| Author |
Topic: Sunlight and fading of lacquered guitars? |
David Hartley
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 11:54 am |
|
My old shobud LDG was bought from someone who owned it from new, had it in his house near a window, and of course, the front faded, and the top was probably the original colour.
I was wondering, will a Mica steel fade if it in sunlight in the same way as the LDG did? |
|
|
 |
Stu Schulman
From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 12:45 pm
|
|
David,My guess would be no,just a guess I aint no physic. 
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952. |
|
|
|
Teddy Ray Bullard II
From:
Pocatello, Idaho
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 1:04 pm
|
|
Hey Sir,
im not a steel expert(or even hack yet)
but Mica , as a general thing... does not fade, over here it is a brill choice for countertops for this reason. . |
|
|
|
Willis Vanderberg
From:
Petoskey Mi
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 1:59 pm
|
|
David:
I have seen a couple of blue laquer guitars that turned green.Maybe it is the yellowing of the laquer.Blue & yellow make green as I recall. |
|
|
|
richard burton
From:
Britain
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 2:00 pm
|
|
I consider mica to be a man-made abomination, and wish it would fade away completely  |
|
|
|
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 3:19 pm
|
|
My understanding is that for many years ShoBud "stained" their guitars with food coloring. Whether or not this is a fact I know that my late '70's Pro I got its wonderful pale pinkish-orange color from standing on display in the south-facing picture window of Petert's Music for nearly a decade before I bought it.
On the back side of the body, behind the neck, you can still see the original ShoBud cherry-red but the rest of the guitar is custom-finished by Mr. Sol.
 |
|
|
|
Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 3:44 pm
|
|
I am hoping my lacquered blonde maple Williams will darken from the sun the way all my old guitars have...
_________________
I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
|
|
|
Kevin Hatton
From:
Buffalo, N.Y.
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 4:03 pm
|
|
| Sir Richard, my thoughts exactly. |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 4:26 pm
|
|
Mine too.  |
|
|
|
Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 4:51 pm
|
|
If you don't like mica you would love my tune "Plastic Rap" which is on the "Great Apes of Vermont" cd by my trio Natural History; up online at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/naturalh2
"Plastic is an experiment; we are the guinea pigs..." But perhaps radical environmentalism is too political for The Forum? Sorry, bOb -- I'm a cancer survivor; I have an axe to grind...
_________________
I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
|
|
|
David Nugent
From:
Gum Spring, Va.
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 4:57 pm
|
|
| I agree, most mica finishes can be rather unsightly, but you learn to quickly appreciate them the first time a bass player slams his guitar into your steel on a crowded, dimly lighted stage. |
|
|
|
Barry Hyman
From:
upstate New York, USA
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 6:04 pm
|
|
Reading the Forum makes me realize how lucky I am compared to some of you guys. It's been years since I played in a band with somebody who plays too loud or somebody who doesn't know when to shut up or somebody who damages my equipment. One of the pleasures of getting older, I guess... But lacquer is delicate, it's true. When somebody at a jam or an open mic gets too close (on those rare occasions nowadays where I subject myself to the risks of sharing the stage with strangers) I stop playing and put my hands up to keep them at a distance. I aspire to nonviolence, but if somebody knocked a chunk out of my beautiful Williams I might get distinctly peculiar...
_________________
I give music lessons on several different instruments in Cambridge, NY (between Bennington, VT and Albany, NY). But my true love is pedal steel. I've been obsessed with steel since 1972; don't know anything I'd rather talk about... www.barryhyman.com |
|
|
|
Dave Grafe
From:
Hudson River Valley NY
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 6:23 pm
|
|
| "distinctly peculiar" indeed! |
|
|
|
Charles Davidson
From:
Phenix City Alabama, USA
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 6:56 pm
|
|
Barry, Is that the same thing as [EXTREME PREJUDICE]  YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.
_________________
Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC ! |
|
|
|
Bo Borland
From:
South Jersey -
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 7:18 pm
|
|
If I had a steel that I never hauled around.. a music room queen, I would not hesitate to get a lacquer finish.
There is a reason E chose mica and I don't disagree. |
|
|
|
David Hartley
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 8:35 pm Hi
|
|
Richard @ Burton @ Britain
You always make me laugh. You know mica steels have better tone especially the black ones I have been told.
I am guessing it's cheaper than a laquer finish these days.
The reason I am asking is, if I have the window blind open, most of the time, up to midday, there is sunlight on half of my D10. Am I going to get a two tone steel after a while. .
Fade away, how VERY dare you!  |
|
|
|
James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 10:31 pm
|
|
| Dave Grafe wrote: |
My understanding is that for many years ShoBud "stained" their guitars with food coloring. Whether or not this is a fact I know that my late '70's Pro I got its wonderful pale pinkish-orange color from standing on display in the south-facing picture window of Petert's Music for nearly a decade before I bought it.
On the back side of the body, behind the neck, you can still see the original ShoBud cherry-red but the rest of the guitar is custom-finished by Mr. Sol.
|
Dead on, Dave. That's what reliable sources say.
_________________
"Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement"~old cowboy proverb.
shobud@windstream.net |
|
|
|
James Morehead
From:
Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
|
Posted 26 Oct 2010 10:45 pm Re: Hi
|
|
| David Hartley wrote: |
The reason I am asking is, if I have the window blind open, most of the time, up to midday, there is sunlight on half of my D10. Am I going to get a two tone steel after a while. .
Fade away, how VERY dare you! |
The sun will get those old shobuds. For instance, when we strip off the old laquer when we refinish an old 'bud, It's always darker under the decals. Better yet, if you want to see what the original color was, remove a keyhead and look under it. We see this fading, because of the refinish work we do.
Cover those laquer guitars if your gonna leave 'em in the sun. Or rotate them so they cook evenly.
_________________
"Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement"~old cowboy proverb.
shobud@windstream.net |
|
|
|
Micky Byrne
From:
United Kingdom (deceased)
|
Posted 27 Oct 2010 4:31 am
|
|
Richard....how many pints of strong ale have you been on 
Micky Byrne U.K.
On a diet so no ale |
|
|
|
Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
|
Posted 27 Oct 2010 6:19 am
|
|
On ale so no diet...
|
|
|
|
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
|
Posted 27 Oct 2010 2:36 pm
|
|
| Polish your plastikowy! |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
Posted 31 Oct 2010 7:53 am
|
|
I've been told (possibly by Reece himself, but I forget exactly who told me,) that MSA also used food coloring. At any rate, when I was gigging, I had both the green (lacquer) guitar shown in my avatar, and a white mica one that I recently sold. I used the green guitar most of the time when I was playing indoors, but always used the mica one for outdoor gigs, and kept, and still keep, the green one indoors and out of direct sunlight.
The guitar is now between 32 and 34 years old, and has not faded or turned color.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
|
|
|
