Chips in the Warmoth Finish

[mullyman]

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.

Well, a little background, I'm 45 years old and have been playing since I was 14. I've had dozens of guitars over the years and have never chipped the paint like this. I'm not saying it's Warmoth's finish, I must have bumped it into something and didn't notice. That drives me nuts as I am always on top of being careful with my stuff. Japan can be humid in the summer but I always keep my guitars in their cases and each case has a digital hygrometer. I'm on top of the weather conditions.

No, this was a bump into something, a mysterious something. That is the cause of my angst, I don't know what I did to cause that.
MULLY

 

[LushTone]

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.

Well, a little background, I'm 45 years old and have been playing since I was 14. I've had dozens of guitars over the years and have never chipped the paint like this. I'm not saying it's Warmoth's finish, I must have bumped it into something and didn't notice. That drives me nuts as I am always on top of being careful with my stuff. Japan can be humid in the summer but I always keep my guitars in their cases and each case has a digital hygrometer. I'm on top of the weather conditions.

No, this was a bump into something, a mysterious something. That is the cause of my angst, I don't know what I did to cause that.
MULLY

Might as well embrace it? Now, you will be even more careful and avoid serious damage.

 

[AutoBat]

You could repurpose some of the electrical tape from your volume pot.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I have a few of the small dot dings like the ones on the Sonic Blue Strat in the OP.  It's on a Warmoth finished satin matte Butterscotch Blond Tele.  It's the least played, and I don't know how they got there.

However, I don't feel the Warmoth finishes are so rigid they break when they should bend.  Many Fenders I've seen, the neck joint shelf on the underside, they have long cracks.  Perhaps from over tightened neck screws. 

My '95 MIM Standard Tele, it had a thick shellac over the burst that liked to get peeled off in big toenail sized pieces.

A '76 RI Gibson Explorer I had in the early 90s, it may have been a nitro finish, the headstock would get little dings in it that flake off, and in the forearm areas, the finish would smear.

In all cases, I didn't care.

 

[mullyman]

However, I don't feel the Warmoth finishes are so rigid they break when they should bend. 

I'm with you 100% on that feeling, man. My problem is the mystery of how that ding got there.
MULLY

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I'll be the first to admit, I absolutely hate when I ding my guitar.  So far, so good, but there is still a little bit of wear on the finish, as it can be expected from day to day usage.

I have a '94 Telecaster Plus I'd played quite frequently though, and that guitar is in absolute, PRISTINE condition.  It could probably pass as a brand new guitar, yet it's nearly 20 years old.  It really does look like it's never been played.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Don't feed the troll, kids.
MULLY

:toothy12:

 

[GearBoxTy]

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.

My guitar was fully assembled and put into use in July 2012.  It became my main guitar for one of my cover bands so it has been played nearly weekly at gigs, I rehearse periodically with it, and woodshed at home with it.

As far as climate and things of that nature, I am in Columbus, OH USA.  We get it all here; Hot & Humid to Cold & Dry and all points in between.

I use the modern Fender molded rectangular shaped case that is made by SKB with the TSA latches.  The guitar is in it's case unless it's being played.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

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.

My guitar was fully assembled and put into use in July 2012.  It became my main guitar for one of my cover bands so it has been played nearly weekly at gigs, I rehearse periodically with it, and woodshed at home with it.

As far as climate and things of that nature, I am in Columbus, OH USA.  We get it all here; Hot & Humid to Cold & Dry and all points in between.

I use the modern Fender molded rectangular shaped case that is made by SKB with the TSA latches.  The guitar is in it's case unless it's being played.

Is it possible you ran into a mic stand or someone removed the guitar from its case other than yourself and hit it on something?

 

[AprioriMark]

My Sonic Blue Warmoth tele body has been through hundreds of punk rock shows, was often transported without a case (including on tour), and its finish has held up better than any guitar I've ever had.  That's from the mid 90s, however, and maybe they're doing something different these days.  The finish on my Bass VI was so thin that I had to had it partially refinished during assembly, lol.

-Mark

 

[StormILM]

This may be an old thread but seeing it via a google search, will reply. Yes, their current finishes are thin and appear to chip very easily. I did complain about it and pointed out I had old Japanese Strat bodies with finishes that held up better to ding hits. So far, less than 3 weeks after getting my new body, the Alpine white finish has taken on 4 dings, 3 resulting in chipping. I was told that they are doing a thinner finish because too many players complained that thicker finishes suck their tone a bit? Honestly, there should be an option for a thicker clear coat that is ding resistant. I have the ability to repair the chips but I can see this finish is going to be a major pain over the long run. I will likely get the finish redone at some point with a finish more resistant to simple dings. From this point forward, I will order unfinished bodies (unless they are natural wood grain) and send them to a paint shop. Beyond than, I am sold on Warmoth Quality.

 

[solmaz]

This may be an old thread but seeing it via a google search, will reply. Yes, their current finishes are thin and appear to chip very easily. I did complain about it and pointed out I had old Japanese Strat bodies with finishes that held up better to ding hits. So far, less than 3 weeks after getting my new body, the Alpine white finish has taken on 4 dings, 3 resulting in chipping. I was told that they are doing a thinner finish because too many players complained that thicker finishes suck their tone a bit? Honestly, there should be an option for a thicker clear coat that is ding resistant. I have the ability to repair the chips but I can see this finish is going to be a major pain over the long run. I will likely get the finish redone at some point with a finish more resistant to simple dings. From this point forward, I will order unfinished bodies (unless they are natural wood grain) and send them to a paint shop. Beyond than, I am sold on Warmoth Quality.

I am all for more options. But The advantage of a thin finish is that it ages gracefully. In my experience with thick finishes you won't have any dings or scratches and then one time bam! large chip on the paint. So after a few years of use, instead of tiny scratches and dings you would only have one chip, a nasty big one. I have one on my oldest guitar which has a very thick "durable" poly finish. That guitar now doesn't look old, because the rest of the finish is intact, it just looks chipped.
I don't have a Warmoth finished body myself (yet), I used stain and tru oil on mine because I wanted it to have an antique look and also to age slowly as I play it. I was under the impression that it is just regular poly, but this info is very encouraging. I will have one soon.  :icon_thumright:

 

[JaySwear2]

I’ve seen lots of comments and complaints about Warmoth’s clearcoats. I think they’re kind of in a lose-lose situation. They have a thick poly finish that’ll look great and hold up for years? “It sucks tone!” Thinner clear for the discerning tone chasers? “It chips so easily!”

They could do a couple options as far as clear goes, but I’ve never had any issues with chipping. I’ve got some scratches, but then again my most played Warmoths are probably too old to have the newer thinner finish on them.

 

[bricksnbeatles]

Yeah, I’m not sure. I’ve seen a lot of warmoth finishes that appear to have held up very well over the years, but my alder sonic blue strat (my only warmoth-finished body) has an incredibly fragile finish. It had a ton of dings after my first time playing it out back in early 2015 (for a small event with just 3 songs being played), and I’m super gentle with my guitars— I know for a fact that I didn’t bump it at all or abuse it in any way. It was later chipped again simply by dropping a nylon jazz iii pick on it from a height of around 6 inches.

Despite being, by far, my least used guitar, it’s my most heavily worn guitar— even more than my “hand rubbed satin nitro” strat (a notoriously fragile finish). Maybe it’s just sonic blue, but it’s because of that that I’ll stick to finishing my guitars myself (with the exception of Holo Flake, which I really wanna get a guitar and a bass finished in)