How to make a relic?

[djford]

If you guys know of a existing thread of how to make a aged,beat up,(nitro aged) looking guitar or any ideas of your own that would be cool.ilooking to buy a model series charvel and tastfully give it some mojo

[AlexL]

Buy a guitar and play the living shit out of it for 30 years.

- E.

[djford]

Yea that would do it but I woul like one now I could find a banged up used one and do the finishing touches. but the tip of the headstock would still have to be mint if that makes any sences.

[Luafcm]

I was thinking that If you took a guitar body and put it through consecutive heating and cooling cycles you could maybe get the finish to crack. I have a Lado from the early 90's that mush have been stored in a garage (Northern Canada). It has a pretty cool shattered look to the black finish. They are micro cracks, but they are extensive. The neck is dead straight still (neck-through), so the wood isn't damaged.

At work I have an environmental test chamber that is capable of doing these cycles and controlling the humidity at the same time. If I have some suitable test samples I'd like to give it a try sometime.

This Lado guitar has a real relic VOS look to it. Lots of age is apparent, but not playing wear and tear. Frets are perfect, plays like a dream. Uber cool.

Just a thought...

[daisp]

Just don't over do it...they look cheesy overly done...

[Luafcm]

Here's some natural relic'ing


Oh, and if anyone knows where this guitar is, I'd like it back please.

[Nightbat]

People buying an old and used guitar I understand
People buying a New guitar that looks old and used I don't understand
People buying a New guitar then making it look like it's old and used,... You totally lost me

I'm with AlexL on this one

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Making a new guitar look old and used is a really difficult process that requires a lot of time and expertise.

First, you need to play the guitar frequently.

Second, expose the guitar to a lot of different environments, some of them harsh.

Continue doing these two steps for weeks, months, years, and pretty soon, you'll have a beat-up old guitar.

[Grandturk]

People buying an old and used guitar I understand
People buying a New guitar that looks old and used I don't understand
People buying a New guitar then making it look like it's old and used,... You totally lost me

I'm with AlexL on this one

The issue is that with modern construction techniques, new guitars will never naturally age like old guitars.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, you are not going to get weather checking in poly. It's not gonna happen. And it takes a hell of a ding to chip that stuff, especially the thick poly like what is on most production guitars like the Pro Mods or an old Model series, the finish on my Fusion HH is about 1/8" thick.

Although that has nothing to do with poly... the finish is amazingly thin on my Warmoth single-hum and I've already chipped it down to the wood just like lacquer would. Still not gonna weather-check though.

[Jacksonguy666]

Just pull of the neck and pups and trems. Scratch them with steel wool and rust the pups, and pull the body atattched to a steel chain with your truck down a gravel road!

[Newc]

Kick the body around the yard for a day or two.


Otherwise, I agree with the anti-relic comments. Nothing says "Poser" like a beat to shit guitar that you didn't earn.

[Grandturk]

Although that has nothing to do with poly... the finish is amazingly thin on my Warmoth single-hum and I've already chipped it down to the wood just like lacquer would. Still not gonna weather-check though.

Yeah - its really thin on Warmoth bodies - but did you notice the clear under the color?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, that's grain filler/sealer.

I'm not very careful with that guitar ( ) in general and I expected what I did (dropped a pair of diagonal cutters on it from about 3" maybe?) to leave a ding but I about crapped when it chipped a half-a-pea sized chunk of finish off of it. Of course I just got done polishing a scratch out from when I was putting the pickup back in and scraped one of the height adjustment screws on the finish when I did it, so...

I have seen some professional "relic" guitars that I kind of like (the Charvel "tourmented" and "nitro aged" guitars) because they look "realistic" and they are also "old" style guitars, but nothing is worse than the cheesy fake-looking relics. A 1-year-old Squire Strat that looks like you smeared ground chuck on it and gave it to your Pitt Bull isn't a "cool relic guitar."

I'll put it this way; if you don't know what you are doing and you try to make your guitar look old, it will certainly look like a guitar someone tried to make look old.

[djford]

Yea I am not tryin to over do it I would like some cracks in the paint like old fender strats just mild things like that.the giutar I do play the shit out of is my wolfgang archtop stoptail. I all the time play it with dirty hands. Been my main guitar for like 4 years now I baby my import charvel than that guitar it's starting to get were. But I want a charvel that has some mojo.