Is this a finish flaw or just the color variation of Honduran mahogany?

[hayvis]

Very mesmerising looking at these pictures. I have no idea about finishes, but as a layman, everywhere there is a change in colour, I can also see that there is also a change in appearance of the wood pores.

Where it is salmon there are frequent dotted pores, and where it is more orange, the wood grain is long flecks. This leads me to believe from my entirely unqualified opinion, that it's completely natural variation in the wood. The picture third from bottom (on the later post) displays this best.

[sportycliff]

Looks like perhaps sunburn?

[ChuckS]

From what I can see, I believe the 'color' variation is due to Mahogany's interlocking grain. The interlocking grain is due to the tree's twisting changing directions back and forth through its years of growth. The interlocking grain is responsible for Mahogany's ribbon stripe pattern. As other's have pointed out, you can view the change of the twist of growth by looking at the open pores, sometimes they are long and sometimes they are short or even round. This grain pattern will change in look as the direction of light, or viewing angle, is changed.

In my view the detail of Mahogany's grain pattern is wonderful and can vary greatly from tree to tree.

[charles Tauber]

Based on the photos, I think it very likely to be finish issues.

Now what? Regardless of being finish or variations in wood color, the resulting appearance is the same and not something you can effectively change.

[Lillis]

I think it is normal. I will try to post pictures of my new satin finish Breedlove Honduran mahogany back and side concert.

[LyleGorch]

Could I ask who built the guitar?

[parlorpower82]

Originally Posted by LyleGorch

Could I ask who built the guitar?

It’s a Breedlove deluxe om-m revival

[redir]

It looks like it experienced sanding through and then top coated over. If you like the sound and play-ability of the guitar then you have to determine if the way the thing looks is more important then the way it sounds. My guess is most people would not notice that from across the room or even right up close.

[jaymarsch]

I think that it is just variation in the natural grain and color of the mahogany. The reason that I think this is because of the photos that I have received over the time that my mahogany guitar is being built. I am including some of these here for reference.

In the first picture, you can see the natural wood and the places where there are lighter streaks and splotches if you will. Sparky Kramer, the luthier, explained that this is ribbon grained Honduran mahogany with a bit of curl in it (The bottom left corner has naptha on it to accentuate the grain for the photo). In the second photo, you can clearly see the much lighter color near the edges. The last photo is the back and sides under the base wash that he uses before the lacquering process. I hope this helps.

Best,
Jayne

[gmel555]

Originally Posted by parlorpower82

Sometimes it just looks like different colored mahogany. I don’t think a stain was used.

Do you see the same variation on the inside unfinished surfaces? Shine a light in there...
I'm thinking the same thing as ParlorPower (i.e., natural variation).

[mcduffnw]

That second batch of pictures with the arrows really helps!

It does look like a finish issue, possibly some type of contamination within the nitro or poly, whatever Breedlove used on it...in those small areas that caused the finish to fog/haze and discolor slightly.

But as one poster just said more or less...so?...now what?

It is not a major structural issue, will not effect the playability or the tone, will effect the resale value...but...Breedlove's do not have great resale value anyway as a general rule.

So...you can worry about it...or just ignore it and enjoy the music you can make with the guitar.

So what were you...OP...wanting to know, as far as doing something...or not...about it?

Not much worth doing really, nothing cost effective anyways. Your kinda at the live with and enjoy it, or sell it off cliff.

Do you jump?


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

That second batch of pictures with the arrows really helps!

It does look like a finish issue, possibly some type of contamination within the nitro or poly, whatever Breedlove used on it...in those small areas that caused the finish to fog/haze and discolor slightly.

But as one poster just said more or less...so?...now what?

It is not a major structural issue, will not effect the playability or the tone, will effect the resale value...but...Breedlove's do not have great resale value anyway as a general rule.

That's a good point Duff. I remember the luthier building my guitar saying something about the process with finishing mahogany and the steps that he takes that helps the finish adhere better to the surface of the wood after the pore filling process. On factory built guitars, I am not sure how much attention they would pay to those steps. So maybe my comparison is too much apples and oranges to be useful.

I certainly agree that the issue would not bother me if I liked how the guitar played and sounded.

Best,
Jayne

[merlin666]

It could also be a chatoyancy effect.