Vertical vs. Horizontal Finish Checking

[Silence Kid]

About a decade ago, I refinished a guitar in Duplicolor Metallic/clear. After about five years, the finish started to check & relic itself - the checking is parallel to the grain.

However most vintage guitars seem to check perpendicular to the grain. Is there a cause for vertical vs. horizontal finish checking? Temp or humidity conditions that would induce one vs. the other?

(As an aside- I had a guitar refinished using ReRanch at the same time and it has not checked one bit. Really hope my recent-completed nitro finish on another guitar won't check either.)

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Vertical vs. Horizontal Finish Checking

Checking is caused because the wood and the finish expand and contract at different rates. It can go across the guitar, or crack the same direction as the neck. Nothing unusual about it.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Vertical vs. Horizontal Finish Checking

(It also happens if the guitar falls out of the gig bag) oops.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Vertical vs. Horizontal Finish Checking

I've seen vintage nitro guitars with all sorts of checking. I've even got a Poly guitar with a form of checking. They all seem to do their own thing, and due to the wood as well as the paint over the top being factors I think it would be hard to predict what any 1 variable of weather would do.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Vertical vs. Horizontal Finish Checking

Generally, the Gibson and Fender guitars from the 50's and 60's tended to check across the guitar, not in the same direction as the neck/strings. On newer Gibson's I most often see vertical checks running the same direction as the neck. I'm sure there are examples of the opposite in each group as well. Once companies started to put additives in the nitro to prevent checking it changed the way they did check, if they check at all.