NewGuy Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I thought, from the looks of my 1998 H150, that it was shot with Nitro. Come to find out~~ Poly~~wonder why? guessing checking won't be happening anytime soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Poly is cheaper and quicker to dry when used as a touch up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 Poly is cheaper and quicker to dry when used as a touch up... "...a touch up" The entire guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Uh, you sure that's poly? One of the mainstays of Heritage is Nitro Finishes. Guess it could have been a custom finish request, since they are at heart a Custom Shop. But would sure seem strange it's factory poly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 I've never heard of Heritage using polyurethane on its guitar finishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Perhaps it was coated with poly by someone after it left the factory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Heritage guitars are alway Nitro. I guess there could be something usual out there that's an exception to that, but not a regular H-150. Come to find out~~ Poly~~wonder why? Where did you get this info from? .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Heritage guitars are alway Nitro. I guess there could be something usual out there that's an exception to that... There was a guitar with a strange grey/blue velvet-type finish from the early years. Someone had one a year or two ago and wasn't sure how to refinish it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 1) Heritage ALWAYS use Nitro and would never use Poly at the factory 2) Poly doesn't check like that guitar. This is actually why some guitar companies started using Poly in the first place. 3) You CAN NOT touch up Poly. The whole guitar would have to be re-shot with Poly. You CAN retouch up with Nitro. How do you know your guitar is Poly??? It looks like a classic "Nitro-finish checked" guitar to me. Just trying to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 1) Heritage ALWAYS use Nitro and would never use Poly at the factory 2) Poly doesn't check like that guitar. This is actually why some guitar companies started using Poly in the first place. 3) You CAN NOT touch up Poly. The whole guitar would have to be re-shot with Poly. You CAN retouch up with Nitro. How do you know your guitar is Poly??? It looks like a classic "Nitro-finish checked" guitar to me. Just trying to help. You know after looking at that picture that is what I was thinking. Cool checking for sure. I would never refinish that guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Kinda looks like a map of Ohio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 It looks like a classic "Nitro-finish checked" guitar to me. Right, John. Classic nitro checking. Poly does not do that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 I am not refinishing anything here. Just to clarify..The photo (with checking) is not of my Heritage, that one is a Gibson.I was trying to see if I could get the guitar to check (not w/freeze spray) but by leaving it in a freezer for 12 hours , i then pulled it out on a 100 degree day & shot it with a blow dryer and nothing happened. Did it again the next day, same process nothing happened. Very surprised . This is a 1998 14 year old guitar . It will have just have to age the old fashioned way. It is still a mystery to me since, as you say, they are all Nitro. hmmm? Thanks for the comments ~have a great weekend~ Rock on ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 Uh, you sure that's poly? One of the mainstays of Heritage is Nitro Finishes. Guess it could have been a custom finish request, since they are at heart a Custom Shop. But would sure seem strange it's factory poly. It sure is strange& I don't get it at all. I know poly ,you can bounce a basketball off of them. Not so here... What looks like checking on the drivers side must be pick scratch? Color me baffled. It is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 1) Heritage ALWAYS use Nitro and would never use Poly at the factory 2) Poly doesn't check like that guitar. This is actually why some guitar companies started using Poly in the first place. 3) You CAN NOT touch up Poly. The whole guitar would have to be re-shot with Poly. You CAN retouch up with Nitro. Agreed How do you know your guitar is Poly??? It looks like a classic "Nitro-finish checked" guitar to me. I dont think it is. But it does not check grrrrr & I will not razor blade it as per Tom Murphy lol Agreed, it looks as Nitro as any old Gibson I have ever owned. Just trying to help. One more thing ,since it seems the consensus here is they are all nitro.. Can anyone please post any photos examples of your Heritages guitars that have checked? Thanks in advance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Nitro as a finish remains fluid , it's soft. That's why it's easier to get burns from a guitar stand and also why it's easier to repair. A model from 1998 isn't really that old and may not have been in situations where the finish has progressively hardened over the years. My Heritages from the late 80's do have natural checking , but they are also rather used and worn . My Heritages from the early nineties may have slight checking, certainly less pronounced. You need to play that guitar in smokey bars and do some long outdoor gigs to get some wear on that finish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 I had a 1985 Heritage H140 and there was no sign of checking... But I cannot believe anyone would subject their guitar to what you described intentially! Put it in a freezer? Left in the 100 degree temp and heated with a hair dryer? MUY LOCO AMIGO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 You might want to do a Google search for guitar relic services. There are a few good ones out there and they'll give you advice on how they relic nitro as well as poly finishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 I had a 1985 Heritage H140 and there was no sign of checking... But I cannot believe anyone would subject their guitar to what you described intentially! Put it in a freezer? Left in the 100 degree temp and heated with a hair dryer? MUY LOCO AMIGO! takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavesNotHere Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 You might want to do a Google search for guitar relic services. There are a few good ones out there and they'll give you advice on how they relic nitro as well as poly finishes. I'll do it for free. Just send it to me. I'll do a genuine relic job on it. It may take 25 years but it won't cost anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Amateurs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewGuy Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 ha ha ha...not looking for the dirt road look , just some damn spider webbing MOJO! Nitro as a finish remains fluid , it's soft. That's why it's easier to get burns from a guitar stand and also why it's easier to repair. A model from 1998 isn't really that old and may not have been in situations where the finish has progressively hardened over the years. My Heritages from the late 80's do have natural checking , but they are also rather used and worn . My Heritages from the early nineties may have slight checking, certainly less pronounced. You need to play that guitar in smokey bars and do some long outdoor gigs to get some wear on that finish.... if this was nitro it would have, should have, checked 14 years old or 5, or 2 ...nitro checks in hot/cold, Fred. You might want to do a Google search for guitar relic services. There are a few good ones out there and they'll give you advice on how they relic nitro as well as poly finishes. dunno what they can tell me that i have not already done. my belt buckle will do enough damage as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 if this was nitro it would have, should have, checked 14 years old or 5, or 2 ...nitro checks in hot/cold, Fred. (Actually , the guys making these instruments probably see a lacquer that doesn't check easily as a good thing....) Here is a link to a guitar refinishing forum... where they talk about lacquers that don't check easily.. http://www.reranch.c...5bb0b143c890d10 also what brand of lacquer did you use? some brands are known for no checking IIRC stew macs colortone is one. I have found that Behlen string lacquer will also not check. I had the guitar out in -30 F last winter and brought it in by the fireplace - zero checking. Behlen Nitrocellulose Stringed Instrument Lacquer ( at Stew-Mac ) Stringed Instrument Lacquer produces a hard, durable finish that's less brittle and more flexible than standard furniture lacquer, specifically to accommodate the expansion and contraction of wooden instruments Stringed Instrument Lacquer finish has better resistance to cold-checking and scuffs than standard furniture lacquer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Amateurs... Literally, "roadworn"... Awesome, Tim. Thanks. Oh...and we just started using some Behlen products at the shop. Their fretboard treatment seems really good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I have a Guild that was made in 74, has a nitro finish. It finally got a couple of cracks in the finish, after the basement flooded and it was FLOATING in its case. Even after that mistreatment, it didn't crack and check like the one in your picture. Just a couple of cracks near the pickup rings, maybe an inch long or less. My 87 H140 has no sign of finish checking. I can't tell you how it was stored for the first 20 years of its life, but now its kept mostly in air conditioned comfort. There are ways to formulate lacquer to minimize the brittleness that leads to checking and crazing. We use NC resins for printing on flexible foil and plastic. If it is brittle and cracks, it falls off the packaging, and our customers complain. You don't want your potato chip bags to have flakes of ink all over them when you eat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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