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Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
are these scratches bad?
so this is my first french polished guitar. there are scratches outside of the protected golpeador area. most of them are superficial and hard to see but i just noticed some of these deeper ones.
is there any danger of leaving them the way it is? do i have to get them filled in?
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RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
Hey Antonio, welcome to the delicate Navarro club, I already have a series of those exact same marks on my Navarro!!....they're marks from your nails touching the finish. I don't think its gonna affect the guitar, just the 'new' look is officially gone now! :) I like the idea of the Zorro marks!!..maybe I should practice for that as well... Maybe we should start a thread in a year from now to see who has the most beat up Navarro! :) or better yet, let's make it a challenge...haha
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
Anthony,
I have never owned a French-polished flamenco guitar, but my understanding is they take a long time for the French polish to "set." Until it sets, it is quite delicate and easily scratched, and even after the finish sets, it will always be more delicate than the more conventionally finished guitars. I would be very careful to prevent further scratching. The markings already left on your guitar may be OK, but if you end up with a lot of them it may start to look like an old "beater" guitar, and I'm sure you don't want that.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
haha, so i guess im just a bit paranoid. so are you guys sure those scratches wont widen and collect moisture and grow small bacterial colonies that will evolve to complex creatures that will try to kill me?
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but i can safely say "they are not good" :P
can we say they're mediocre, then?
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Hey Antonio, welcome to the delicate Navarro club, I already have a series of those exact same marks on my Navarro!!
ah flamenco stigmata!
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Those scratches are terminal. You probably have two maybe three weeks to live.
do i at least get a dying wish?
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You must have gotten loose! and thats a good thing
i've discovered the stress relieving aspects of playing flamenco!
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The scratches affect the value of the guitar. Besides that they tell you that your right hand is pretty much out of control.
i hope the next owner of this guitar will like scratches. what are the signs that my left hand and my head are also out of control?
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external top tuning eh?
maybe this is what the breaking in effect is all about?
Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to BarkellWH)
quote:
The markings already left on your guitar may be OK, but if you end up with a lot of them it may start to look like an old "beater" guitar, and I'm sure you don't want that.
the rest of the guitar is in pristine condition. no accidentally walking into radiator or jumping out of cars dents. but the top, where the golpeadors end have scratches from playing.
so are these scratches common? am i doing something weird or are others just a lot more careful than i am?
quote:
Reasonable care, yes...but being all prissy over it and handling it like it was a container of Nitro.....that's for the Classical bunch IMO.
those wimps. j/k yeah, i always avoid accidental bumps and dents but i imagine trying to control myself while playing would be kind of annoying
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
Hmm.. how do you make those long scratches? Are your fingers sliding down after rasgueados? Shellac is usually not that delicate. It almost looks like it had an allergic reaction in the first 2 pictures. There's some new stuff from Australia called "Hard Shellac" that I'm offering now.. it acts just like regular shellac for French polishing but it contains some cross-linking polymers or something that make it really harden up after a coupe of weeks. I wouldn't worry too much about these scratches, but maybe it's a little reminder to refine your technique a bit. Those can be repaired pretty easily if you're going to sell the guitar or something.
Posts: 1956
Joined: Dec. 2 2006
From: Budapest, now in Southampton
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
you must play rumbas all the time :D
i have two similar marks below the bridge on my guitar, due to string breaks...one of those marks is quite deep but it's been there for years and it's stayed exactly the same...i don't think you have anything to worry about... just stay clear of rumbas
Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
i'm thinking you got your scratches by the bridge by doing the updown stroke with the whole hand... u know where u turn your hand so it's slightly perpendicular to the strings.. or you do that big down stroke with your hand and your elbow.. that's the only way I think u can hit that area of the guitar.. nice work bro =)
I think parts of finish that are worn out looks good on a guitar =) nice job!
RE: are these scratches bad? (in reply to at_leo_87)
quote:
actually, it's your fault because you told me to beat the **** out of my guitar in order to break it in faster.
i will name the longest scratch after you in your honor.
Oh,... Im honored. Thank you leo! If we ever meet i´ll sign it. hehe Hm.. yes, slapping the **** out of it makes it usually better but be careful.. haha
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Are your fingers sliding down after rasgueados? 
Thank you leo! If we ever meet i´ll sign it. hehe 
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