Fender super thin poly finish?

[C-Martin]

So i was under the impression that since fender started using poly years ago they would put thick layers of bullet proof poly finish on their guitars. I've seen cases where it was betwen 1/32 and 1/16 inch thick :eyecrazy:...

What im getting at is recently with alot of modifying done to my strat and all that there have been a few added dings and stuff and since i had to plug old holes and stuff some very little drops of glue and puttey had escaped my and the lutheirs eye so i decided to rub it off with some 0000 steel wool and polish it with some liquid pomice and cream polish by hand.. Ive done this a couple of times in the past (minus the steel wool) and it polished up really nice but i just noticed the poly finish is really super thin.. so much so that i can see a tiny place near the arm rest carve where if i insisted i wouldve gone trough the finish into bare wood.. theres a tiny area showing the wood under neath which i suspect is because i insisted a bit more polishing that area.. also i inspected the few dings where the laquer had chipped off and the finish looks barely the thickness of a few paper sheets.. i would say the finish is probably 0.006-0.008" thick at the most. i mean its 0000 wool.. i hardly imagine its enough to remove "that" much material..

Did someone at fender when overkill on the polishing? or maybe this isnt poly and its nitro? im pretty sure its not nitro as it stil seems like bullet proof poly finish tome, just super thin.. Or did fender at one time do super thin poly finishes before going crazy and puting mass amount of poly on their guitars

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

A thinner finish, in general, will let the wood's natural tone shine through better. Thicker finish deadens tone. I think the trend lately has been to use better manufacturing techniques to thin the finish out and still leave enough to polish and be semi-durable. The first highway ones went too far and were too prone to paint chipping. I would suggest guitar polish and a LOT of elbow grease before I would take steel wool to any guitar finish. Its too easy to sand through.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

In 2008 Fender started using thinner poly finishes on their guitars. Before then they were thicker.

 

[C-Martin]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

Ive had this guitar over 10 years, i didnt know fender starting using thinner poly finishes recently but this dont realy apply to my guitar particularly. Btw this is by no means a complaint i find it rather cool that the finish is so thin i was just under the impression that fender used thick bullet proof layers of poly.. and theres no way your gonna remove epoxy with just elbow grease and polishing compound unless you rub for days lol its not like isanded the entire body i was just trying to remove a few spots where there was crap stuck and then polish it to remove any scratches done by the wool.. its not like i care if my guitar is shiny anyhow, i don't like shiny brand newish guitars.. only reason i polish is to clean and remove dirt and grime once all that is gone if the guitar isnt mirror shiny i wont bother polishing more for it. Guitar is too banged up anyhow for it lol

I do agree however that for anyone else that cares for shiny guitar then i would not recommend steel wool unless really necessary.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

I gotcha. Well, some people's perception of "super thick" can be a lot different than what you and I may think. My '94 American Standard has what I think is not an overly thick finish on it. Also, some places on the body will naturally have a thinner finish than the front face or back from the spray pattern. This usually rounded areas, like where you were working and around the edges.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

The bulletproof stuff is on the cheaper guitars. The poly as applied to American Standards and better seems to have been reasonably thin at least since around 1997 or whereabouts.

 

[j9fd3s]

Re: Fender super thin poly finish?

i looked at mine, and i don't have an even spread of years BUT

the black (99 am std) and white (2007 mim) are the thinnest, finish looks about as thick as you'd expect

the wine red (2000), and sunburst (1997 am std) have the thick 1/8" finish

so it seems the color matters too? and again, not a very good sample