The D55 is 2012 and my 512 is 2014. Apparently, Nitro does not "cure", it dries:
Just to corroborate a bunch of comments already made:
I
have heard of this about New Hartfords.
I think Mav was using the term "cure" casually but technically the info you posted is correct, NCL dries by evaporation and continues to "outgas" for its entire life.
I've never heard of anything other than time fixing the problem, just like TMG and Walter say.
I wouldn't try baby powder or anything else for fear of causing
real damage in terms of getting stuck in softened lacquer.
Heed everybody who pointed out that NCL gets drier and harder, and try letting "breathe" like TX said, even though I'm notorious for saying store 'em in a case.
So what I'm hearing is although the guitar is 5 years old, its possible the solvents in the nitro still haven't completely evaporated?
Yes.
If that's the case, I still think my body chemistry / sweat is at least part of the problem...
Yes. The acids in your sweat can break it down and make it feel "sticky".
It happened to the area where my forearm rests on my D25, as I was unaware of the need to wipe down the top after playing. So the fresh wet sweat had a chance to work on the top about once a week after my weekly day in the sun for a couple of years before I noticed it one day, when polishing.
It took about 3 months to "recover" but the area's still not as glossy as the rest of the top any more.
NO we don't hear of this problem on all Guilds but it seems as NCL formulas were being evolved towards less toxicity/environmental friendliness in the early '00's the problem became more common.
And be aware if you do store on a stand to help it dry more quickly (And that
will help) make sure the neck and body aren't retsingon something made of rubber/vinyl because the same solvents used to make thse and keep 'em soft will do worse damage to nitro than your sweaty hands.
I'm trying to understand this thread - why would a manufacturer let the guitar go out for sale if the neck is not totally "dry"?
walrus
I suspect it was just a matter of "going by the numbers" or "following the recipe": you spray a coat, let dry a specified amount of time, repeat for the number of coats to be applied, and at the end it's supposed to be good to go.
Except, just like baking, sometimes it doesn't go quite right.
At least with baking you can tell when your bread didn't rise properly.