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Post subject: sweat haze.
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:22 pm
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Hi all,
New here,

I have just aquired a beautiful 1973 strat in sunburst. I've noticed that when I play and it's hot, sweat from my arm makes a cloudy area on the body. No amount of rubbing with a cloth brings it out but after hanging the guitar up, it seems to dry out. I'm a bit torn as I want to play my new girl and genuine wear from genuine playing if fine but I don want to prematurely destroy the finnish. It doesnt seem to have any long lasting effect.

Is this just a trait of the old finnishes?

Any advice?
Thanks

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:33 pm
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That guitar is 41 years old, there's nothing premature about the finish getting worn in now.

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:35 pm
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I've heard of this phenomenon in the past with some of the '70s-era instruments. It seems to be a confluence of circumstances where the composition of the clear topcoat reacts visibly to the epidermic acidity of the oils secreted from a player's skin. Save for shooting a new top coat over the body that's more impervious to this chronic crazing, I don't think anybody has developed a less-dramatic solution to the issue.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 6:24 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
I've heard of this phenomenon in the past with some of the '70s-era instruments. It seems to be a confluence of circumstances where the composition of the clear topcoat reacts visibly to the epidermic acidity of the oils secreted from a player's skin. Save for shooting a new top coat over the body that's more impervious to this chronic crazing, I don't think anybody has developed a less-dramatic solution to the issue.

Antiperspirant on the arm?
Wearing long 70's poet sleeves?
Or an 80's sweat band?
An air conditioner or fan camouflaged as an amp?
Eat more lutefisk to reduce acidity?


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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 7:45 pm
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The guitar and I live in Hong Kong so high humidity and sweat are parts of life this time of year. I' just worried that the guitar has survived 41 years with only mild but genuine wear and I'm going to destroy it in months in this environment.

Keep the advice coming. I kind-a like the poet sleeve idea.

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I generally don't really know what I'm doing and when I do it doesn't seem to help.

1973 Strat
2006 Strat with Lace sensors
1969 Tele Thinline re-issue
Godin A6 Ultra hybrid acoustic
Cheap Chinese copy of Steinberger headless for traveling.


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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 2:43 am
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One of these should do the trick. :D

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 8:49 pm
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I have exactly the same problem with my 1972 Strat. It creates a "white haze" under my forearm when I play in high humidity and/or I'm sweating a lot which is most of the time. The white haze goes away after about an hour but a sticky cloudy residue remains. I've had this guitar for 42 years and a couple of years ago I tried a product called Virtuoso Premium Cleaner and Polish and it completely removes all of the sticky cloudy mess. Interestingly, I have exactly the same issue with my Gibson acoustic and electric (both nitrocellulose lacquer finishes) and the Virtuoso products are completely effective in removing the residue. Equally interesting, I've never had this problem on my 1987 MIJ Strat, so I guess some finishes are more tolerant of sweat and heat than others.

good luck,,,


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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 12:30 pm
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There are those who are willing to pay top dollar for guitars 'relicked' in precisedly the location where that phenomenom occurs. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:17 pm
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ZZDoc wrote:
There are those who are willing to pay top dollar for guitars 'relicked' in precisedly the location where that phenomenom occurs. :lol:


Yep. i also have a 72 Strat with the same thing. I never considered it a problem at all. It is what it is. It's honest wear.

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 5:40 pm
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This happened to me as well when I played my newly aquired '75 sunburst Strat. After consulting a guitar painter, I learned that the top clear coat is nitro, and is normal. Having owned the guitar for a bit now, I have noticed that the haze goes away after a few minutes, so I stopped worrying about it.

This confermed something that I suspected for years. Though Fender went to Polyester, many clear coats in the '70s were still done with nitro. I would see White strat that had yellowed and had bright white worn spots.

I asked around to see it this was possible. Apparently you can paint nitro over poly, but not the other way around. These finishes dry in very different ways (one being chemically and the other air).


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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 6:48 pm
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That one sounds a little strange. I've chipped the finish on my 72 and it really seems like poly. Anybody know why Nitro would be used on top of poly? Is there any benefit to it? I'm not being a wise guy, I'm not a finishing guy and I'm curious. My maple neck somehow escaped the really heavy poly on the neck and fingerboard, and some were just horrible, but it seems pretty heavy on the body. Fender wasn't known for going an extra inch let alone a mile in the 70's CBS guitars. They damn near killed the company off during the CBS years with all their production shortcuts.

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:17 pm
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63supro wrote:
They damn near killed the company off during the CBS years with all their production shortcuts.


That cycle seems to be repeating......

:(

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 8:56 am
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63supro wrote:
That one sounds a little strange. I've chipped the finish on my 72 and it really seems like poly. Anybody know why Nitro would be used on top of poly? Is there any benefit to it? I'm not being a wise guy, I'm not a finishing guy and I'm curious. My maple neck somehow escaped the really heavy poly on the neck and fingerboard, and some were just horrible, but it seems pretty heavy on the body. Fender wasn't known for going an extra inch let alone a mile in the 70's CBS guitars. They damn near killed the company off during the CBS years with all their production shortcuts.


Many '70s era necks used poly on the neck and nitro on the from of the headstock because the logo finished better with nitro. This is why many necks look different on the top of the headstock than on the back of the neck.

As the whole nitro/poly thing, I'm going from personal observations, luthiers and a few source books I own.

I suspect that Fender used whatever that they had that day. If using one paint, or finish, over another one gets them out the door faster, then so be it.

A good example of all this mix and match stuff can be seen with neck plates, serial numbers, pots, pickups, pickguards and plastic parts. Things have become more consistant in the past 30+ years, but back in the day, when a guitar was being put together, the people on the line would grab whatever par they needed, when they needed it. For instance, my '75 Strat has late '75 serial number, a '74 pickup in the neck and '75 pickups in the middle and bridge. The plastic parts are white and the back plate is black.

For my '76 Strat, the pickup covers, back plate and knobs are white, while the pickguard is black.

You can also many variations in the body contours and neck shapes as well.


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Post subject: Re: sweat haze.
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:54 am
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Thanks for the replies. Interesting to hear of other similar aged guitars having the same haze with no lasting problems.

i'll go back to putting some genuine wear and tear on the old girl.

rgds

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I generally don't really know what I'm doing and when I do it doesn't seem to help.

1973 Strat
2006 Strat with Lace sensors
1969 Tele Thinline re-issue
Godin A6 Ultra hybrid acoustic
Cheap Chinese copy of Steinberger headless for traveling.


Top
Profile
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