How to make nitro checking more proninent on black gloss

[AJ Ray]

Does*anyone have any experience of relicing a black strat. I have had what i consider great success at achieving checking on the body but its still very subtle unless in certain lights. How can i make it more pronounced with a black finish? Any help is more than welcome. I have included a pic of the guitar after i buffed the satin body. The checking isnt noticeable on the puc but i think sone of you will agree its a beautiful strat

[mirwa]

Put it in the freezer overnight

Steve

[ManyMartinMan]

Funny but that should do it. It’s not the cold but the thawing so take it outside after removing from the cold.

[arie]

I have such a guitar. A 71' lp custom black beauty with a horribly crazed finish. It's had decades of people rubbing "stuff" all over it in a (presumably) well-meaning attempt to "make it look nice".

Well, that has failed. It will never look "nice" because all of the cracks in the finish are embedded with funk. It is, on the other hand, a superb playing specimen -if I do say so myself.

Were I to replicate an ancient cracked finish I'd try to duplicate what has sifted into those cracks over the years. Something to realize though is that an old checked finish exhibits some curling at the edges of the "chunks" of finish. This is something that only time can provide or a direct application of flame perhaps.

[fazool]

I'm confused.

You want to take good condition finish that you applied and polished, and want to deliberately damage it to fake an older look or something?

I've never once ever understood the concept of relic-ing something.

[AJ Ray]

Thanks for the replies. I have the checking already but was just wondering how to make it stand out more. Mqybe the freezer trick will do the trick. Or maybe i need to wait for the checking tk take a better effect.
For what its worth i know there will always be people who think what i want to do with my guitar is crazy in terms of relicing the finish but im 38 years old and frankly will make my own decisions about what i do with my guitars. I plan to conpletely refinish the guitar next year and i suppise i am just having some fun with my hobby. Dont judge. Enjoy life. It sounds great and plays fab. I love the way it sounds and i would like to experiment with the finish. Im a nice guy actually. Ray

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by AJ Ray

Mqybe the freezer trick will do the trick. Or maybe i need to wait for the checking tk take a better effect.

I do this process all the time to create checked finishes on peoples guitars, little bit harder when its an acoustic guitar

Steve

[Quickstep192]

Here’s a link to an article by Dan Erlewine on relicing.

The beginning is about how he creates the appearance of checking, but at the end he describes how he accentuates the cracks using a pigment dissolved in naphtha and how he top coats it to make it look old. He’s doing it on a clear finish, but I think the principles still apply.

https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Onlin...956_Strat.html

[MC5C]

Do Strat's actually have nitro finishes? I would have thought that some high end ones would, but that generic strat-style bodies might have poly or other impervious to anything finishes.

[AJ Ray]

The billy corgan signature is a satin nitro which i think is over some other base. But yes nitro it is. I have polished it to a high gloss and checked it. The highway one model is similar finish. Great guutar by the way