#1
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White line along heel: finish? glue?
Hi Everyone!
Glad to be a new member on the AGF! Just registered to see if anyone has knowledge/can advise about the following situation. I acquired a used 2016 Yairi DYMR70SB last summer, which has been an absolute beauty to play and listen to. Recently I noticed that along the heel on the left side of the neck, there is a white line that looks a bit like a streak of finish blush, or maybe something strange happening with the glue in that area. This isn't present on the other side of the neck, nor on my other Yairi CYM75 guitar, which got me a little worried that something is up with the glue in this area (hide glue, by the way). I also don't remember this being present when I acquired the guitar -- I think it happened after I sprayed some cleaner/polish in the area, but I cannot get it to go away through any amount of cleaning, and in fact rubbing it seems to make it worse. I am posting pics of what I mean below, the area in concern is near the middle: I know this may seem silly/small, however, I am relatively new to acoustics (more experience with electrics) and so I'm not sure whether this is a genuine cause for concern: should I bring it to a tech to look at? is it a sign that the glue is becoming brittle/reacting with something? I'm not sure. Anyways, if anyone here has seen situations like this and has some input, it would be much appreciated! |
#2
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Looks like polish residue that’s got impacted in the join between neck and body. Personally I’d just leave it alone, but others may well come along with methods of cleaning it out.
The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
__________________
John Brook ‘Lamorna’ OM (European Spruce/EIR) (2019) Lowden F-23 (Red Cedar/Claro Walnut) (2017) Martin D-18 (2012) Martin HD-28V (2010) Fender Standard Strat (2017-MIM) |
#3
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You could try scraping at it with a toothpick, see if it comes out or not.
Just a thought |
#4
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Hey JayBee,
Thanks for the reply! If it doesn’t look worrisome I probably will leave it alone, just wanted to make sure. I think it’s a thin poly finish, and I was using virtuoso polish, so there shouldn’t be any reaction - I’ve done some boneheaded things though, like not washing off bug spray before playing a nitro guitar 🤦*♂️ |
#5
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Quote:
I tried it, but it didn’t come out easily and I was a bit worried that I’d mess something up if I scraped too hard. It doesn’t bother me cosmetically as much as I just wanted to make sure I’m not on the road to an early neck reset because of some reaction between polish and glue or something. Anyways, thank you! |
#6
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I understand the neck joint is some kind of dovetail. If the body and neck are finished when separated, the neck surface against the sides may be unfinished. There doesn't need to be glue there. Glue on the dovetail is sufficient.
Best not to spray liquid into it. The polish may contaminate the bare wood and/or wick under the finish. Spray onto cloth for entire guitar or use no polish at all. Search topics for discussion (ad nauseum) on polishing and polish ingredients to avoid. |
#7
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You say you recently saw this so I'll take that to mean it wasn't there sometime in the past. If that's the case. has there been any kind of sharp shock to the neck that may have cause the finish to do that?
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#8
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Hey runamuck,
It's been an indoor guitar its whole life, and treated very gently too, so I don't think there have been any shocks (none that I know of at least!). Jon, thanks for the tip, definitely won't apply polish directly from now on. As far as I recall, this line appeared after cleaning guitar, so I think it's somehow related to the polish (or maybe some interaction it had with the finish) but it doesn't seem to come out just through scraping (I've tried with a toothpick so far) so I thought maybe the polish had somehow reacted with the finish or something around heel - it definitely looks like there is finish joining the neck and body, almost like a small bead of caulk running along the joint, which I assumed was glue. Thank you all for your help so far! |
#9
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Yep, that looks like polish residue. The bridge and neck joint are locations you want to avoid getting polish in as this problem will typically happen. However, there's a very easy solution.
Grab a damp paper towel and a toothbrush with soft bristles. Wet the toothbrush a bit and scrub the joint area - dry with the damp paper towel. Move quickly and don't let actual drops of water go into the joint - you just want the toothbrush and paper towel to have some moisture in them and not be dripping wet. This should quickly remove any polish residue. |
#10
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Get yourself some light oil - lemon oil, baby oil, mineral oil. Dunk a Q-tip in the oil, swab it down the joint and immediately wipe off the surface with a soft cloth.
Like magic, the white disappears. . .
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Cheers, Frank Ford |
#11
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I’d suggest ignoring it - its a very minor, completely inconsequential, purely cosmetic issue, that you run a much higher risk of creating a problem if you start messing around with it -
__________________
More than a few Santa Cruz’s, a few Sexauers, a Patterson, a Larrivee, a Cumpiano, and a Klepper!! |
#12
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Frank is one of the best instrument repair guys in the business - try what he says first.
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#13
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Hello again everyone,
Thank you all for the input! Unfortunately it didn't end up buffing out, although the toothbrush and q-tip tricks seemed to lessen its appearance somewhat. I'm just gonna learn to live with it before I get myself in deeper the guitar sounds so nice that I hardly notice while playing. Anyways, I just wanted to thank everyone again, I truly appreciate all the advice and love looking around here at all the beautiful Luthierie going on. |
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Tags |
finish, glue, heel |
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