Carbon Fiber vs. Beer

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by unimogbert

This part triggered the troll-o-meter.

If you'd asked about getting the lemony scent of Lemon Pledge off the guitar the troll-o-meter wouldn't have budged.

He's not kidding - We've had more than one person tell of playing bars and having a drunk hit the soundhole. The funny thing is that I don't remember anyone saying it was a biker bar...

Bob

[dfrivers]

Carbon fiber is pretty much impervious to any liquids, regardless whether it is painted or not. The carbon fiber is either pre-impregnated with resin, or the resin is added as a separate step. Once the fibers are formed to the desired shape, it is cured in an oven under pressure (or in a vacuum). The resins harden and hold the carbon fibers in place.

I spent many years building graphite flyrods, and some are left unpainted to give a stealth look. They hold up just as well as the painted ones.

When carbon fiber is painted, the paint gives the fibers more depth and definition (does the same thing for wood!). I expect that it gives a small amount of impact protection.

Incidentally, carbon fiber is usually shiny right out of the oven, as some of the resins float to the surface and cure there. There are usually many imperfections which are difficult to prevent, so the resin may be sanded down and the paint applied.

Hope this helps

[unimogbert]

..........

[dberch]

I should think that Ralph contains some caustic materials that can leave a mark on any finish. We're not just talking spilt milk, here....

[topdown]

I routinely drink beer directly from my CA guitar and have never had a problem. The 7i holds roughly 240 ounces, 4 shy of a case. I recommend you begin your set in classical position to minimize spillage from the soundhole. Another benefit of the off-set soundhole, were it centered, I doubt if it could hold a 12-pack!