Small Finish Cracks

[maybeitsjustme]

Hey there,

I have a Taylor 416ce-ltd with rosewood back and sides from.. maybe 2011? I forget the exact year.. anyhow..

I'm starting to notice that the back and sides are showing what appear to be small cracks / imperfections in the finish. This guitar has been humidified and babied for its whole life - only been on stage a handful of times.

Is this normal? Is there something I should be doing to prevent this from happening further?

Here is a pic.. https://photos.app.goo.gl/isbCR1xAeeZmHbes5

[JonWint]

Looks like a pore filler problem affecting finish adhesion.

[runamuck]

Hard to tell, but those don't look like cracks to me, if you're referencing the small white-ish lines. Can you feel the cracks?

[maybeitsjustme]

Yeah - sorry, let me clarify. They definitely aren't cracks through the wood itself, but I wasn't sure how else to describe them. They are definitely just in the finish, and rather small throughout the body of the guitar.

[maybeitsjustme]

Originally Posted by JonWint

Looks like a pore filler problem affecting finish adhesion.

Anything that can be done for this? Maybe I should contact Taylor to get their thoughts?

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by maybeitsjustme

Anything that can be done for this? Maybe I should contact Taylor to get their thoughts?

I agree that it's probably pore filler and should contact Taylor.

[maybeitsjustme]

Thank you guys for the quick replies. I'm going to take some better pictures and send it off to Taylor to see what they have to say.

Sad to see a finish issue like this - its been slowly getting worse over a few years. Glad I finally decided to ask the experts here!

Thanks again.

[mirwa]

Does not look too bad, but yes pore filler.

Steve

[John Arnold]

It is not normal, but not that uncommon. Modern finishes seem to have more issues with adhesion to certain types of pore fillers. AFAIK, there is nothing you can do to prevent it from happening, and no way to predict how extensive it will ultimately be. About the only way to eliminate it is to strip and refinish. This is always a judgement call....whether it is worth it to fix what is essentially cosmetic.