Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

[astrozombie]

I put some antibiotic ointment on a cut i had on my wrist. I didn't realize that it wasn't dry yet and went on to handle my Les Paul. It seems that some of the ointment got on the back of the neck of the guitar. In the blink of an eye I was cleaning the back of the neck with a damp rag, rubbing furiously with both the damp cloth at first and a polishing cloth later. The rough spot will not come out.

As you can imagine I'm a little heartbroken (haha) as it's the first real blemish on my guitar. Is there anything that I can do to get this rough spot out? Refinishing the neck is out of the question.

I saw everything from Meguiar's 7 to rubbing and polishing compound when I searched for Nitro Damage on Google.

Any experience with this? the finish just looks a little dull and is noticeably duller, it almost looks like the untouched finish right next to it is just a tad thicker than this spot now. What can I do?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I understand why people like nitro but its ****. Its not a product that is made to last.

You could try cutting and polishing it out.

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I put some antibiotic ointment on a cut i had on my wrist. I didn't realize that it wasn't dry yet and went on to handle my Les Paul. It seems that some of the ointment got on the back of the neck of the guitar. In the blink of an eye I was cleaning the back of the neck with a damp rag, rubbing furiously with both the damp cloth at first and a polishing cloth later. The rough spot will not come out.

As you can imagine I'm a little heartbroken (haha) as it's the first real blemish on my guitar. Is there anything that I can do to get this rough spot out? Refinishing the neck is out of the question.

I saw everything from Meguiar's 7 to rubbing and polishing compound when I searched for Nitro Damage on Google.

Any experience with this? the finish just looks a little dull and is noticeably duller, it almost looks like the untouched finish right next to it is just a tad thicker than this spot now. What can I do?

So the ointment damaged the top? Or it just won't come off?

In the case of the second, use a small amount of dish soap and a damp cloth and it should come right off. If not, then sorry man.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

So the ointment damaged the top? Or it just won't come off?

In the case of the second, use a small amount of dish soap and a damp cloth and it should come right off. If not, then sorry man.

I can't feel anything sticky on the guitar. Seems like the ointment "burned" through the nitro.

It just a spot that's not as slick as the rest of the finish. It's not shiny anymore there either.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I would let it sit for a couple of days to air/dry out.

Then I would try a small dab of the Virtuoso Cleaned followed by some of the Virtuoso Polish. Be careful to not over-rub; you could take the finish right off. If you don't get an improvement, you may need to re-finish or have it over-sprayed.

And with an NCL finish, a light application of a Carnauba wax is very helpful in protecting the finish. I was very lucky that one of my guitars was protected with wax when the girlfriend was using Spray 'N Wash and a little bit of the spray landed on the finish. Luckily, it wasn't damaged.

Unfortunately, NCL is fragile. You may be stuck with the consequences.

Good luck.

Bill

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

So it begins...

1st one's teh worst one.

j/k,hope it all gets sorted out,man!

 

[Wattage]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Never, ever buy a new guitar again

 

[Johnny the Kid]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I can't feel anything sticky on the guitar. Seems like the ointment "burned" through the nitro.

It just a spot that's not as slick as the rest of the finish. It's not shiny anymore there either.

Weird. I never really thought that ointment could do something like that.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I sometimes get a rough patch on my elbow.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Relic job à la Neil Young "Old Black".

 

[Taz Rules]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I paint cars for a living. I'll admit that lacquer is a thing of the past in the industry, but I do custom work so I still see some cars with the old clearcoats. They lose gloss like you wouldn't believe.

If the nitrocellulose lacquer hasn't actually cracked or "checked", then you should be safe to wet sand it. From an automotive store, get wet/dry sandpaper in 3 grits, 1000, 1500, and 2000.

Soak the paper in water for at least 10 minutes. Use the 1000 grit first. Keep it lubricated with water. Sand roughly 1/4 inch past the damaged area on all sides. Wipe off and check your work often so you don't oversand. Keep the paper wet and use the 1000 until the damaged area is smooth again. Stokes should be short and on a straight line. No circles!!!

Once the 1000 get's the roughness out, use the 1500. Keep it wet. The strokes should go 90 degrees to the 1000 strokes. Sand 1/4 inch past the 1000 sanding area. Then do the same with the 2000, 1/4 in past the 1500 edge and at 90 degrees to the 1500. So the same direction as the 1000.

The actual repair is done with the 1000 grit ONLY. The purpose of the 1500 and 2000 is only to make the sand scratch fine enough to polish out. On a show car I would follow with 3000 and 5000 on a da sander but thats overkill. You can polish after 2000. Use a rubbing compound followed by a polish.

If you see the underlying color in the wet sanding slurry STOP! That means you've busted through the clear. If you've done this, then the damage was likely through as well, so it would have needed a respray anyway. But continuing into the color will be visible forever, whereas a well done clear spot in job can be impossible to find. Lacquer melts back together seamlessly.

You should be able to do it without burning through if you are careful. I'd seriously recommend at least a spot repair to regain the clear thickness, though. The clear acts as a uv barrier and to could have a spot fade of the color over several years.

Hth

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Glenn. Play that sucker. Wear the blemish off naturally.

 

[Taz Rules]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Feel free to pm me if you need clarification or additional advice on my above post

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

The antibiotic ointment must contain a solvent of some sort. First, don't sweat it. There is nothing to be heartbroken over. It's on the back of the neck, and it won't affect the ability of the guitar to perform. Second, if you are really obsessing over it, it can be repaired. Even with its many shortcomings, repairability is one of the extreme strong suits of lacquer. Lacquer (regardless of the exact type of binder used – acrylic or nitrocellulose), by nature, being a binder-in-solvent type of finish, is an extremely forgiving and easy to repair finish. It blends incredibly well, and handles errors/shortcomings in application and handling pretty gracefully. In other words, it's a great finish to work with for a "beginner." Things like polyurethane and the like leave little room for error, and are extremely difficult, when not impossible, to repair very cleanly.

Let it dry fully, then touch it up. Start with the least invasive technique, and work backward if necessary to more coarse techniques. I.e. start with something like fine (white) polishing compound. If needed, work backwards to coarser "buffing compound" (red). If you need to go coarser than that, use wet/dry sandpaper that has been soaked in mineral spirits (not water) for at least 24 hours. Play it safe and start with a high grit like 2000. You want to work back and forth between that and your buffing compounds and polishes as needed, moving down in grit if necessary. Depending on the depth of the wound, you may need to go down to wet 400-grit paper, and you may need to add a tiny bit or two of clear lacquer for best results. (Deft rattle cans, available at any hardware store for 6 or 7 bucks, will work fine for most little touch ups.)

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

. . . you may need to add a tiny bit or two of clear lacquer for best results. (Deft rattle cans, available at any hardware store for 6 or 7 bucks, will work fine for most little touch ups.)

It's worth remembering that nail polish is mostly nitro, and can be easily obtained in both clear and a wide range of colours. It's ideal for small nitro repairs, dries quickly, sands easily and polishes back to a shine easily too. You can 'build' thickness if needed with repeated applications.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

So it begins...

1st one's teh worst one.

j/k,hope it all gets sorted out,man!

Never, ever buy a new guitar again

+1

The first one really is the worst. I bought my LP Standard Plus new in Dec 2001 and managed to drop the stop bar when I changed the strings for the first time a couple weeks later. It left a dent in the finish of the top about 1/2" long, and I was really bummed for about 5 minutes. Then I realized that I bought the guitar to play and it was only a matter of time. I've dinged it a few more times in the years since and none of them bothered me like the first one.

 

[Darg1911]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Like the first idiot scratch on an expensive 1911 ...

 

[Demanic]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

An expensive 1911 shouldn't scratch.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Liko]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

Weird. I never really thought that ointment could do something like that.

Me either. Nitrocellulose, once cured, is actually fairly solvent-resistant (just nowhere near as durable as modern polys).

However, it turns out that alkyl-halides (otherwise organic-chain compounds like petroleum oils which have halogens like chlorine or bromine bonded to them) are a common exception, and these same types of compounds also make good disinfecting agents, so it stands to reason that a disinfectant cream using a halide-based disinfecting agent could cause damage like this. This same halide mechanism is why PVC-based foams are a bad choice for the arms of guitar hangers for poly instruments.

The only real solution is to relevel the lacquer in this area, and the easiest method is just to remove and reapply it. Short of that, removing and not reapplying will smooth it out but leave you with bare wood there.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Sudden Rough Spot On Nitro Finish?

I'm a little heartbroken

No. You are not.

What you are is embarrassed because the guitar that you profess to cherish now wears a mark that proves that you did not all possible steps to protect it. The combination of the blemish and your self-confessed O. C. D. will drive you insane. Bwa-ha-ha-haa.