similar. But I also have no idea of the history on the Chappy, so can't say that it it's original either.

Gotta charge up the digital camera batteries and also have to do some running around for the holiday weekend, but I'll take a shot at some point over the next couple of days and post it for comparison. May not be until Monday though, so if someone else beats me to it . . .

[singlehum]

Awesome...thank you.

[cmatthes]

Something looks a little funky about the serial number to me.

I still think it's 100% a refinned neck.

[crunchee]

Something looks a little funky about the serial number to me.

I still think it's 100% a refinned neck.

I agree, I think you're right about the refinned neck, no argument there...but IMHO the S/N looks 'right' to me for a late stamped number. Late stamped S/Ns seemed to me to be more 'refined' (cleaner, not as heavily inked, smudged, or sloppy as some early ones I've seen) than most earlier ones. Or maybe it's because more numbers (6, rather than a 1-space-4 format, which is what I'm used to seeing the most of) make it look neater. Again, I'd like to see a comparison with other Hamers around that particular year to make it more definitive one way or the other.

[chewie37]

OK, finally got a somewhat usable shot of my '87 Chappy. Black S/N on a Purple finish is a PITA to shoot - and the shot still isn't that great. Also, Mobile Me/iDisk isn't too embed friendly, but the pic can be found here: https://files.me.com/chewie37/988osf

[crunchee]

OK, finally got a somewhat usable shot of my '87 Chappy. Black S/N on a Purple finish is a PITA to shoot - and the shot still isn't that great. Also, Mobile Me/iDisk isn't too embed friendly, but the pic can be found here: https://files.me.com/chewie37/988osf

Thanx for the photo, Chewie! I'd say the S/N fonts are a close match, the fonts are how I remember seeing them from that time frame:

Anybody have more examples of a stamped '87 serial number, give or take a year? I'm wondering now if the refin was factory, or somebody really took the time to get the look of the S/N down?

[GusS]

Again, this is not the Hamer font. The Hamer 7 is not curved.

Besides, in 1987 Hamer switched to stamped serial numbers. If it were a factory refinish, they would have stamped the serial number.