cloudy lacquer

[steve-bbb]

good afternoon basschatters

any clues as to how to best deal with blooming (if that is the correct term) lacquer?



its an old early/mid 70s Fender F-15 acoustic and curiously the headstock is the only place suffering from this

ta muchly

edit- scuse photo lackage am grappling with the re-arranged dropbox

Edited December 20, 2015 by steve-bbb

[HowieBass]

Sounds like it's got moisture in it if it really is blooming. There are a few ways to resolve this issue:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fix-milky-finish-wood-47528.html

[steve-bbb]

sorry without the pic the best way to describe is the lacquer has gone patchy and cloudy

not sure how as it has been kept in dry cupboard in spare bedroom for long time

im guessing is a nitro finish (?) as i'm not aware of many polyurethane finishes back in mid 70s

thanks for link will have a look

Edited December 20, 2015 by steve-bbb

[Lo-E]

Fender switched to poly sometime during 1969.
They did, however, overspray the headstock decals with nitro for quite a dew years after that. If memory serves maybe 1976 or 77, but I wouldn't swear to either of those.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='Lo-E' timestamp='1450625532' post='2934402']
Fender switched to poly sometime during 1969.
They did, however, overspray the headstock decals with nitro for quite a dew years after that. If memory serves maybe 1976 or 77, but I wouldn't swear to either of those.
[/quote]

Thanks that is about the year of this one am guessing it could be poly then as I did often wonder that it was a bit soft for nitro , but as you say the headstock does appear glossier than the rest so maybe this explains

Edited December 20, 2015 by steve-bbb

[Manton Customs]

Nitro is actually softer than the Poly you'll find on guitars. Lo-E is right, if it's 70s it won't be Nitro unless it has been refinished, but they continued to spray the headstock face with Nitro as compatibility issues were expected between the decal and Poly.

If you could get the picture to show up we may be able to tell more. If this happens (bloom) during finishing the way of fixing it is to either spray lacquer thinner, or simply a new coat of Nitro. So the issue with the lacquer is anything like this the fix may need to be the same (more lacquer). Though if it's just on the surface you may be able to simply buff it out.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Manton Customs

[Grangur]

I know a guy who's been working as a french polisher on furniture for years. He fixes bloom on furniture by pouring on a flammable liquid and setting light to it. The heat bakes the damp out of the lacquer.

Not sure that I'd like to do that without knowing more but a pro french polisher might be a good place to start.

[BrunoBass]

Is it unusual for bloom to appear after a long time? I have a Yamaha acoustic that I bought new in 1993. For the first twenty five years of it’s life the finish was perfect, but in the last couple of years very obvious blooming has occurred. Surely after a quarter of a century any moisture in the wood would’ve manifested itself sooner? It’s not a big deal as it’s only on the (nato / mahogany) back and sides. Incidentally the guitar spends most of it’s life out of it’s case on a stand, but not in direct sunlight and away from heat sources. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by BrunoBass

[Manton Customs]

If it's poly it's possible the finish is de-laminating and moisture is getting under the area the finish is not adhered properly to.

If it's Nitro or Shellac, yes cloudiness can appear later on, but it usually looks a bit different to bloom when spraying. It can be caused by the finish itself absorbing moisture (not the wood) as Nitro never cures like Poly does. Cloudiness could also be caused by Silicone or Alcohol damage if you've been cleaning the guitar with anything.