Anyone Aging Their Heritage

[hotfordcoupe]

I've seen that LP somewhere before. Was that the one someone was selling on eBay that got hit by lightning?

[golferwave]

Maybe a tad too much.

 

Looks as though someone tried to do the Jimi Hendrix lighter fluid thing.

[GuitArtMan]

[602a]

Yea that's the famous "Lighting Strike Guitar" over easy.

[Guest HRB853370]

I'm thinking about doing some checking on my 150. Anyone ever have one aged? If so how did it turn out?

 

I check on my 150's all the time. In fact, I check on ALL my Heritages all the time. In all seriousness, you must have lost your mind. But if you ARE serious, I would take it to the coldest temperature you can find, for several hours (preferably below freezing) then abruptly stick in a very hot environment. Your guitar will check very well. Now come back to reality!

[Millennium Maestro]

Frank your the man... I dont have the balls to relic any of my heritages, I have this really cool 2000 150 aging well in mellow yellow and I have debated internally about adding more checking (she got some natural) I just never make the full monte commitment.

 

I will say this.... If it works out well, you may have something really special.

 

I say go for it! Besides your a Firefighter/Hero you could do no wrong! ps.Hows the eyeball??

[JeffB]

Im in the process of relicing all our white goods. Im going to start on the flat screen when Ive done them. Maybe move on to the plumbing and bathroom after Ive finished the TV.

 

Yes thats absurd. Why is not to relic a guitar?

[602a]

Eyeball is about the same no worse no better. Thanks my friend. No not a hero, just a public employee. Thanks Slammer I live in South Louisiana(Yea LSU) who sucks right now, But I'm not a firm believer in freezing the wood solid. I use the old fashion way. CO2 extinguisher then heat gun. Works great and won't crack wood grain.

[602a]

I love this debate, always seems to get the mixed reactions no matter what forum this is discussed on. Some like it, some think it's like destroying a living thing. It's a piece of wood with paint and metal attached. I'm not a big fan of changing the color of a guitar but some people love to do that. If I could have found a VSB really worn I would have bought it but I've yet to find one. I love the post that say's I wouldn't make my wife or girl friend look older, no but I bet when you're 70 you would turn back the clock to make her look 20. Either way it's a fun topic to hear response's.

[FredZepp]

I have a tendency to really like older instruments, so a well done relic is quite cool. It's about how good it looks and more important , how it feels.

 

I get the feeling that Heritages may not be easy to relic, because many of the old ones are still in amazing condition... something the folks at the plant are no doubt proud of.

 

My 1989 H-140 is near mint .. and it gets played, yet looks fantastic.

 

If you take on the project , take pics and keep us in the loop. Just to document the difficulty and results.

[Gitfiddler]

I love this debate, always seems to get the mixed reactions no matter what forum this is discussed on. Some like it, some think it's like destroying a living thing. It's a piece of wood with paint and metal attached. I'm not a big fan of changing the color of a guitar but some people love to do that. If I could have found a VSB really worn I would have bought it but I've yet to find one. I love the post that say's I wouldn't make my wife or girl friend look older, no but I bet when you're 70 you would turn back the clock to make her look 20. Either way it's a fun topic to hear response's.

 

Well said, 602a.

 

It has always made me scratch my head when reading how excited my friends over at the Les Paul Forum get when the topic paying high prices to relic their already expensive Custom Shop instruments.

 

Maybe it's because as a kid, my first electric guitar was a naturally aged relic of a Harmony Stratotone. After using that p.o.s. for many years, not being able to afford anything better, I vowed to NEVER have another beat to hell guitar.

 

If a relic'd instrument makes folks happy, I say go for it! After all, isn't that the real reason we play and collect these cool gitfiddles?

[H]

I will pitch in and agree with Gitfiddler. If it's reliced *your* way then it will make you happy.

 

The relicing I don't like is the type where every mark, rub, scratch and dent is in the same place as 100 of the same model, like the cheap end of Fender relics. Make it your own, even if you have to swing it round your head in a small room.

[Millennium Maestro]

Judging from everyones reactions I will say one thing...

 

It can always be refinished and made to look brand new.... some do this just because they dont like a color!

 

Go for it and send me pics after.

[hotfordcoupe]

My only concern was that by relicing a guitar, it might hurt it in some unintended way. If that's not happening, then by all means do what makes you happy. I have no problem with that.

[kidsmoke]

couldn't the extreme/rapid temperature variation affect the glued joints? Most importantly heel and maybe even the top? Different woods of different densities will expand and contract at different rates, and possibly some initially minor separation could commence?

 

I completely understand the desire for vintage appearance, but that's a risk I personally wouldn't take. What about the route Yoslate took?

http://www.heritageownersclub.com/forums/topic/18278-mea-culpa/page__p__239298__hl__+bill%20+nash__fromsearch__1?do=findComment&comment=239298

[Trouble]

Eyeball is about the same no worse no better. Thanks my friend. No not a hero, just a public employee. Thanks Slammer I live in South Louisiana(Yea LSU) who sucks right now, But I'm not a firm believer in freezing the wood solid. I use the old fashion way. CO2 extinguisher then heat gun. Works great and won't crack wood grain.

 

I'm in LA. too, about 20 miles north of Alexandria. Is there a Heritage dealer around you? None up here.

 

I like the look of an old guitar, with checking and wear, I like the like of a new guitar. I don't have the nerve to try relic'ing my own guitar but no matter how hard I try mine seems to get some abuse from playing in smokey bars, being banged into mike stands, beer spills etc. I guess I'm going to get there whether I want to or not.

[602a]

Not in BR. I don't think there is one in the state anymore. Yea bars and smoke will do it, ask Brent about his 4 pack a day aging process he bought. He's alot better man than I am as that is one smell that kills me as a x-smoker going on 20 years. I have a trade offer on this guitar but if she stays she's gonna get some light aging.

[FredZepp]

There is an amazing amount of posts on the net on the subject of relicing guitars and nitro checking. Many have had problems getting it to check even after freezing and heat.

Some have had checking that just disappeared as the nitro fixed itself. I read of someone who used a bit of stain while the nitro was checked , so as to make the checking more visible..

 

Here is one technique..

 

Relicing (or antiquing, distressing, aging...) is an art form and it's all about subtlety. Remember that you can always relic a guitar more, but you can't go back and relic it less! If you're like me, you get into a project and have a tendency to over do it. Don't.

 

The last step is weather checking in the clear coat finish, where there are little lines like spider veins running along the finish. What causes this on original vintage instruments is the way the body wood contracts and expands over time. Being stored in differing climates over the years affects the wood; whether in a car, closet, studio, girlfriend's apartment, or whatever. To relic the guitar, we simply speed up that process so it happens in a matter of minutes. As with the other steps, be SUBTLE. The first few guitars I did were so checked they looked like puzzle pieces glued into the shape of a guitar!

 

Anyway, start by holding a hair dryer about an inch away from the surface of the body and moving it back and forth so that you're heating up about half the surface area on one side. After the surface is good and hot (maybe 3-4 minutes), hold your can of compressed air upside down and generously spray frosty liquid over the area you heated up. You will probably hear some light popping and cracking. The wood was expanded by the heat of the hair dryer, and the frost from the compressed air rapidly cools it down and makes it contract. The finish doesn't expand and contract as quickly as the wood, which causes the weather checking. After the frost I run the hair dryer over the same area again, which of course expands the wood again and increases the checking effect.

 

Now repeat this process on all parts of the body where you want the weather checking. It's probably more realistic to have it here and there as opposed to covering the entire surface of the guitar body. As soon as you've gotten it how you like it, polish the entire body's surface with a clean, dry cotton rag and some polish. This is because the frost liquid will leave a slight residue that resembles hard water spots you might get on your car if you washed it and let it air dry. For polish I use 3M Finesse It II, which was originally designed for cars.

 

 

Henry J talks about nitro..

We use a real nitrocellulose finish. There are various additives added primarily to insure a better production process. For example without additives the finish could be tacky for many days. Additives were always part of a finish formulation.

 

........a true nitro never cures because it is not a plastic finish where the molecules cross link. Nitro (like glass) is actually always a fluid, and what happens is the solvents and additives vent off leaving the "solids". Many repair people love nitro because you can repair finish damage by simply spraying more finish and buffing. The heat in the buffing process reflows the old finish and blends it with the newly applied finish. Properly done, you cannot see the repair.

 

Nitrocellulose never catalyzes, and therefore is never rock hard. A true nitro finish is always in a fluid state which allows it to re-flow when buffed. If you have a rock hard finish like glass, then either your observation is not accurate or the finish is not a true nitrocellulose finish.

 

Nitrocellulose can be removed like in a layer, but that has more to do with the surface adhesion (i.e. stickiness of the surface to surface interface) than the composition of the emulsified solids in a nitro finish. If the surface to surface adhesion is very strong, it is stronger than the adhesion between the solids which constitute the finish. The finish will rip or crack when sufficient force is applied. If the surface adhesion is less than the adhesion between the solids, then the finish can come off like a sheet.

 

There are many things that affect the surface adhesion. The filler, the stain being applied, the composition of an undercoat, the degree of roughness of the surface of the wood, etc. The environment the instrument is in also impacts this. If there is a lot of humidity in the air, the temperature is hot, the surface was exposed to temperature swings there will be an impact on the surface to surface adhesion as well as the adhesive force between the solids particles.

 

The nitro finish is always in a fluid state and therefore if you could peal it it would feel more gel like than hard glass. It is a very thin finish (thousands of an inch)and the apparent structural rigidity is the rigidity of the wood and not the finish. If the coat is thicker which is possible in colors that require multiple applications, the nature of the finish will be more evident.

 

 

 

http://www.pbase.com/jroy/relicdemo a link to some relicing techniques from Fender Custom Shop.

[kidsmoke]

602a....that is a gorgeous guitar. good luck

[DavesNotHere]

Just my two cents.

Here is my '88 162

 

Here is the natural checking on my 162

 

Here is my '86 VIP

Here is the natural checking on myVIP

 

My None More Black Parsons Street has checking that I can't capture with a camera and the '88 162 has more body checking that I can't quite capture with a camera. None of my other Heritages have even a hint of checking.

 

I really don't have anything to add to the discussion, it's really just an excuse to post some pics.

[FredZepp]

Cool pics of Heritage checking there, Dave.. I didn't see it in the other pics