Finish Checking

[ARM OF HAMER]

I have these 2 1979 Black Hamer Sunbursts..................the first one I bought is nearly devoid of any finish striations {Finish Checking] ................why I'am I clarifying that? i'm asking the experts. the other one has a lot of checking across the body/neck/headstock all over the black finish. I understand why the 2'd guitar would have these as its spent all its life in Canada..............well Chicago where it was built has its share of very cold weather as well so........... A buddy of mine who owns many Gibson Les Pauls both old and new wondered why the checking is different, [Like with wider [And fewer] spacing between the checking lines on the Hamer] on his older Les Pauls they are heavily checked with very fine lines. So considering both guitar makes/models are finished in "NITRO" why do they look different in that regard? His old Les Paul TV is a solid mahogany guitar just like my Hamer Sunbursts so.......................different "Lacquer" manufacturers/mixs or what? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm Here is a example of what I'm talking about on a Black 1978 Hamer Sunburst [Thanks for use of your PICs Skip! ]

[Andrew]

The cracks are due to movement in the wood, expansion and contraction. Also, nitro cellulose gets brittle once the solvents have fully evaporated. The seasoning of the wood has an effect - the better seasoned the less it will move after finishing. There will inevitably be a big variation between different pieces of wood so that is why two apparently identical guitars have different levels of cracking. Maple cracks the lacquer more often than mahogany, I've found.

I've also found damp to be the bigger factor in the UK, more so than cold/heat (we don't have a big range winter-summer, and it's a wet maritime climate).

[crunchee]

[ARM OF HAMER]

Thanks much for that Andrew. I understand why some guitars check and others don't due to temp changes humidity and other factors.I wonder why the Hamer and Gibbys checked differently. I thought the all mahogany guitars would actually be more prone to checking due to the fact that its a softer wood then say maple for instance so I think it would have even more expansion/contraction going on. Look.................Hamer then Gibson TV headstock. Hamer used great wood we know that....so maybe because the wood was better seasoned that makes a difference.

[crunchee]

I once had a few 1980 Hamer Specials (they must've made a LOT of 'em that year), the one thing I noticed about the nitro finish on some (but not all) of them, was how it seemed to 'lift' around the tuner post bushings/ferrules on the front of the headstock, just like as in the headstock photo above. Sometimes the paint/finish around the bushings/ferrules would finally chip away because of this.

[ARM OF HAMER]

Crunch,I have also seen the missing finish/chipping around the tuners on the front of some Hamer headstocks..................as the guitar ages and then the finish cracks and if the tuners have been cranked down or they get over tightened that would fracture the finish around the tuners and take it right off.I have some of that on one tuner on my 2 Black Sunburst Here

[Andrew]

It's a fair question, why some are wide spaced cracks and others (your Gibson pic) are close and regular. I guess that there are many variables.

Nor can I explain why, when Hamer bodies all have grain that goes in the same direction (top tp bottom), some crack top to bottom with grain whilst others crack across.

[BubbaVO]

Personally, I love the look of the checking. Gives the guitar character. Makes 'em look played. But I"m not into the spanking brand new looking guitars any more.

[Armitage]

The first check line would kill me... after a bunch it looks cool.

[Steve Haynie]

The first check line would kill me... after a bunch it looks cool.

Yup. Yellowing can be depressing to see, too. It is part of what comes with certain finishes.

[crunchee]

The first check line would kill me... after a bunch it looks cool.

Yup. Yellowing can be depressing to see, too. It is part of what comes with certain finishes.

You mean like Gibson's 'Alpine White' Nitro? I've got a '94 LP Studio in Alpine White that is SO yellowed, it's gone beyond 'Butter Pecan Ice Cream' color to 'Banana Pudding Yellow',,,plus, it's got the usual 'bleeding' spots here and there on the body edges from previous guitar stands, and a fair amount of weather checking, but thankfully it all looks relatively uniform in color and not too unsightly, IMO.

Edited to add: Just to clarify, it's normally the clearcoat that yellows, not the underlying color. Non-nitro clearcoats won't usually yellow as bad as nitro-based clearcoats, but I think that they will to at least a small extent, from what I've seen.

http://www.guitarhq.com/fenderc.html

http://www.guitarhq.com/gibsonc.html

[mc2]

Besides the type of nitro used, I think the contour of the surface of the guitar and the distance to the nearest route openings have an affect on how the check lines travel and the resulting shape.

You will notice that check lines on the back of necks usually are rounded from bass to treble sides of fretboard around the neck. The body lines travel differently, straighter and often begin at routes where the finish ends or in thinner.

[ARM OF HAMER]

Here is some finish checking on a older Gibson Gold Top Les Paul look at the difference compared to the Hamer Sunburst Here is a Sunburst Gibson Les Paul........................again look at the difference.