Personally I would get a hold of Fender to see what the have to say. And I understand your concerns on the finish just chipping off, and for the price of them, no they are not pocket change for most of us. I've had my 57 AVHR for over 1-1/2 yrs. and it still looks like new, and I play it almost daily. Can you see any place where it looks like it is lifting or starting to crack elsewhere? Any dents where the paint is already gone? Also if Fender does warrentee it be ready to be seperated from it for some time, you may be better off going with a replacement if its offered. Good luck and keep us posted. And if you can post pix of it.

_________________

One thing nobody's asked about is what are the contact points of your guitar rack made of? Some plastics and foams react poorly with Nitro finishes, especially newer nitro finishes that have not fully cured yet. Poly finishes will probably be around after the apocolypes but nitro is a bit more fragile.

I agree with Bluesky that you should contact Fender and see what they suggest you do as your next step.

Jeff

I have a sense of humor when somebody says something that's funny...and you telling me and everyone else it's "the end of the story"...don't take yourself so seriously,that's the first funny thing you've said,it makes you sound like you're important here.
Midniterambler...you'll get some other Vintage RI owners who will tell you of their guitar finish also,like newwt,not everybody here has just an opinion,some of us own several different types of Strats with the different finishes,and we use them to gig with,not just look at,or practice our "tech" skills on....good luck in whatever you decide to do!

As some people advised, have Fender look into it. It shouldn't be chipping for no reason on your part. Sounds like a bad prep job prior to painting. You do have to baby a nitro finish if you want it to last any time. I'm old enough to remember when GM used nitro paint on their cars. It was a boom to wax manufactures because people watched their cars fade more each month and tried to do something about it. I purchased a TVR sports car that showed signs of fading when it was 6mo old (about the time it took to ship it from England). I'm not a nitro fan, it's toxic, dull, fragile, cracks, looses it color fast. It only was used because it was cheap to buy, dried fast, and easy to apply saving labor costs...in other words nitro was the cheapest thing a manufacturer could use. The only thing going for it is it's vintage attraction to those putting value on that.

Guys, I don't want to be negative but only to prepare MidnightRambler for what he might be about to find out.

By all means contact Fender (details from the "support" tab at the top of the page) and see what they say: asking can't do any harm. But to the best of my memory finish issues are specifically excluded from the warranty. I've a feeling you might not get lucky on that count.

For what it's worth a friend of mine has an Eric Johnson Strat of about the same age as the OP's, and by the sound of it treated pretty much the same way. That has a nitro finish on body and neck, identical to an Am RI: last time I handled it I saw no signs of wear whatsoever. Perfect condition. I'm not sure what we can surmise from that, but there ya go.

Good luck with it, MidnightRambler - C

_________________

Protective foam on the bottom of the guitar rack, or on support legs?

Cellulose gets very tetchy about guitar stand foam. I won't use a guitar stand with my cellulose finished guitars. Even onstage, they go back into a open case, not on a stand.

If I remember right when I bought my Hotrod there was a leaflet about the care of cellulose finishes. I can't remember if it mentioned warranty coverage. May be worth looking at that if you have one.

_________________
No no and no

Limitations and Exclusions
The following items are not covered by this warranty.

3. Damage to finishes or cracks, splitting, or warpage of wood due to changes in temperature or humidity, exposure to or contact with sun, fire, moisture, body salts and acids of perspiration, guitar straps, guitar stands/hangers made from vinyl, plastic, rubber or other synthetic materials, any other chemicals or non-Fender-approved polishes.

http://support.fender.com/warranty/FEND ... 1_revC.pdf

_________________
Bill

No need to try to file a warranty claim, cause it will be DENIED. The finish was damaged by storing the guitar for long periods of time on a stand/rack that had a rubber or foam padding that was not nitro safe. This is in no way shape or form a defect in the lacquer. It was simply "user-error" on your part. This sucks bad, and I feel your pain! You can now play the heck outta the guitar and enjoy it, or try to find someone to try to repair the lacquer damage....but unless you get a professional to do the work, it will still be noticeable.

Midnightrambler, FWIW, I have an AVRI 57 strat from 1982 and I have not had a single issue with the finish. Yes, Nitro can react with other things but not sure it will flake off like you discribed and that even if it came into contact. It almost sounds like an undercoat type of problem if it is chipping off, like the nitro is pulling away from the undercoat. If you can post some pics, might be able to give you a better reason. But contact Fender anyway...with pics, they can't say no on the warranty until you do.

HTH

T2

_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------
What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I think I know what's happening. My old Strat was a nitro and somehow bubbles formed under the paint and caused it to separate from the wood in some areas. When I set it down, they'd break off. It's probably a factory flaw or something to do with the climate of my house.

_________________
1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Well, at least I'm not alone in thinking that Blueskys a bit out of line. That funky attitude was totally uncalled for but you meet all kinds of people on the interwebs.

Just so you'll know, I have a four year old EJ with a thin Nitro finish. Over the years the finish has been shrinking and thats causing the seams and grain patterns show up in the surface of the Blond finish but despite my leaving the guitar in a stand or hanging on my office wall for long periods, I've had no chipping, no flaking and no cracking. Yeah, the paints a little delicate, so it's collected some scratches but nothing major and nothing thats removed any appreciable paint.

I'll also admit that my EJ has had the bare minimum of care. I dust it off once in a while, I wipe it down occasionally and I think that I've polished it three or four times over the years but the finish is holding up and aging very gracefully, with no fading or discoloration.

I had some serious quality control problems with my first EJ and had to go to war to get the guitar replaced. Therefore, I have little faith in Fenders Warranty Department but if I were you, I'd contact them and see what they have to say. If you want, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you the story.

Good luck!

PS: I hang my guitars on Hercules Guitar hangers (The same ones that my local pro dealer uses.) and use OnStage folding guitar stands and have had no problems what-so-ever but I have heard plenty of complaints about cheap guitar hangers and stands damaging guitar finishes. You'll want to check that out.

I've done my share of painting with Nitro and meticulous prep is a must but a well done Nitro paint job can last a long time if it's cared for. Just look at some of those Pre-War Martins!

Thanks to all of you who have offered your advice. Unfortunately I can't really post pics. I don't have a digital camera, only a cell phone and it takes crappy pics, and I don't have a photobucket or any pic host like that.

Somebody said that this was just "user error" on my part. I could understand that if all the chipping had occured only where the guitar rested against the rack but that is not the case. That person probably shouldn't make such rash judgements. There are 5 different locations where the paint is chipping, and only one spot could possibly be attributed to the rack.

I called the shop where I bought the guitar and he told me to bring it in and we would call Fender and see what could be done. He felt confident that Fender would take care of it.

The guitars current condition is not a big deal. I don't actually mind the chips. What bothers me is the fact that I've owned it less than 6 months and if the paint is already chipping in 5 different locations, how much paint will be gone in 2 years? Nonetheless, I'll take it to the shop next week and see what they say.

Why would you automatically assume this is "user error" on my part? You haven't seen the guitar, you don't know where the paint is chipping. For your information, it's chipped in 5 different locations, only one of which could possibly be attributed to the guitar rack.

Because it may not be chipping but bubbling. Where the bubbles have then gone on to burst or pop. Leaving exposed wood. Which is very much a possibility when cellulose that hasn't gassed out comes into contact with certain rubbers and foams. Particularly those found on a lot of guitar stands.

As you say, we'll never know because you won't post pictures. So hazarding a rough guess is about all any of us can do. No one here is going to wave a magic wand, say, "yeah Fender will cover it". Then that statement become a reality. And lets face a fact, you wouldn't really expect Fender to act like that on the strength of a forum users say so.

The point being, care is needed where and how you store your guitar.

_________________
No no and no

Are you Steve-Oh-No or whatever his name is? If you're not, then I dunno why you're responding.

Look man, I'm not posting pics because it's too much of a hassle. I don't have a digital camera or photobucket, only a cell phone that takes crappy pics. And even if I did post pics, what good would it really do? It's not like anybody here could fix it. What's with your smart $@! attitude man? Magic wand?

All I asked in the beginning was for other people who owned nitro finished guitars to chime in and let me know if they ever had any issues like this. That's all. Some people did that and I appreciate that.

BTW, I really don't think it's bubbling. I play it every day and I haven't noticed any bubbles and I don't see any other bubbles on it now. But nevertheless, I called the dealer and I'll take it down there and they're gonna call Fender so they don't have to take the word of forum user, they can talk to a dealer instead. I think that's a better move than filing a claim on my own anyhow.