Chips in the Warmoth Finish

[GearBoxTy]

I'm still wondering if there is something different about the sonic blue. My other colored W's aren't so fragile, but my fretless pbass is starting to look the same way. -Bad batch of that color sent to Warmoth from their supplier?

When did you get your P-Bass body?  I guess there's no way of telling when it was made/painted since mine was a Showcase body. But, I bought it in March 2012.

After I completed this guitar (my Dream Strat) and I played it at a couple gigs I immediately wanted to either buy a White Fender American Standard with a rosewood fingerboard or build another Warmoth (white with rosewood fingerboard) to gig with so I wouldn't care so much about battle scars. I should do it...

 

[Day-mun]

I ordered my sonic blue from the showcase as well, but only just recently; about a year after your got yours. I know there is what appears to be a date in the neck pocket, but it's only the day and month.

I always thought olympic white strats with rosewood looked great, -and relic'd nicely; wore their scratches and dents like badges of honor. You could get one from Warmoth, though, and find the finish to be like iron plating! My other Warmoth's have been dakota red, fiesta red, and an assortment of dyed/transparent and bursts... ALL, except the sonic blue, have held up beautifully and seemed virtually indestructible.

Coincidence? Hmm...

 

[AutoBat]

The 3 digit number in the neck pocket doesn't correspond to a date, they're production numbers used when they're being made, and they also get reused.

 

[mullyman]

Dammit!! As soon as I expound on the virtues of the great Warmoth finish and then pat myself on the back for how well I treat my gear, I wake up this morning to a damned chip in my finish, right on the natural masked binding too. I honestly have no idea how it happened. It was in the living room all night leaning against a box. It was still in the exact same position as it was last night when I woke up. I have no idea how it happened. If I try to think real hard I seem to feel like I hit it against the coffee table when I picked it up last night, but it wasn't a hit that I suspected any damage from. It really was just a tap. And, to be honest, I don't really know if I hit the table or if my mind is giving me that info so it has something to fall back on. I'm usually really careful with my stuff and when I hit something I always check to see if anything happened. Nothing like that last night and then there's a chip this morning. I'm really bummed about this.
MULLY

 

[GearBoxTy]

Sorry to hear that Mullyman 

Every time I pick up "Sonic The Shredhog" now and see that chip on the upper bout, it breaks my heart.

I understand that guitars will "relic" naturally over time but I've never wanted a "Reliced or Distressed" guitar.  I certainly didn't expect mine to show such battle scars within a year of it's completion.

 

[DavyDave53]

No matter how careful you are, stuff happens.

The only guitars that don't relic are 'Closet Queens'.

 

[mullyman]

No matter how careful you are, stuff happens.

The only guitars that don't relic are 'Closet Queens'.

That's not even remotely true. I've been playing guitar for 30 years and this is my very first time chipping a finish. I play out regularly and use it in the studio all the time. If you're careful with it stuff like this shouldn't happen.
MULLY

 

[Johnfv]

...I wake up this morning to a damned chip in my finish, right on the natural masked binding too. I honestly have no idea how it happened...

Had the same experience with this one, a substantial chip that mysteriously appeared right at the masked binding. Mine happened at a gig and it's possible that someone banged it but didn't tell me. I'm not that upset about it but can't help but wonder if there is something about masking that makes it fragile there? Since mine is black dye, I touched it up with a Sharpie to make it less obvious.

 

[dudesweet157]

When I first got my purple Strat back from my tech post-assembly, I promptly took a chunk of finish about half the size of a dime out if the back by claw cavity.  I dropped a screwdriver on it while trying to adjust the tremolo tension.  Being a gloss black finish over Swamp Ash, it's hella noticable, and it hurt a LOT at the time, but schtuff happens.  It now has probably 6 or 7 battle scars from various accidents, headstock into cymbals being the most numerous.  They just add character and show I've really played it.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Unless it's some custom jazzbox that your first child and 5 chickens died for, stop being such babies. The best guitar is one that's been around for years and has been lovingly beat to hell, babying your instrument will do nothing good for it. It's a scratch, a dent...?! What the hell are you all whining about?

I once had a cat who ran into the road and did a flat stanley, that's something to whine about.

/end rant.

 

[SustainerPlayer]

:icon_thumrightAltar

Ever heard the story of Frisbee the cat?  :laughing7:

 

[alterbridgefan]

:toothy12:

 

[Fat Pete]

...can't help but wonder if there is something about masking that makes it fragile there?...

Fingers in ears - lalala...

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Does the finish that Warmoth applies to bodies chip easily, or is it just my Sonic Blue Strat body?

No problems with the finish on mine and I've played it nearly daily for at least one to two hours per day for the past year and a half.

I did have problems unrelated to the paint finish and Warmoth was very good about addressing the issue and making it right.

How long have you had your guitar and how are you using it?  Dings and blemishes are going to happen, depending on how you're using it.

 

[mullyman]

Unless it's some custom jazzbox that your first child and 5 chickens died for, stop being such babies. The best guitar is one that's been around for years and has been lovingly beat to hell, babying your instrument will do nothing good for it. It's a scratch, a dent...?! What the hell are you all whining about?

I once had a cat who ran into the road and did a flat stanley, that's something to whine about.

/end rant.

Don't feed the troll, kids.
MULLY

 

[mullyman]

Does the finish that Warmoth applies to bodies chip easily, or is it just my Sonic Blue Strat body?

No problems with the finish on mine and I've played it nearly daily for at least one to two hours per day for the past year and a half.

I did have problems unrelated to the paint finish and Warmoth was very good about addressing the issue and making it right.

How long have you had your guitar and how are you using it?  Dings and blemishes are going to happen, depending on how you're using it.

Yeah, man, I've had this one probably over 2 years now. It's my main guitar. I gig regularly with it and use it at practice all the time etc... This is my go to. It's not like it's been in a glass case for the past 2 years, but I'm careful not to run into things. Altar may call it babying it but I put it on a stand instead of leaning it up against the amp etc... On top of all of this, if I knew how it happened I'd probably be OK with it. Not knowing is the killer for me. I don't recall hitting it against anything, and the wood isn't dented, just the paint chipped off, so I must not have hit anything too hard.
MULLY

 

[Johnfv]

...if I knew how it happened I'd probably be OK with it. Not knowing is the killer for me. I don't recall hitting it against anything, and the wood isn't dented, just the paint chipped off, so I must not have hit anything too hard...

Like I said, I'm OK with it but it does raise my curiosity.  I like there to be a logical explanation for things. In 30+ years of gigging I've never had a chip like this that I have no explanation for and any other chip this size definitely had a ding in the wood as well. Mine happened months ago, I assumed someone whacked it when I wasn't looking. I only responded here because you reported the same "mystery" that I had experienced.

On the subject of cats getting run over in the street, yes I have experienced that and yes it is much worse than a chip in a guitar. YMMV...

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Does the finish that Warmoth applies to bodies chip easily, or is it just my Sonic Blue Strat body?

No problems with the finish on mine and I've played it nearly daily for at least one to two hours per day for the past year and a half.

I did have problems unrelated to the paint finish and Warmoth was very good about addressing the issue and making it right.

How long have you had your guitar and how are you using it?  Dings and blemishes are going to happen, depending on how you're using it.

Yeah, man, I've had this one probably over 2 years now. It's my main guitar. I gig regularly with it and use it at practice all the time etc... This is my go to. It's not like it's been in a glass case for the past 2 years, but I'm careful not to run into things. Altar may call it babying it but I put it on a stand instead of leaning it up against the amp etc... On top of all of this, if I knew how it happened I'd probably be OK with it. Not knowing is the killer for me. I don't recall hitting it against anything, and the wood isn't dented, just the paint chipped off, so I must not have hit anything too hard.
MULLY

What type of climate are you in?  Do you leave the guitar in overly cool, hot, dry, or humid areas?  Also keep in mind if you're getting dings in the guitar from basic usage, that's not a paint flaw.  I, like you, take extremely good care of my instruments, ESPECIALLY my Warmoth, yet I've still managed to get some "wear."  I don't wear belts or anything abrasivef when I play, and I've been very careful not to hit it on anything.  Despite my extreme care, there are some light scratches in the paint, and I wouldn't really even call them scratches.  There are so many ways to get a ding in a guitar, it's unreal.  It really doesn't take much.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling you a liar or calling you out.  It definitely kills when something happens and you don't know how it got there.

 

[mullyman]

...if I knew how it happened I'd probably be OK with it. Not knowing is the killer for me. I don't recall hitting it against anything, and the wood isn't dented, just the paint chipped off, so I must not have hit anything too hard...

Like I said, I'm OK with it but it does raise my curiosity.  I like there to be a logical explanation for things. In 30+ years of gigging I've never had a chip like this that I have no explanation for and any other chip this size definitely had a ding in the wood as well. Mine happened months ago, I assumed someone whacked it when I wasn't looking. I only responded here because you reported the same "mystery" that I had experienced.

On the subject of cats getting run over in the street, yes I have experienced that and yes it is much worse than a chip in a guitar. YMMV...

You know, if my guitar was riddled with chips and scratches etc... it wouldn't bother me one bit, but it's this 1 singular chip, right on the edge, in a vast expanse of Alpine White. I'm pretty much against relicing a guitar on purpose, unless you're making a Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton etc... replica. Natural wear and tear is awesome. But with this one ding I'm feeling compelled to take the neck and hardware off and tie the body to the back of my car and drag it through the riverbed. hahaha!! If I don't do that it will always be that one singular chip as I'm still going to take care of my guitar.
MULLY
my fingerboards NEVER get dirty either, no matter how much I play....and the only time I wipe down the fingerboard is when I change strings so it's not like I'm constantly cleaning it. I never get those dark patches....and I want them.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

...if I knew how it happened I'd probably be OK with it. Not knowing is the killer for me. I don't recall hitting it against anything, and the wood isn't dented, just the paint chipped off, so I must not have hit anything too hard...

Like I said, I'm OK with it but it does raise my curiosity.  I like there to be a logical explanation for things. In 30+ years of gigging I've never had a chip like this that I have no explanation for and any other chip this size definitely had a ding in the wood as well. Mine happened months ago, I assumed someone whacked it when I wasn't looking. I only responded here because you reported the same "mystery" that I had experienced.

On the subject of cats getting run over in the street, yes I have experienced that and yes it is much worse than a chip in a guitar. YMMV...

You know, if my guitar was riddled with chips and scratches etc... it wouldn't bother me one bit, but it's this 1 singular chip, right on the edge, in a vast expanse of Alpine White. I'm pretty much against relicing a guitar on purpose, unless you're making a Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Eric Clapton etc... replica. Natural wear and tear is awesome. But with this one ding I'm feeling compelled to take the neck and hardware off and tie the body to the back of my car and drag it through the riverbed. hahaha!! If I don't do that it will always be that one singular chip as I'm still going to take care of my guitar.
MULLY
my fingerboards NEVER get dirty either, no matter how much I play....and the only time I wipe down the fingerboard is when I change strings so it's not like I'm constantly cleaning it. I never get those dark patches....and I want them.

Well, if you play it and it happens, technically, it's naturally relic'd.  ccasion14: