Clearcoat Id?

[mikhailgtrski]

Hey guys,

My son has an Epiphone acoustic, MIJ, model NV-6S (or something like that). We're pretty sure it's from around 1977 - 1979. Anyway, we might want to do some touch up repairs or refinish it at some point. Is there a way to identify the finish? The clearcoat on the spruce top looks fairly thin - you can see the grain ripples, and it has a bit of that aged nitro amber color to it. Beyond that, I can't really say what it is, and I don't know when Epiphone might have switched from nitro to poly.

Thanks for your help

Mike

[Southpa]

Both nitro lacquer and poly will yellow with age. Acrylic lacquer will not. Lacquer forms a chemical bond with itself, that is, it reacts and fuses with underlying layers of lacquer. Poly forms a mechanical bond. The layers must be scuffed prior to the next application, in essence, it forms separate sheets.

Now to your question, a little bit of nail polish remover in an inconspicuous spot should soften lacquer. It will very likely do the same with poly but not as readily. So you will have to judge for yourself on how quickly the reaction takes place.

Edited March 16, 2006 by Southpa

[mikhailgtrski]

Thanks, Southpa. (Is it raining up there too? )

Something else - this one appears to have rosewood sides (pretty obvious from looking inside) but it has a rosewood veneer on the outside. Did they use veneer because it's easier to finish and/or to cover a lesser quality rosewood core? (We discovered the veneer by accident - it pulled up a little while drilling for an endpin jack.)

Might it be possible/desirable to remove the veneer and refinish the underlying rosewood? It might be tough to try to refinish the veneer without damaging it. Just a thought.

edit: a little research makes me think this is a Nova series Epi... solid spruce top, laminated rosewood sides.

Edited March 16, 2006 by mikhailgtrski

[derek.]

Hey dad, I'm pretty sure it's a '76.

PS: Figured I should get on this thing and see what all the hype is about Just watch out for mom getting an account and sabotaging your each and every post!

[mikhailgtrski]

[Mattia]

Laminates make production relatively easy, and it's cheaper than selecting top shelf solid rosewood for low-end models. Don't sand off the veneers, you don't know what's underneath, and it's likely to do more harm than good.

[mikhailgtrski]

Funny, it's just like this one, same model number, except it's got the regular Epiphone headstock logo along with the Gibson diamond... everything else is identical, even the funky inlay shapes.

Gibson "Nouveau" acoustic

Really nice guitar, sounds awesome. Definitely not low-end... probably a mid-range model.