D55 neck finish

[thumbpicker]

Have been looking and trying 3 D55's at local music store. They are new and all have a great sound. I noticed on each one after playing them for a short time the finish on the back of the neck gets quite sticky. Hard to slide up the neck. Any thoughts for remedy.

Thanks, TP

 

[6L6]

New lacquer can take time to dry. Fender's Eric Johnson Signature Strats are notorious for having sticky necks. Never heard of this problem with a Guild, however.

The good news is it will fix itself over time. Just rub it down with a soft cloth after you play it.

6

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I'm still waiting for my 2005 D-55 to fix itself.
Hasn't happened yet though.
It is a bit anoying. I have tried using polish and I wipe the neck down after every song.
I'm not sure that it is going to ever harden up.

 

[jazzmang]

I think we've covered this before, but for me (and many others) a product called (somewhat generically) Guitar Scratch Remover worked miracles for me on several of my Guilds.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

The finish on the neck of my D-55 still gets tacky every time that I play it.
What brand guitar scratch remover and where can I find some?
Would regular rubbing compound work?
Thanks,
TMG.

 

[jazzmang]

The finish on the neck of my D-55 still gets tacky every time that I play it.
What brand guitar scratch remover and where can I find some?
Would regular rubbing compound work?
Thanks,
TMG.

Use some naphtha to get the neck nice and clean.
Then go to http://guitarscratchremover.com/ and make sure you buy 1 of the packages that comes with the blue cleaner. It works very nicely.

 

[BurstD55]

I am also having this problem with my NH D55 on the back of the neck and on the top where my arm rests. It seems as though the finish is softening.

My old bottle of martin polish and flannel cloth was unable to clean the haze off of the top last night, I didint want to over do it so I just left it alone for now.

I went to the FRETS page and read that he recommends seeking a luthier for a softened finish problem.

Does anybody have any advise other than ordering the guitar scratch remover or seeking a luthier? The nearest luthier is hours away...

This problem is new to me and usually my body chemistry is very dry and does not even grease up the back of the neck!
I have had nitro finished guitars in the past and have not experienced this problem...

 

[chazmo]

Burst, that's just the nature of nitrocellulose finishes, I'm afraid. Just keep it clean and wipe it with a microfiber towel after each use. The scratch remover sounds like a good answer for the neck, but I'd suggest not doing anything with respect to the the soundboard. Clean it and apply some guitar polish. Keeping a layer of polish helps insulate the finish from deterioration.

Since you've already got some clouding, you might notice an improvement over time if you clean and polish the top fairly regularly. They also make some polishes in a small spray container that you can just apply to a small area after playing (i.e., not just during string changes when you have the guitar on a bench).

 

[BurstD55]

Thanks Chazmo
This guitar is really starting to get to me at how delicate it is, if it wasn't for the great sound I would be tempted to sell it and buy an import to abuse! My Korean starter guitar is old and still trouble free with its catalyzed finish, however it lacks on all other fronts...

Just a bit frustrated...

 

[chazmo]

Thanks Chazmo
This guitar is really starting to get to me at how delicate it is, if it wasn't for the great sound I would be tempted to sell it and buy an import to abuse! My Korean starter guitar is old and still trouble free with its catalyzed finish, however it lacks on all other fronts...

Just a bit frustrated...

I completely understand what you're saying, but I suspect most traditional, nitrocellulose-finished guitars would have the same clouding problem. Taylor and many others use polyester these days, but the Guild folks have stuck with traditional methods intentionally.

Interesting... I don't think of any of my Guilds as delicate, but by comparison to a starter guitar that is definitely so. THere's a level of care and feeding that is very important for the life of the guitar. As you mentioned, the payoff is a sound that you won't get from a starter. And, hopefully, playability as well. The bottom line for most of us here is "made to be played" really is the right motto for a Guild... Play it, enjoy it, and just take a few precautions (humidity/cleaning) to keep it in perfect condition.

By the way, if playability is at all a problem wtih your Guild, well, it *shouldn't* be. It should play like butter and can be adjusted to do so by a tech/luthier. The same cannot necessarily be said about a starter guitar.

 

[Brad Little]

I've noticed something similar on my F-512, but not more than just a little, not enough to be a problem. I wipe the neck with either a micro-fiber towel of a chamois but it doesn't really change it too much. I just figured it had something to do with the heat and humidity of the summer.
Brad

 

[valleyguy]

I recently cleaned up the old '81 D25 I bought using Murphy's oil soap. The guitar was dirty and smelled. This has a nice subtle scent to it

I use it on all my wood furniture. Since it has some oil in it, it gave the guitar a nice slippery feel. You might want to try this, couldn't hurt, it has no silicone. Available at any market.

 

[adorshki]

My old bottle of martin polish and flannel cloth was unable to clean the haze off of the top last night, I didint want to over do it so I just left it alone for now.
I went to the FRETS page and read that he recommends seeking a luthier for a softened inish problem.
This problem is new to me and usually my body chemistry is very dry and does not even grease up the back of the neck!
I have had nitro finished guitars in the past and have not experienced this problem...

I started getting that prob on the top of my D25 where my arm rested, but it took literally hundreds of hours. One day when polishing I noticed the same cloudy effect. It does dry out a little overnite after polishing, but I noticed that after about 3 months when I concentrated on playing the other two guitars it at least hardened back up a little, but there's a permanent cloudy area there, visible at certain angles. I use Martin's also, and my bottle's probably 7 or 8 years old, so I thought my feedback might be particularly helpful.
Chaz's suggestion of keeping it polished as a barrier makes sense. We had another member reccomend wax for that purpose also. On other threads we've gone into the pros and cons of silicone contained in 99+% of all the polishes/waxes out there, but the consensus was that the real danger in those products is in the silicone penetrating through cracks in the finish to contaminate the wood, thus making future refinishing extremely problematic. Sounds like a very small risk in your case.
My main point was that resting it for a while seems to give it an opportunity to harden up again before you proceed with protective measures.

 

[BurstD55]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will see how it looks tonight.

 

[Bill Ashton]

I have had this problem significantly on my Gibson J-30, but not so much on my (Tacoma) D55.

In frustration I brought it to a luthier about two hours from here, on the counter he tried a little McGuires (No. 7 ?) and with rubbing that I thought would take all the finish off he made it about 75% better. Left in his care for a few new frets and (groan!) nut, he also polished it on a machine like we saw them doing to new guitars in NH. She came home looking brand new!...I was so happy and proud

Then the first hot humid night I played it wearing only a t-shirt and DAMN all the arm schmoo is back...and the little bottle of the polish I bought from him didn't take it off...much...

So with the Gibson, back to not quite square one. My Guild on the other hand, while it accumulates seemingly the same thing (on a natural top, not sunburst like the Gibson), a spritz with that Spray n Wipe they give you with the guitar and a coupla wipes with that microfiber cloth and she is shiny and slippery again.

Clearly I will need diapers for my acoustics. Is there such a thing? don't really want to install one of those John Pearce arm-rests, and am sick of using...old real diapers!

 

[taabru45]

I did a little experiment on my old F512R, so you know I was careful...a little unsented talc powder on a soft microfiber cloth, to see if it would take out those almost invisible scratches...well it did, used dry...Talc is softer than almost anything, not abrasive, yet on the black pickguard...smoothed right out....so I used it on the top edge of the guitar top, same, won't take out finish cracks of course, but did lighten up some pick scratched that someone left behind....careful who you let play.....So if you put a little talc in the crotch of your hand between the thumb and finger, you will probably reduce the friction a lot, and you could try the polishing bit on a small area of the neck or haze... and keep everytning dry is my suggestion....for what its worth....Steffan

 

[BurstD55]

Thanks Steffan,

I have not tried to polish the guitar since I first noticed the soft area, I may try the talc powder suggestion with a white gas cleaning and wax applied over top...

I will report back when I give it a go.

 

[adorshki]

Thanks Steffan,
I have not tried to polish the guitar since I first noticed the soft area, I may try the talc powder suggestion with a white gas cleaning and wax applied over top...
I will report back when I give it a go.

Burst, if it's actually still soft I highly recommend letting it "dry out"/harden up for a while before proceeding. As I said before I had that exact problem also. Some of the other posts aren't making reference to that specific issue as opposed to simple dirtiness/grunge build-up, so I'd proceed with caution on a softened finish.
I like Steffan's talc suggestions in principle. I was also once told by a luthier that finely sifted ash was the absolute finest grit abrasive in existence, for restoring gloss to lacquer.

 

[BurstD55]

Ok, will do. The only problem is that I need to play it at least twice a week for a few hours...

 

[adorshki]

Ok, will do. The only problem is that I need to play it at least twice a week for a few hours...

Don't get me wrong but don't you have another Guild? I thought it was a membership requirement here ...(Sorry, couldn't resist) But seriously I don't think continued exposure like that will be good for the finish, and I don't think efforts to clean it up will be effective while it's in a softened state and might actually do further damage. I know a repeated application of polish to my D25 was pointless while it was still soft for example. I got nervous about just rubbing the cotton cleaning cloth around the area, and it seemed to prolong the drying out time. I didn't know then what I know now but after trying to polish it for the second time in a couple of days I decided to let it rest for a while. Overnight was barely enough time for the polish to dry let alone the actual finish. I think if you tried to wax over that it would make the hardening time for the lacquer that much longer. And I'd be nervous about applying naptha to softened lacquer, I've never seen any feedback hear about what might happen. I WILL cite Qvart's recent experience with a stinky guitar case which he sprayed down with Febreeze and let dry for 24 hours. Thinking everything was dry and fine he stored a nice old D30 in there and something in the case, probably just the residue of the Febreeze, caused the finish to soften up and get imprinted by the plush texture of the case lining. What I'm getting at is that hardened dried lacquer has a crystalline structure that developed over time from drying out, and it continues to keep drying out for literally years, but I wouldn't want to expose a softened finish to anything because that crystalline structure has been broken down, probably by acids in your sweat, and may not react the same as an undamaged finish.
At the very least if it's on the top, wear long shirtsleeves, and if the neck's getting sticky wipe it down right after playing as others have mentioned.