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JTV 89F Finish


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Does anyone know what the finish on the JTV-89F color-Bloodred? Is it a clearcoat polyurethane type of thing o something else?

Couldn't say for sure, but I don't think that polyurethane is used much in guitar finishes. By and large, they are too hard, and don't move with the wood. This can become a problem, particularly on a bound neck or body. The wood will still swell and shrink with changes in humidity, but the binding and the polyurethane finish stay right where they are. Over time, you start to see a very thin gap between the finish and the body of the guitar along the binding seams (not to be confused with loosening binding, that's a different problem). Shows up as a thin white line along the seams.

 

I own a guitar with a polyurethane finish, and this is exactly what happened. The luthier who built it has gone back to using traditional lacquer for this reason. On the plus side, the finish is so friggin' hard, it's almost impossible to put dings in it without a hammer. I've had this guitar for 15 or 16 years, gigged with it countless times, and in all that time have put only one tiny ding in the headstock. Gave it a good whack a couple of times (the kind of thud when you're afraid to look at the damage...) only to find it without a scratch. Even those tiny swirls that usually develop in the finish are almost non-existent on this thing. Also makes for a very bright sounding guitar.

 

FWIW, the condition is somewhat fixable. He was able to punch a few pinhole-sized holes into the space under the finish, and wick some of the same polyurethane finish in there...filled the gaps and you really can't tell anything ever happened, save one or two tiny spots.

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