Official Luthiers Forum!

Brief intro: I am not a luthier, but am trying to learn basic anatomy/
setup/repair with building in the future. I have a great deal of
woodworking, cabinet making and yacht joinery experience. Some
finishing and refinishing experience. I have a project guitar that I want to
do as much work as possible on without getting in over my head. I hope
you can help me make some decisions.

The guitar is a Tacoma with (per FendComa customer service) UV cured
polyurethane gloss finish. There are cracks in both the finish and the
cedar top. Some have been previously repaired. Most of the finish
checks seem to be related to the cedar cracks, yet they do not follow the
same paths. I’m looking for options. Do I try to repair the top (wood)
cracks first, then tackle the finish? That is, hide glue for the cedar, then
CA for the finish checks?

Would it be a good idea to aim for a less glossy finish on the top? Maybe
sanding down the poly, then buffing it back up, but not to the super high
gloss that makes every blemish and repair stand out so much?

Secondary issue: There are some areas at the bindings and sides with the
finish delamination problem typical of the Tacomas from this time (2000)
The finish is intact, but looks like it has lost its bond to the wood. Do you
think I might be successful running CA through a pin hole in the poly?
Other ideas?

Thanks for any ideas and guidance you can provide.

Neil Fradenburgh

Hi Neil, welcome to the OLF, i'm not an expert on this question so i'll let someone else answer you!

Have a great time here!

Serge

Is it polyurethane or polyester? If it's UV cure, it's probably polyester. I see that you're looking all around on the Internet for an answer, by the way...

Michael Lewis' advice was sound over at Guitar Talk.

Hi Rick. Not exactly "all around the internet" you make me sound so
cheap and tawdry    I carefully selected the two forums where I
consistently see good advice from top-notch professionals, like yourself.

What I thought I heard and wrote down from the Fender rep was
Polyurethane. If it is indeed Polyester, that's certainly a whole nuther
kettle of fish. I have E-mailed Tacoma/Fender to reconfirm. It is a 2000
model.

Mr. Lewis' advice is usually sound, particularly the "can of worms" in this
case. Once you start, where do you stop?

I've considered sending it to Fender for a total refin, but they're too
backed up with warranty refins, they won't even look at it. Two out of
two local luthiers I've checked with won't even touch the finish. If I go far
enough down the list to find a "luthier" who will take it on, do I really
want them working on it? I may have discovered a local finish expert
(through these archives) to help, if he's still around.

I'm in no rush to do anything, except get the moisture content back
where it should be, so I'm investigating all options. Thanks for any and
all ideas.

Neil, there are UV cured polyurethanes on the market, but I haven't heard of guitar makers using them (not that I've heard everything!).   But the standard UV cure guitar finishes are polyester.   

I would fix this with superglue and be done with it. Then cleat the crack on the inside.   Attempting a refin on the top is going to be very expensive if it's to be done right, and there is still no guarantee that it will ever be invisible. A full refin is worth a good $500.00 to $600.00 done by a pro.

BTW, I have a lot of experience doing polyester over polyurethane sealer finishes.   That's what I shoot on about 300 guitars and basses a year here.   We don't UV the stuff; it's just not worth the expense of setting that up for how few guitars we do.   We can rub out in three or four days after top coating, and that's fast enough for me right now.

So, I put on a kettle of fish and opened a can of worms.......now I believe I
have a horse of a different color, but I don't know which one.

Rick's comments led me to do further research and I was begining to
believe that the original finish was probably Polyester. When I called
Fender Customer Service again, they assured me that the Tacomas had a
UV Urethane finish (not Polyurethane) I asked if he was sure it wasn't
polyester and he said no, urethane. I asked if he knew the Manufacturer
and he said no, they use a variety of manufacturers

Anyway, now I know a LOT more about all these finishes than I did when I
originally posted. The first thing I learned is that searching for "UV
Polyester" on the net comes up with a mind-numbing amount of info,
speculation, theory and occasional p...ing match, compaired to "UV
Polyurethane"

Thanks to all who unwittingly participated in my education by virtue of
archived posts here and elsewhere.