Left my guitar in the car overnight - Page 2

madmusicltd · #16 03-19-2018, 06:47 PM

Thanks Fred, I have had some work done there before. I will give them a call

madmusicltd · #17 03-19-2018, 06:50 PM

I'll give Harry a call too, seems to fix this it needs to be sanded down and re-sprayed? or is the visual crack there to stay, you can hardly see it unless you look, breaks my heart

Imbler · #18 03-19-2018, 06:52 PM

It isn't following a grain line, so that would lead me to believe it is a finish crack.

The picture is so large it may be exaggerating it, but is there evidence of impact damage at the bottom end of the top, where the crack starts?

Earl49 · #19 03-19-2018, 07:01 PM

Don't kick yourself too much. My guess is that the cold was not the culprit by itself, but the guitar was borderline dry to begin with and the cold just "finished the job" on an already stressed top. Not my first choice, but I have taken guitars in the unheated back of my pickup truck driving from Anchorage to Fairbanks in the winter (-40°F all day). But I let them warm up for 24 hours before opening the case, and they were properly humidified to begin with.

Cracks like this usually close up pretty tight once the guitar spends a week or more at 50% or 60% RH. Then it can be glued and cleated on the inside. It may be that finish touch-up is needed in the end. Nitrocellulose is easy for a good shop, but if Breedlove uses UV-cured polyurethane, that is a specialty fix. (I simply don't know what they use). In the meantime, resist the urge to touch the crack. You are only depositing oil and gunk from your skin which will make the repair even harder.

Steadfastly · #20 03-19-2018, 08:38 PM

It will likely close up once you get some humidity back in the wood but get it repaired with some cleats and it should never crack again. I had my Alvarez MD60 done a number of years ago and it's been fine ever since and the tone is still beautiful.

It may have been too dry before you left it in your car. Guitars get shipped in freezing cold trucks all the time and don't crack.

Shortfinger · #21 03-19-2018, 09:24 PM

What is pictured here?

The huge pics earlier in the thread are showing a big crack wandering the full length of the top.

The pic at the end, no crack.

Is the last pic the guitar before? Or after rehumidification?

Looks a lot better than my old D18, which has two repaired cracks, and sounds wonderful.

GBG · #22 03-19-2018, 09:31 PM

I am confused as well, the first pictures showed a long crack that looked like it followed the grain of the top. The last doesn’t appear to have a crack that I can see?

dantin · #23 03-19-2018, 10:55 PM

There is a two part video by Bob Taylor on a guitar with seriously cracked back and top that he just humidified over a period of time and then some glue of the top.

Part 1 is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8tELj43RE

Larry Pattis · #24 03-19-2018, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mz-s

I see the crack on the other forum.

There is a high likelihood that this crack will close up when the guitar humidifies again, presumably it was cold and dry outside in your car and it dried out.

Once the guitar humidifies again the crack will close up. Either it will close up fully, or with only a slight finish repair necessary.

<<snip>>

This is not even remotely true, or even possible.

A crack in the wood will not "close up", nor will lacquer checking.

A proper repair will compress the top, applying pressure to minimize the crack, and then it will be cleated from underneath/inside the guitar.

The finish is another problem, once the crack is cleated.

MikeBmusic · #25 03-20-2018, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

A crack in the wood will not "close up"

It certainly will, but still needs to be repaired by cleating or it will 'open up' again if it dries out.

drplayer · #26 03-20-2018, 07:17 AM

From the pics, it looks to follow the grain line (for the most part) and appears to be a crack...but again, I'm just going by what I see in the pics. The good news is, a competent repair person will put a little glue in there and when they are done, you might be hard-pressed to find it. Depending on how severe the crack is (if it's a crack) and whether it's all the way through, it may not even need cleated. It shouldn't cost too much at all.

I know it's water over the dam, but for future reference, if it was left out in your car overnight in freezing temperatures, 4-hours probably wasn't adequate acclimation time. Always best to err on the side of caution, and slow steady acclimation is generally best. I'm not saying it would've made a difference, but it may have?

Athens · #27 03-20-2018, 07:20 AM

If you humidify the guitar the crack may close up, it may not. If it's rh related it may, if it was temp related it probably won't.

Get thee to a competent luthier, sir. He'll be able to ***** it for you.

From the pix, it does not appear to be a seam, but a crack along a grain line. It should be easy to close and cleat, but Breedlove has used a catalyzed poly finish for a long time. It may be hard to blend the repaired finish, again a competent luthier can address that for you.

BTW, I love the old flying "B" logo!

Wistah · #28 03-20-2018, 07:52 AM

Aaron Belyea at the Music Box in Plymouth is a genius with repairs.

devellis · #29 03-20-2018, 08:02 AM

The crack may close when humidified, but it can't heal itself. To remain closed, it will need to be glued. Having the two sides of the crack in contact doesn't mean the crack is gone.

As others have said, a good repair person can fix this up without too much trouble. Do it sooner rather than later as the more crud that gets into the crack, the tougher the job gets.

HOF dad · #30 03-20-2018, 08:11 AM

Let me just add......that sucks - sorry that happened. I could easily see me doing something like that. Having just dinged my guitar and knowing how that made me feel, I'm sure this one hurts more.
On the flip side - it certainly sounds like you can get it back to playing and sounding like it used to.
Best of luck - hang in there.