Gibson SG 2017 Standard T - Pelham Blue Lacquer issues

[RW59]

I would be absolutely thrilled to have checking like that.

Lots of people prefer their guitars to look brand new as long as possible. But other people pay extra money for fake checking done with razor blades.

If you decide you can't love it with the checking, you'd have no problem selling it. Lots of buyers would love that and prefer it over pristine examples.

That makes a lot more sense than paying money to devalue it by refinishing it.

 

[DrBGood]

I would be absolutely thrilled to have checking like that.

Lots of people prefer their guitars to look brand new as long as possible. But other people pay extra money for fake checking done with razor blades.

If you decide you can't love it with the checking, you'd have no problem selling it. Lots of buyers would love that and prefer it over pristine examples.

That makes a lot more sense than paying money to devalue it by refinishing it.

My view exactly.

 

[Go Nigel Go]

I would agree that if I didn't like an instrument for whatever reason, and someone else loved it for the same reasons it could be mutually beneficial to talk trade or sale. That might even be the most sensible thing depending on the obvious economic considerations.

That said, I am a fan of both pristine and lovingly worn examples of the luthiers art, but to me that checking is not the nicest example a quality build that has been down the hard road and back again. I don't think a refinish would really further devalue the instrument, and might even restore some market value if it was well done. Obviously it all depends on what you like and what is important to you. If it plays really nice I could easily see buying it at a low price for gigging, as a refinish or customization project, or perhaps even just on the playability merits alone.

Value is a very subjective thing, but I really don't think the OP got what he was looking for on this one. Sad but true. I just hope he can find some way to salvage the situation without feeling seriously burned. Pretty much all of the options I can think of though have been pretty well covered in this thread. I am pretty sure this axe can still give someone a lot of joy.

 

[SG-H]

Some intersting thoughts here.

On the plus side - You couldn't pay for checking like that, because it's completely natural. So in once sense, my guitar has aged 15 years in 3 years.

On the not so plus side - Buying something that is 'mint' and finding that it undresses its own lacquer before your eyes is not ideal.

I have to admit, the checking isn't evident unless you see it in the correct light. When it's on it's stand and you walk up to it, you can see it at all. I also have to refer back to the original reason for buying it, 57 classics and Pelham blue (different from my 04 SG) and its a fantastic colour. It plays well and sounds great.

To conclude, I'll hold on to this beautifully flawed guitar and keep it as it is. When the paint falls off (likely the first gig it does...sods law) I'll let you know!

 

[laza616]

If you like the guitar , keep it. If the finish falls off, keep it like that. It would be cool.

 

[OldDog]

The opaque finish colors get sprayed thicker than the translucent ones which is why the serial number stamping gets filled in.

Extra thick finish with the combination of metallic color is a recipe for disaster.

I can show you a shot of my factory gloss pelham blue headstock and the printing is vividly clear and shows no filling from the paint. I think he's experiencing a pucked up respray. I agree that excessive finish thickness can lead to this sort of failure. Very common. It would seem that unless Gibson was having specially trained monkeys doing the painting, that this probably didn't come from Gibson. Whether you like that sort of "patina" is a personal choice.

 

[SG-H]

I can show you a shot of my factory gloss pelham blue headstock and the printing is vividly clear and shows no filling from the paint. I think he's experiencing a pucked up respray. I agree that excessive finish thickness can lead to this sort of failure. Very common. It would seem that unless Gibson was having specially trained monkeys doing the painting, that this probably didn't come from Gibson. Whether you like that sort of "patina" is a personal choice.

Would love to see some shots of your blue guitar, what year is it?

Also is the general consensus that the lacquer was applied too thick, causing these issues?

 

[Lynurd Fireburd]

Lacquer checks. Wood expands & contracts. You dont think your climate changes within your home or region? It does. This is a given.

I wish I had more guitars that did this. I dont see the problem here. Its beautiful.

 

[OldDog]

Would love to see some shots of your blue guitar, what year is it?

Also is the general consensus that the lacquer was applied too thick, causing these issues?

 

[FordTrucks]

I have a 2017 Pelham blue as well. Funny enough, I’ve been doing everything I can to age the finish. I already swapped out all the chrome hardware for aged nickel and the tuners to vintage ones.

I kept the guitar out in direct sunlight most of the summer, with a towel over the neck to protect that. I was hoping to get the finish to fade but I can’t really tell a difference. No damage to the paint though, that’s for sure. I did melt the pickup rings though and had to replace those!

 

[Darryl Fisher]

Cold weather ?

What time of year did you get it shipped?

 

[SweetJohnnyD]

Hi all!

April 2020 was the date I purchased my second hand Pelham blue 2017 SG standard T and what a colour it is!

The guitar came originally with a PCB board but the previous owner had a 6 way switch (all possible tapping combinations) installed with long stem (I know) CTS Pots. I have since put the correct sized 500k pots in the guitar and installed a 3 way switch so I get neck, bridge and out of phase. The guitar, after some fettling, plays and sounds really really good. It’s very light and twangy compared to my 04 SG. The 57 classics are a great contrast to the 490/498 in the 04. Overall I’m very pleased with it!

There is, however, a big negative with this guitar, the finish. When I took delivery of the guitar the finish was immaculate. The previous owner and never taken the guitar out of his house and it had only very light use. Since I’ve owned the guitar, The finish has cracked. It’s worth noting at this point, that as we are in lockdown this guitar hasn’t left my house. It’s also worth noting that I’ve owned several nitrocellulose guitars, including the 04 SG and an early 90s Les Paul custom, which have NO lacquer issues at all.

After fitting a poker chip and vintage scratch plate to the guitar I noticed cracks appearing in the lacquer. I immediately assumed I’d overtightened all the screws and cause myself a world of pain. But on closer inspection, there are cracks all over the body of the guitar including on the head stock. As far as I can tell the cracks are only in the lacquer and are not structural in anyway. I emailed Gibson and sent them some photos and they advised me that this was normal and the guitar was possibly subject to extreme temperature changes. As previously mentioned, I don’t really believe this as I have two other nitrocellulose guitars in the same room under the same conditions! My 04 SG has been owned from new and done countless gigs and house moves and has no issues at all.

On closer inspection of the guitar there are blemishes in the paint where it looks like the paint has run before the lacquer has been applied. Has anyone else had these issues? I think this was Friday afternoon guitar...

I'd upload photos if I understood how?

Glad I'm seeing as I have a 2011 Std in champagne and posted about the same issue but not to that extent. Considered getting the same as your color but didn't because it. Bottom line is there

Hi all!

April 2020 was the date I purchased my second hand Pelham blue 2017 SG standard T and what a colour it is!

The guitar came originally with a PCB board but the previous owner had a 6 way switch (all possible tapping combinations) installed with long stem (I know) CTS Pots. I have since put the correct sized 500k pots in the guitar and installed a 3 way switch so I get neck, bridge and out of phase. The guitar, after some fettling, plays and sounds really really good. It’s very light and twangy compared to my 04 SG. The 57 classics are a great contrast to the 490/498 in the 04. Overall I’m very pleased with it!

There is, however, a big negative with this guitar, the finish. When I took delivery of the guitar the finish was immaculate. The previous owner and never taken the guitar out of his house and it had only very light use. Since I’ve owned the guitar, The finish has cracked. It’s worth noting at this point, that as we are in lockdown this guitar hasn’t left my house. It’s also worth noting that I’ve owned several nitrocellulose guitars, including the 04 SG and an early 90s Les Paul custom, which have NO lacquer issues at all.

After fitting a poker chip and vintage scratch plate to the guitar I noticed cracks appearing in the lacquer. I immediately assumed I’d overtightened all the screws and cause myself a world of pain. But on closer inspection, there are cracks all over the body of the guitar including on the head stock. As far as I can tell the cracks are only in the lacquer and are not structural in anyway. I emailed Gibson and sent them some photos and they advised me that this was normal and the guitar was possibly subject to extreme temperature changes. As previously mentioned, I don’t really believe this as I have two other nitrocellulose guitars in the same room under the same conditions! My 04 SG has been owned from new and done countless gigs and house moves and has no issues at all.

On closer inspection of the guitar there are blemishes in the paint where it looks like the paint has run before the lacquer has been applied. Has anyone else had these issues? I think this was Friday afternoon guitar...

I'd upload photos if I understood how?

Glad I am seeing this as I have the same issue with a standard in champagne colour . I posted pics about it wondering the same thing . The way I see it- just a defect in the finish and it's gonna happen eventually so I had to just get past it.

 

[Kirk Larsen]

It looks like temperature extremes to me. Sometimes it takes months after the guitar arrives for this to show up.
If you want it fixed you don't have to have the guitar totally refinished. A flash coat or two of nitro will usually melt the cracks back together. That's one of the beauties of nitro. I've done this before with good results.

 

[papagayo]

Here is the result when you put your Gibson in the freezer, that' s why I' m talking about the weather.

 

[OldDog]

I don't have enough room in my refrigerator for guitars. Lots of food and beer in there.

 

[JackStraw]

Hi all!

April 2020 was the date I purchased my second hand Pelham blue 2017 SG standard T and what a colour it is!

The guitar came originally with a PCB board but the previous owner had a 6 way switch (all possible tapping combinations) installed with long stem (I know) CTS Pots. I have since put the correct sized 500k pots in the guitar and installed a 3 way switch so I get neck, bridge and out of phase. The guitar, after some fettling, plays and sounds really really good. It’s very light and twangy compared to my 04 SG. The 57 classics are a great contrast to the 490/498 in the 04. Overall I’m very pleased with it!

There is, however, a big negative with this guitar, the finish. When I took delivery of the guitar the finish was immaculate. The previous owner and never taken the guitar out of his house and it had only very light use. Since I’ve owned the guitar, The finish has cracked. It’s worth noting at this point, that as we are in lockdown this guitar hasn’t left my house. It’s also worth noting that I’ve owned several nitrocellulose guitars, including the 04 SG and an early 90s Les Paul custom, which have NO lacquer issues at all.

After fitting a poker chip and vintage scratch plate to the guitar I noticed cracks appearing in the lacquer. I immediately assumed I’d overtightened all the screws and cause myself a world of pain. But on closer inspection, there are cracks all over the body of the guitar including on the head stock. As far as I can tell the cracks are only in the lacquer and are not structural in anyway. I emailed Gibson and sent them some photos and they advised me that this was normal and the guitar was possibly subject to extreme temperature changes. As previously mentioned, I don’t really believe this as I have two other nitrocellulose guitars in the same room under the same conditions! My 04 SG has been owned from new and done countless gigs and house moves and has no issues at all.

On closer inspection of the guitar there are blemishes in the paint where it looks like the paint has run before the lacquer has been applied. Has anyone else had these issues? I think this was Friday afternoon guitar...

I'd upload photos if I understood how?

Wow, that's crazy! I have the same guitar & I also installed a poker chip. I bought mine in Dec of 2017 & I have never taken it out of the house but I don't have any of paint issues you do. Strange that when you took possession nothing was there. If you love your guitar as I love mine just rock it!

 

[JackStraw]

The guy that mentioned the heavy lacquer on the back of your headstock suggesting that your guitar was another color before Pelham Blue may be on to something.
I have the same exact model & I'm posting a pic of the back of my headstock & you can clearly see the differences between our SG's.

 

[Col Mustard]

In the introduction to this thread, the OP wrote this:

" I have since put the correct sized 500k pots in the guitar and installed a 3 way switch so I get neck, bridge and out of phase. The guitar, after some fettling, plays and sounds really really good. It’s very light and twangy compared to my 04 SG. The 57 classics are a great contrast to the 490/498 in the 04. Overall I’m very pleased with it!"

To me, these are the important issues. Paint has no effect on tone. Personally, I'd rock that sucker.
So many unfortunate schmoes buy a guitar because they like its looks or its price and end up with something
that doesn't play so well.

Having one that plays well and whose tone is a good addition to your sound, that's priceless.
Just my opinion.

All my life I bought used guitars. Starting in like 1966. And all my guitars checked like that after
some time. Yours is extreme, I know, but if it "plays and sounds really good" then you're gold.
Onstage, no one notices the color or the aging of your guitar... or the inlays or whether the bridge
is an ABR-1, or if its got nibs. All people notice when you perform is whether you're any good.
If you're good, they dance. If your not too good, they leave.

IMHO, you bought a used guitar. That's usually not a problem unless you were expecting a new one.
So I'd make music with it, and let it continue checking. As said above, your choice is to repaint it or
to sell it to someone who values it more than you do. But I've seen posts on this site from guys who
buy guitar after guitar (or claim they do) searching unsuccessfully for one that "plays and sounds really good."
If you didn't pay too much, you're way ahead of that game.

 

[SG-H]

Thats a great looking guitar. The finish on the head stock looks satin in that photo compared to the thickly layered version on mine.

 

[SG-H]

The guy that mentioned the heavy lacquer on the back of your headstock suggesting that your guitar was another color before Pelham Blue may be on to something.
I have the same exact model & I'm posting a pic of the back of my headstock & you can clearly see the differences between our SG's.

You maybe correct. I think mine looks like yours with an extra yard of paint and lacquer