Finish fading

[dewey finn]

Recently I got an 81 Hamer Special from Reverb. It used to be green and has a greenish tint to it. However the top, back and sides have faded to a natural finish. The green is still present under the knobs and pick up rings. Has anyone seen this before?

[Jeff R]

We've all seen it on old LP Standards, where '58 cherrybursts have anywhere from faded cherry to no cherry at all. 

I remember too that when the Music Man EVH guitars came out in the early 90s, the purple ones were VERY prone to fade to a sickly-looking natural prematurely.

From like this ...

To like this ...

[BubbaVO]

Is there a way to predict what it'll fade to?  Or is at all a crap shoot?

[stonge]

Hamer green seems to be prone to fading (I've seen a few early ones that did that). I keep mine out of direct sunlight just in case. 

Ron's Guitars in Groton hung a new SS1 in screaming pink in the front window of store, where it promptly faded out.

 

[cmatthes]

It all depends on the dyes/finishes used, the wood and what they've been exposed to over the years.  I recall seeing two nearly identical Whale Blue 89 PRS Customs that after 20+ years, looked nothing alike finishwise.  One was still that cool blue-gray, the other was a sick greenish brown.  They were 4 serial numbers apart.

[Studio Custom]

12 hours ago, stonge said:

Ron's Guitars in Groton hung a new SS1 in screaming pink in the front window of store, where it promptly faded out.

Which is the reason there are so few remaining Barney Rubbles left, of the six I know of, three have some fade to them. 

[dewey finn]

I understand the fading in the sunlight. This is faded all over. Maybe it went tanning.

[DaveH]

Fluorescent lights tend to fade colors too

[tbonesullivan]

Even these days some dyes and pigments simply fade. I have an EBMM cherryburst Bass from 2007, and it doesn't look like it, but the finish has in fact faded a bit. When I took off the pickguard, it was quite noticeable. However, it still looks awesome so I don't care.