New D-40 - finish getting glossy already?

benjams · Jul 16, 2020

Hi all! New to this board and new to Guild - I've just bought a new D-40 about 3 weeks ago and I am really loving it.
I've caught one thing that I'm a little unsure about - the satin finish is already beginning to get noticeably glossier in a few places of heavy contact. These include the back of the neck, part of the top where my strumming arm rests while playing, and part of the back where the guitar leans against my body. I'm aware that nitro satin finishes are expected to get glossy with use, but 2-3 weeks seems very soon for it to be noticeable. Might this indicate a flaw in the finish, or does it sound expected?
Thanks!

GGJaguar · Jul 16, 2020

Welcome to LTG! Congrats on your new D-40 (we love photos of guitars). I don't have a satin finish Guild, but my satin finish Martin D-15SM did the same thing so I'd say it's normal and nothing to worry about. They are "character" marks and show you love to play that guitar.

gjmalcyon · Jul 16, 2020

My Craigslist-sourced D6 has the same wear pattern: Overall satin finish, worn glossy on the back of the neck, the top of the lower bout where my arm rests, and on the bottom between the upper and lower bout where it sits on my leg.

F312 · Jul 16, 2020

Put a sleeve on your arm, and clean your hands before you play may help. I have no suggestion's on how to remove it once it's there.

Ralph

gjmalcyon · Jul 16, 2020

And welcome! Stick around - nice bunch of folks here.

You can actually buff a satin finish to a gloss - here's an earlier thread about doing that:

Polished the top

Polished the top on my M20 burst...

letstalkguild.com

GGJaguar · Jul 16, 2020

gjmalcyon said:
You can actually buff a satin finish to a gloss - here's an earlier thread about doing that:

Actually, I did that to my Martin. It doesn't buff to a high gloss, but rather, a semi-gloss which is still very pleasing to the eye. The reason I buffed it wasn't because of the player wear on the neck and top, but because the satin finish against my shirt or sweater made a "swishing" sound that drove me crazy. Even worse, when playing through a mic into a PA it was audible to the audience! Now that it's buffed out, no more swishing noises.

davismanLV · Jul 16, 2020

So fabric on satin finish equals swishing!! Wow, I never knew that. That'd bum you out coming over the PA!!

dreadnut · Jul 16, 2020

Virtuoso cleaner and polish.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjzooCm0tLqAhVJbs0KHTMAAioQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvirtuosopolish.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw0dlgPK0CRUTaKCDn0_mfWq

F312 · Jul 16, 2020

davismanLV said:
So fabric on satin finish equals swishing!! Wow, I never knew that. That'd bum you out coming over the PA!!

Yes, you must check it out at a music shop, (after things get back to normal). I never liked it until I bought one, now it's a matter of trying to keep it that way.

Ralph

davismanLV · Jul 16, 2020

You can always super lightly go over the shiny areas with 0000 steel wool or some SUPER fine sandpaper like 1500 or something to bring back the satin to match the original finish. But every time you do that you're taking a tiny bit of finish off so eventually if you did it a lot you'd go through to wood, which would be bad. It's a battle lots of people have regardless of finish. Some of our gloss finishes become opaque or get dull as well, but I've had three necks that are satin and so far they're staying fairly satiny. Now THIS is something to contact Oxnard about and see what they would recommend to restore the original finish look. It would be interesting to see what they say.......

dreadnut · Jul 16, 2020

Seems awfully quick for the finish to be going south.

F312 · Jul 17, 2020

davismanLV said:
You can always super lightly go over the shiny areas with 0000 steel wool or some SUPER fine sandpaper like 1500 or something to bring back the satin to match the original finish. But every time you do that you're taking a tiny bit of finish off so eventually if you did it a lot you'd go through to wood, which would be bad. It's a battle lots of people have regardless of finish. Some of our gloss finishes become opaque or get dull as well, but I've had three necks that are satin and so far they're staying fairly satiny. Now THIS is something to contact Oxnard about and see what they would recommend to restore the original finish look. It would be interesting to see what they say.......

Or what they don't say. I don't know if it's right, but I used just a little bit of Bar Keepers Friend (very little) on one of my satin necks, and seemed to work fairly well. I'm talking very little. I don't know if that would be bad as 0000 steel wool, but I have to do something to slide up and down the neck.

Ralph

gjmalcyon · Jul 17, 2020

This is my D6 - I bought it used so I don't know how much playing time is on it, but you can see the areas where the satin finish is worn shiny:

benjams · Jul 19, 2020

Thanks for the responses y'all!
I ended up sending photos to Guild, and they don't think there's a problem with the finish. They added that while 3 weeks is surprisingly soon for it to start turning glossy, it's not unheard of given how thin the finish is, the current New York heat, and the fact that I've been quarantined at home playing it all day

I'm happy to hear it, I'm really loving how this guitar sounds and plays.

Here's a photo:

davismanLV · Jul 19, 2020

Hey ben, I clicked on your photo to see it full sized and the silking on your top is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! What a nice piece of spruce that is on top of your D-40!! I encourage everyone to make it full-sized and enjoy the beauty of the spruce!! Glad you're loving your new Guild!!

Could you post a photo of the back as well?

Tom O · Jul 19, 2020

My 2002 Corona D-40 has a gloss finish. I can see my reflection in it. If I wanted a satin finish I would have bought a Talyor. I am old school, when i started playing in the 60s most guitars had gloss finishes. Enjoy your D-40.

benjams · Jul 20, 2020

davismanLV said:
Hey ben, I clicked on your photo to see it full sized and the silking on your top is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! What a nice piece of spruce that is on top of your D-40!! I encourage everyone to make it full-sized and enjoy the beauty of the spruce!! Glad you're loving your new Guild!! Could you post a photo of the back as well?

Thank you!! I agree - and I actually quite like the satin finish, I think it makes the guitar really pretty in an understated way.

Here's the back:

davismanLV · Jul 20, 2020

Wow, that's so beautiful!! Only one satin finished guitar here in the house and it's Don's Avalon which is basically a Lowdon made in the year after they outsted George from the factory in Ireland. It's a hand rubbed satin finish and it's beautiful. I play it occasionally and it's a super nice guitar but it doesn't get a whole lot of play time. So when i look at it, it's still nice and satiney. But eventually that will change. Obviously I need to play it more, huh?

New D-40 - finish getting glossy already?

benjams

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