Members taylorplayer89 Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 (edited) asadf Edited August 19, 2015 by taylorplayer89 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maximuskatana Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 Yeah I'd say taking it to a luthier is your best bet. Your right in that your warranty is probably void. If you do decide to take it to a luthier, make sure you get a REALLY good one, as a refinishing can easily be botched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 I think Martin will repair it under warranty because it is an obvious factory defect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maximuskatana Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 well the problem is like he said he is the second owner, warranties usually dont transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members conacher Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 well the problem is like he said he is the second owner, warranties usually dont transfer. I would still give it a shot. Being that it is an issue due to manufacturing a lot of times it doesn't matter if he is the second owner. I've known a lot of companies to do work on their products if it is obvious that the issue was of their own fault. My buddy had a Xbox 360 that was 3 years old and never filled out the warranty for it and ended up getting the "red rings". Microsoft repaired it free of charge. The worst they can say is no Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 How and where do you store your guitar and do you oil the fingerboard? I'm simply wondering if it may be the nitro finish reacting with something on a stand, or finish seperation due to over oiling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 well the problem is like he said he is the second owner, warranties usually dont transfer. Martin is not a typical company that looks to avoid warranty work. If it's a workmanship problem on their end, I say they will probably fix it for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 Take with you to Nazareth for the factory tour and just keep yelling loudly at them in front of the crowd about it. They'll help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 Nope, i don't really use any oils, i've used a martin guitar polish a few times, but not to the extent that it would be to blame. My last guitar, a Taylor 414ce, started to get a lot of fret buzz because I left it out on a stand in my room, where the humidity and temp fluctuated, and that's why I've been extra careful with this one, always keeping it in the case, with a humidifier and hygrometer (don't know if that's what it's called) that tells me the exact humidity, temp, and keeps track of highs and lows. I'm 100% this is a Martin finishing defect so we'll see if they try to keep their reputation. I'll try to get in touch with them. Thank you guys for the concern though, I really appreciate your feedback!!! All of your ideas are very appreciated! Thanks again guys! -Jeff Whereabouts in the case do you store your humidifier and which type is it? It just seems strange for the problem to manifest itself during the short time you've owned the guitar and not during the previous five years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxorox Posted December 28, 2008 Members Share Posted December 28, 2008 Wouldn't be so quick to assume this is a Martin defect. It's a five year old guitar. A factory defect would usually have revealed itself in that time. Why didn't the original/previous owner avail themselves of the warranty? Possibility is that the previous owner tried to overspray to resolve some personal issue (glossy/flat preferance), and used a finish incompatible with that on the guitar. That would void the warranty and justify sale rather than seeking recourse with the manufacturer. Another thing that arouses suspicion is the time frame. A five year old Martin guitar with no issues has finish problems just two months after you come into possession? Bull{censored}. He steel-wooled the neck to make it faster for him, then sprayed Ace Hardware Poly on it so he could sell it as in "Original Condition". Youth, zeal, and ignorance showed me the wrong way to do refins. This is a classic crap overspray. This is way out of warranty business. On the good side, it's easy to fix. Talk to a luthier with a good hand at finish. You can reduce cost by doing most of the stripping yourself. You don't need to go to bare wood, just get the crap off. Heck, that might be all you have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Qalam Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Do you use any kind of aftershave or cologne which might leave a residue on your hands? Some of scent oils used in the manufacture of these can actually be harmful to varnishes and other clearcoat type finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 The reason behind the questions is that the problem area is isolated to the parts of the neck that come in prolonged direct contact with the left hand, guitar case neck support and - potentially - a guitar stand neck support. Accurately identifying the cause tends to be the surest way of finding both a cure and ways of avoiding future problems. In terms of the problem in hand, something has recently lead to a cascading deterioration in the neck finish. Have you used anything other than a damp cloth or instrument polish to clean the neck? eg. Acetone is one particular chemical perfectly capable of causing this kind of problem on a satin nitro finish. In light of your comments regarding the gloss neck finish. The Jonh Mayer OM-28 is supposed to have a satin neck finish and - like Boxorox - I'd suspect a "re-spray" problem if the present finish is gloss. What is the general appearance of the neck beneath the bubble defects? Does it appear to be a satin finish and is ths intact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 This bubbling and flaking of finish has been documented several times on the UMGF. It is a factory defect and Martin should be contacted about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxorox Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Ahhh... So, Andrew, there's been a finish prob documented in Martins of this time frame? I take back the uncharitable comments on the previous owner then. Happens now and then. Guilds back in the early 70's, Mossmans (poor storage by distributor), Stelling banjoes (bad batch of lacqer). The description does sound like poly-rejection, and the time frame was suspicious, but stranger things have happened. Still, if the specs call for a matte neck, someone could have tried to shine it up and used something caustic. If it's a Martin prob it'd be worth seeing if they'd handle it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikeo Posted December 29, 2008 Members Share Posted December 29, 2008 Hey guys, About 3 months ago, I bought a Martin OM-28 John Mayer from the original owner off eBay. When I got the guitar I inspected it thoroughly and found it to be in close to immaculate condition. For being 5 years old and played, there was only one dent the size of a pencil tip in the top and the rest of the guitar was mint. About a month ago I noticed a bubble near the third fret on the neck of the guitar. The bubble got bigger and with a little pressure the finish flaked right off. Since then, the air bubbles have spread down the neck and the finish looks like it will inevitably continue to flake off. From all the research I've been able to, it appears this is actually the result of an error made when the guitar was finished, the result of some contamination under the finish. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm assuming I will have to take the guitar to a luthier, who will have to strip the remaining finish off the neck, and re-finish it. I'm also assuming my warranty is void since I am the second owner. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated since I've never had to deal with this and am a little frustrated since it's my dream guitar and I'm already having problems. Thanks you guys! -Jeff Ya you get no warranty with a used Martin, period. The problem I think you have is the finish that is fretboard sides is now starting to lift a bit. All my acoustic have some of this, both Gibson and Martins. It won't effect it. The thing is this is a strange area where the unfinsihed top part of the fret board mets the finished side of the fret boards and over time and over the season the fretbord expands ever so slightly with hummidity and temp changes. I take kick ass care of my guitars and like I said all of em have some of the finish that lifted off, or is lifting off. So guitars I have had for 20 yeas with out so much as a ding in em and it's still and issue. Guitars were ment to be played. No with out a warranty, if you ever need a neck reset it's gonna cost ya a nice hunk of change. Martin covered my mC 28 100% and even kicked in for a new bridge and saddle at my request. There warranty is so good, I turned around and bought 2 more Martins. I had the warranty work done by a local authorized luthier here in town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted December 30, 2008 Members Share Posted December 30, 2008 Hey guys, About 3 months ago, I bought a Martin OM-28 John Mayer from the original owner off eBay. When I got the guitar I inspected it thoroughly and found it to be in close to immaculate condition. For being 5 years old and played, there was only one dent the size of a pencil tip in the top and the rest of the guitar was mint. About a month ago I noticed a bubble near the third fret on the neck of the guitar. The bubble got bigger and with a little pressure the finish flaked right off. Since then, the air bubbles have spread down the neck and the finish looks like it will inevitably continue to flake off. From all the research I've been able to, it appears this is actually the result of an error made when the guitar was finished, the result of some contamination under the finish. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm assuming I will have to take the guitar to a luthier, who will have to strip the remaining finish off the neck, and re-finish it. I'm also assuming my warranty is void since I am the second owner. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated since I've never had to deal with this and am a little frustrated since it's my dream guitar and I'm already having problems. Thanks you guys! -Jeff Does it look like this?: That is the neck of my 1994 HD-28. The finish began bubbling about a month after I bought the guitar. In this next picture, which I took the day I got the guitar, you can see that it's not as bad. The first picture was taken only a few weeks later. Since then it's gotten worse and has begun to appear in other spots on the neck. I was going to leave it alone, but at this point it's grown to the size of a half dollar and is down to bare wood. My guitar tech sealed it with shellac until I decided what to do about it and now I think I'm going to have it repaired. I don't have a warranty, but I don't live far from Nazareth and I can take it to the factory and they'll do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted December 30, 2008 Members Share Posted December 30, 2008 Does it look like this?: That is the neck of my 1994 HD-28. The finish began bubbling about a month after I bought the guitar. In this next picture, which I took the day I got the guitar, you can see that it's not as bad. The first picture was taken only a few weeks later. Since then it's gotten worse and has begun to appear in other spots on the neck. I was going to leave it alone, but at this point it's grown to the size of a half dollar and is down to bare wood. My guitar tech sealed it with shellac until I decided what to do about it and now I think I'm going to have it repaired. I don't have a warranty, but I don't live far from Nazareth and I can take it to the factory and they'll do it right. In all honesty the flaw has every appearance of being a reaction between the finish and the rubberized neck support commonly found on guitar stands and hangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted December 30, 2008 Members Share Posted December 30, 2008 In all honesty the flaw has every appearance of being a reaction between the finish and the rubberized neck support commonly found on guitar stands and hangers. That is what everyone has said, but it must have been exposed to the rubber before I got it because I don't have a stand that grabs the neck in that spot. It really doesn't bother me all that much and I'm inclined to leave it alone, but if was ever going to sell one of my Martins, this would be the one so whatever I do I want to protect the resale value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted December 30, 2008 Members Share Posted December 30, 2008 I reduced the images, noticed that this may be a little hard to see but.... Here she is. (Click for a bigger image) Here if you can look you can see where a big piece is now missing, leaving some exposed wood. (Click for a bigger image) And here's a closeup, the dang flash makes it difficult to see but, you can see the bubbles forming and where the giant piece is flaking. (Click for a bigger image) Taking a picture with the flash directed across (Instead of at) the target image should help reduce glare. If what I'm seeing is a gloss finish, my initial impression is that it may be a result of a poorly prepaired neck overspray, as this version of the OM-28 is spec'd with a satin neck finish but appears far glossier than any of my Martins. Another cause of de-laminated finish at the neck:fingerboard transition is when fingerboards are over oiled and the oil is drawn beneath the open edged finish via capillarity/capillary action. The source - in this case of de-lamination - appears to originate at the upper fingerboard edge. It also appears to soak back along the neck:fingerboard seam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jessz1 Posted January 12, 2009 Members Share Posted January 12, 2009 Good luck with this man. It will turn out well in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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