Varicous checking??

[beecee]

Interesting look of the top on this D50. @ GC.

Wonder what caused the discoloration of the crazing...and saddle?

And pardon the misspelled vaicose. I got up a 1 today...ugh gonna be a long day.

 

[SFIV1967]

Exposure to cold weather and later using of a guitar polish that contained silicone, so the silicone got into the cracked lacquer and discolored the wood below.
The brown saddle was "normal" for some years, the nut would look the same brown on that guitar I bet. I'm also not sure what exactly discolored the nut and saddle during those years.

Here is the nut of a 80ies Nightbird as example:



Ralf

 

[geoguy]

Micarta saddles & nuts can turn that color over time.

 

[adorshki]

Wonder if that's @Westerly Wood 's old D50, his had tone flames too.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Mine was way worse. Mine makes that top look pristine.

 

[adorshki]

Mine was way worse. Mine makes that top look pristine.

So this one's just a Tone Flames Junior?

 

[davismanLV]

What Ralf said!! Once the finish checks or cracks like this, you have to be SUPER careful what products you put on it. Best to use nothing at all. A damp soft cotton cloth then a dry one immediately after. "Stuff" you use gets down the cracks into the wood and then you have this problem.

 

[Westerly Wood]

So this one's just a Tone Flames Junior?

Honestly Al, that D50 is pretty pristine.

 

[Heath]

Am I the only one that thinks it looks kind of cool?

 

[fronobulax]

Am I the only one that thinks it looks kind of cool?

I like it too and was mentally composing ad copy to describe it as a virtue.

 

[mushroom]

A potential custom finish option?

 

[bobouz]

Makes it look more like a product of the ‘60s - note the loose binding.

 

[adorshki]

Am I the only one that thinks it looks kind of cool?

Not at all, I like it too. A beach guitar for sure, with sealed tuners. (Which I'd put on if it didn't already have 'em, don't know)

 

[kostask]

Exposure to cold weather and later using of a guitar polish that contained silicon, so the silicon got into the cracked lacquer and discolored the wood below.
The brown saddle was "normal" for some years, the nut would look the same brown on that guitar I bet. I'm also not sure what exactly discolored the nut and saddle during those years.

Here is the nut of a 80ies Nightbird as example:



Ralf

The liquid that causes the problems is silicone (as in lubricants and sometimes used by women in various locations), not silicon (basically, melted beach sand, and used to make things like ICs).

Silicones (and as a personal preference, petroleum distillates) should never be used on a guitar. Even without cracked finishes, they can make finish repairs and glue ups impossible, because once a silicone gets onto a surface, it pretty much doesn't come off. If the finish is cracked, it can emphasize the crack appearance, and in some cases has been known to creep between the wood surface and the finish, and actually lift the finish away from the wood.

 

[sailingshoes72]

Always great “care and handling” advice here on LTG!

 

[SFIV1967]

A potential custom finish option?

The Fender custom shop tries this all the time to make them "relic"!

silicone not silicon

Ha, ha, yes that is my German...I edited it.

Ralf

 

[beecee]

Yeah silicone has its place but I've been wary of it since buying a used rotomold sea kayak that someone used silcone caulk to reattach a bulkhead.

Oh...and have fun painting over it after you've used it to seal joints on your homes exterior

Neither the bulkhead or paint stayed in place....and you can't remove the residue.