estebanana -> RE: waxing guitar (Sep. 7 2013 4:22:46)
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quote:
Natural resin varnishes all also age, dry, and crack eventually, so periodically treating the guitar with carnauba wax or lemon oil will also help to slow this processs and preserve these finishes longer. Treating resin and oil varnish with wax or oil won't change it if is going to crack. If the varnish is formulated correctly it won't crack, or will be self healing if it does. However we usually don't use resin based varnishes on guitars. Even if we did, once the resin and oil polymerize into a film the only thing that will disturb or change it is a harsh stripper or a solvent. quote:
Newer synthetic resin varnishes are less prone to this deterioration because the newer synthetic complex polymers are far more durable than traditional natural resin varnishes/shellac. *****So while newer poly finishes may not benefit as much from feeding the surface, they will also keep the guitar looking like it has been dipped in plastic forever.***** Modern alkyd resin varnishes are tougher, but probably not more long lived than natural resin oil varnishes. Modern resin varnishes have many components fillers driers, which older varnishes don't have. All the chemicals in modern finishes means there are more parts to break down over time. Polyurethane finishes and resin finishes are not the same thing;poly finishes have a plastic component that depends on a chemical lipid to keep the finish supple. Eventually, just like the plastic dash board on a car dries up a cracks, so will poly finish. it might take 50 years, but it will dry a crust off. Even though a poly finish depends on the chemical lipid substance, that substance can't be replaced in the finish if it dries out. The plastic on a car dash board can be 'fed' to a certain extent to prolong its life, but a poly finish on a table top or a guitar does not accept the same feeding procedure. The reason people think this is true is because the chemical companies that make waxes and treatments want to sell you product so they create these feeding scenarios to get you to buy waxes. It began in the 1950's and people still think it's true. Waxes do work for car finishes, which are vastly different from guitar finishes, and they wax does not feed the paint or coatings on a car, it puts protective film over them to shield the coatings from dirt, air and sun. The whole notion of feeding guitar finishes and fingerboards or thinking they need to be fed with waxes is something that does not have to be done. As I've said and other guitar makers, wipe your axe dry after you play. that is the best thing you can do for it on daily basis. The finish does not need feeding, it needs to be patted dry. That is why I posted the experimental film Kustom Kar Kommandos by Kenneth Anger, circa 1966- it shows guys fetishizing cars, acting like Marlon Brando....The chemical companies have been selling wax since the 1950's because guys like to rub things silly.
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