That’s unfortunate - dropped on its end?


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Sorry about the crazing, but everything else about the guitar looks great. One detail I particularly like is how you used four rings of pearl to make the rosette. I've not seen that done before and it looks pretty cool. Put the problems with this guitar in the past because it looks like the future is bright for your guitar building.

Pre- reliced.

Take it out in the cold and then bring it back into a warm room and listen to it crackle!
Finish cracks don't hurt the sound, and once the guitar gets a little age on it and the top darkens the cracks will give a vintage vibe to the instrument.
Finishing is an art in itself, and one many of us struggle with mastering. It is one of the least fun parts of guitar making.

Oh! - that's a very nice looking guitar!

@guitarmaker78

Nice looking guitar. That rosette is stunning!

As for your finish issue...
I spent the first 35 years of my life as a painter in auto-body shops. My "go-to" finish was lacquer and when the industry switched to 2K finishes and water-born I decided It was time to get out of the business and I went to college to become an industrial designer.

Checking, as others have noted is what happens to lacquer especially if it is think. It usually happens gradually over time but can be introduced quickly with hot and cold cycles (as you found out).

You actually can reduce the visibility of them pretty easily.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL.... but you can spray straight lacquer thinner over the checking. Preferable to use a hot thinner or straight thinner with a splash of retarder. Very carefully spray it on the checking making sure not to let it pool up or run. What you are trying to do is get the thinner to seep into the checks.

This will melt the finish and it will sort of "glue" the cracks making them much less visible.

I few years ago someone brought me a guitar very similar to yours. They left the guitar out in their car for hours in below 32 degrees. When he remembered it was in the car he made the fatal error of opening up the case in the warm house. He said it sounded like crunching a bag of potato chips and watched in horror as his finish cracked.

I told him I couldn't "fix" it but could make them less visible and I did exactly what I explained above. It reduced the appearance of the checking about 75% and he was very happy with the results. He actually wanted me to strip and refinish it but I talked him out of that.

If you decide to do this just be very careful not to apply too much thinner because it will bite into the existing finish. Give it a week to evaporate the thinners and you can buff it out if you need to. It will not completely get rid of them but it will make them less visible.

In the end all guitars that get played will have checks, cracks and dings. It is sort of a "badge of honor" for an old road worn guitar. Many people prefer that look to a perfectly preserved instrument.

I hope this helps,
Cheers,
Bob

@guitarmaker78

Nice looking guitar. That rosette is stunning!

As for your finish issue...
I spent the first 35 years of my life as a painter in auto-body shops. My "go-to" finish was lacquer and when the industry switched to 2K finishes and water-born I decided It was time to get out of the business and I went to college to become an industrial designer.

Checking, as others have noted is what happens to lacquer especially if it is think. It usually happens gradually over time but can be introduced quickly with hot and cold cycles (as you found out).

You actually can reduce the visibility of them pretty easily.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL.... but you can spray straight lacquer thinner over the checking. Preferable to use a hot thinner or straight thinner with a splash of retarder. Very carefully spray it on the checking making sure not to let it pool up or run. What you are trying to do is get the thinner to seep into the checks.

This will melt the finish and it will sort of "glue" the cracks making them much less visible.

I few years ago someone brought me a guitar very similar to yours. They left the guitar out in their car for hours in below 32 degrees. When he remembered it was in the car he made the fatal error of opening up the case in the warm house. He said it sounded like crunching a bag of potato chips and watched in horror as his finish cracked.

I told him I couldn't "fix" it but could make them less visible and I did exactly what I explained above. It reduced the appearance of the checking about 75% and he was very happy with the results. He actually wanted me to strip and refinish it but I talked him out of that.

If you decide to do this just be very careful not to apply too much thinner because it will bite into the existing finish. Give it a week to evaporate the thinners and you can buff it out if you need to. It will not completely get rid of them but it will make them less visible.

In the end all guitars that get played will have checks, cracks and dings. It is sort of a "badge of honor" for an old road worn guitar. Many people prefer that look to a perfectly preserved instrument.

I hope this helps,
Cheers,
Bob

Another option may be using blush eraser to melt the lacquer.
I’ve used it before, but it needs to be sprayed sparingly.