Dix Posted April 14, 2004 Report Share Posted April 14, 2004 OK... what I know about guitar finishes could fit on the head of a pin & still leave room for lint... so I figured if a found a place where there are experts.... I recently became the proud owner of a 2002 Les Paul Custom. The Arctic White finish is still WHITE. I'd like to keep it that way. I notice that all the older white Les Pauls & Explorers I've seen have "yellowed" somewhat (or a LOT). Is there a way to prevent the yellowing of the original white finish? or is it inevitable? Thanks, - Dix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 don't smoke around it,don't put in in the sunlight,and don't let alex relic it but it will still eventually yellow i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 The older guitars were likely finished with nitrocellulose laquer which was celluloid based. Those old finishes had bad color retention and were very susceptible to UV rays and checking. Later on the company(s) switched over to acrylic based laquer, more UV resistant and better elastic properties than nitro so less yellowing and no checking. Lots of good info here: http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fenderc.html The site revolves around vintage Fender guitars but, regardless, there is some VERY accurate info about paint used on guitars in general. They say if the guitar has a nitro clearcoat it will yellow somewhat regardless of whether or not it sees the sun or is exposed to smoke. Nitro yellows over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dix Posted April 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Excellent link & VERY helpful... thanks a lot. I spent quite a bit of time reading up there (found a "gibson finishes" page too. What was interesting were pics of older white guitars that weren't yellowed - because they weren't clear-coated. Also maybe the newer finishes may not yellow like the older ones I'm assuming from what I've read. Guess I'll have to just take a "keep it clean & polished & wait & see" approach. I can always get it refinished years down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted April 15, 2004 Report Share Posted April 15, 2004 Yeah, its a great source of info. The most fascinating aspect is the fact that all the early guitar colors used the exact same Dupont paint codes as GM cars of the same era. BTW, welcome to the board Dix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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