Removed my John Pearce Arm Rest Bad Results!

Originally Posted by L20A

So I tried a John Pearce arm rest on my Guild D-55.

Originally Posted by GrandpaD

First of all this guitar is a 2005 Guild.

I'm confused. Are we talking about two different examples, or the same guitar and owner with two user names?

[L20A]

Both of these are me. My first account quit working when I changed email accounts. I had to re register with a new user name.

[blindboyjimi]

Unfortunately, I see and post on 3 or 4 of these threads a year. I’ve put them on 4, 5 year old+ guitars and it affected 2/4. One not so bad but visible, one needed finish work. You’ll have to commit to keep it on. I don’t care if it’s pressure or chemical. It can definitely affect your nitro finish.

[lt20dbl]

I tried one twenty years ago on my then new, Collings. When I decided to remove it, It left a few tiny pinholes in the finish. Needless to say, it never went back on. I get the theory behind it's function but to me, it's not worth the risk.

[zhunter]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

John Pearse himself always cautioned me to never put an armrest onto to a guitar with a nitrocellulose lacquer that was newer than six months old, because the finish needed to fully harden before an armrest should be mounted, for the very reasons I’ve just explained.

So if an armrest is put on a new guitar with a finish that hasn’t fully hardened, or there’s some problem with the finish (which is more common with factory-built guitars than you might expect,) then this sort of imprinting can occur. It doesn’t even have to be nitrocellulose, either - in fact, some the modern “catalyzed lacquer” finishes can be the worst culprits in this regard.

Wade Hampton Miller

Might be a good idea to put this cautionary statement on the JP website?

hunter

[Jabberwocky]

Sorry to read about that. I have a JP Armrest that came mounted on one of my guitars. I tried removing it by tugging at it and it would not give. The adhesive is tenacious. Thought I should leave well enough alone.

Then I read that the way to remove it is with dental floss. Thought that I should leave well enough alone again. And I am glad I did.

Someone cautioned me to wax the area where you intend to mount the JP Armrest with carnauba/beeswax-based guitar wax before mounting it. This aids removal. The same person also advised me to mount it only on the binding of the guitar and to use as few strips or tabs as necessary to give it sufficient grip.

Give your Guild some time. Nitrocellulose Lacquer is made up of random flakes stacked one on top of the other after the solvent evaporates. The mechanical stress that comes from removing the JP Armrest may cause it to craze temporarily. With time and the removal of stress, it may just go back to normal. It like pulling on a piece of fabric and then letting it go.

I won't do anything to your Guild yet. Just leave it alone for a bit...a long bit, perhaps.