Finish Crack
 

I just purchased a slightly shopworn floor model HD-28V at a local GC for a very good price. Cleaned up with a little polish to new condition and plays like a dream with a sound that is bar none the best (to my ears) sound I have ever heard out of an acoustic. Light finger picking to heavy attack strumming to flatpicking it takes it all and astounds with it's dynamic range and volume or subtlety. I tend to be a little skeptical of self validating reviews but on this guitar they are an understatements :guitar:

The not so good is on further inspection at home I found a very small finish crack :hmm: on the sound board, (not surface scratch) , adjacent to the neck around the 18th fret. It's very fine and about 1/2 inch long at a 45 deg angle to the neck toward the body. My question is will this spread and is it a harbinger of other problems or is it just a minor blemish to forget about and move on? If I return the guitar and have them order a new one it will cost me another ~$500, and other than this issue the guitar is flawless. Thoughts?

I would not let a small finish crack bother me if you like the guitar. In a couple of weeks you will get some other bump that will make it more used. I doubt the finish crack means anything structurally.

Photo needed. I've noticed that about half of what people call "finish cracks" are crack cracks.

Perhaps I am too tight, but $500 in exchange for a tiny flaw that seems to not at all affect playability?

I'd sure keep especially as I have found Martin's vary greatly. No promise the replacement would be as good.

Maybe check with a luthier for an evaluation, but unless it just need to be buffed out - I would probably leave well enough alone.

I do get the desire to have it perfect

Was high res when I uploaded it. Might have to save and zoom to see what I' referring to.

http://www.acousticgallery.com/photo...1&ppuser=46904

No access to the photo.

Ooops - try this:

http://www.acousticgallery.com/photo...0/IMG_1050.JPG

That's really of little importance in my estimation. It's in an area where the body lining is on one side and the popsicle brace is on the other along with the neck block in the center so it's well supported.

My 1962 D-28 that I bought new in shopworn condition in 1964 had several long finish cracks in the top on the treble side along the fingerboard when I got it. I initially wasn't sure about them but 46 years later, they absolutely look the same as the day I got them. As long at the wood itself isn't opening up, I'd say you'e good to go.

I may have a different outlook on these issues than some. I do take good care of my instruments but the small issues that come up are often really not a problem.

The only real crack that my D-28 has developed is the typical one that is often seen at the foot of the pickguard on the treble side. This is probably the reason that C.F. Martin quit finishing over the pickguards as well. They also changed to pickguard materials that are more dimensionally stable than nitrocellulose.

I simply glued the pickguard back down and filled the crack with hide glue since it hadn't opened up. It hasn't moved and that was 20 years ago. That particular area is well supported by the treble X brace anyway.

I can't see the crack on your picture. I'd bet it's only in the finish and therefore won't be an issue. If you are the original owner, I guess a Martin repair shop could look at it for you.

Good luck! :)

Sounds like a keeper.....

Thanks for the replies - it is definitaly a finish crack, not a scratch, but not a wood issue. My main concern was would I end up with spider-webbing cracks spreading over the sound board. I'm comfortable so long as it does not spread, however was suprised to see this in a higher end guitar. I have some cheaper guitars at a 1/2 the price with no such issues. I'll probablly take it to my local luthier for a thumbs up. It was definately not abused in the store - on the high up display with ladder only access. Thanks for the inputs.

Finish cracks are really nothing ( if thats what it is -I couldnt see anything on the picture-not detailed enough ) My Greven is loaded with them - many older guitars have them -i look at them like beauty marks -hopefully youll get more of them over the years -lots of MOJO !

By the way Congrats on your new guitar those Vintage models are my favorite of the Martin models mines a OM-28v !

I had an old Gibson B25 many years ago. One of my fraternity brothers borrowed it, with my permission, and on a cold night, sat fairly close to a campfire to play. In the morning light, it looked like a cobweb on the top. I took it to the store I had bought it from and was assured it had no effect what so ever on the structure of the guitar and that other than looks, nothing was wrong. I did learn my lesson about wood expanding faster than finishes though.

I had that guitar for 35 years and the last 8 were living in Jamaica and then Miami, Florida. Keeping it out all the time on a stand, it seemed like life in a hot, humid climate made the finish cracks fade a bit. When I sold it, they were hardly noticeable.

Similar issue...
 

I just noticed something similar in my 2014 OM28. In the cold months here in Toronto I've kept mine in the case with two Oasis humidifiers. It gets played regularly, and as such I wipe it down frequently so I usually have a pretty good look at the entire body. Summers in southern Ontario are generally very humid, so the use of a humidifier once the furnace is turned off is not an needed. We don't turn the AC on in the house - ever. Generally, I'd say the humidity in the house is over 50% in the summer. Yesterday as I was cleaning the top, I noticed two small, near identical finish cracks on either side of the bridge. One going from the bridge to the edge of the pick guard (about 1/4" long as that is the space between the bottom of the guard and the corner of the bridge) and the other going from the other corner of the bridge, about 1/2", towards the neck. I'm pretty sure these are new developments. I've played the guitar several times in the last few days, and fairly consistently over the summer and never noticed them. Not sure what to do with this. I have the original ownership warranty, but I know that if this gets sent back to Martin they will have it for upwards of a year - if they decide to fix it at all. The authorized Martin repair place/dealer is right around the corner from me, but it is not where I bought the guitar. It was purchased at Long & McQuade's which is not authorized to do repairs. So, this was an issue around 2010, and Martin "came clean", as I read in one responder's comments? Interesting. This should not be happening on a $4000 guitar!

Jared - my understanding is that finish cracks come about because of temperature changes, not humidity. i.e. - exposing your guitar from extreme cold to heat or heat to cold. It is possible your guitar got exposed in this way? I once had a Martin 00-18 that I had a little to close to a mist humidifier in the winter because it was very dry. It was far enough not to get wet, but close enough to get the cooler air of the mist.

Hi, and thanks for the reply. Hmmm. You may have a point. Sometimes when I'm playing on the back porch I may put my guitar down on the chair for a few minutes, and that might be in the sun. I know I did this a few times over the summer, when it was quite warm out. I always thought that humidity, or lack there of, is what caused cracking. The fact that this happened in the last week or so is what through me off.