Unusual wear (?) on Weber

[HonketyHank]

While trolling around on eBay I came across this Weber Yellowstone F:

The listing says there is "some wear" but other than that, no mention or explanation of the strange "wear" on the top and neck. Some might say it is a custom speed neck job but ... well, no.

Any idea what could have happened to the top and neck of this poor Weber?

[George R. Lane]

Hank,

I think whomever had this Weber played it a lot an hard. The neck could speed necked, but the top would require a lot of work to make it look good again.

[Dale Ludewig]

That is not normal wear no matter how hard you play. Everything looks Awful clean except those areas. And the wear on the top goes underneath the strings! I'd like an explanation on that. And there is no wear right up near the nut on the neck. Weird.

[Tobin]

It looks really fake to me. Actual play wear wouldn't have such clean lines between the good finish and the completely-worn-off finish. My guess is that somebody tried (poorly) to "distress" this mandolin to make it look like it had lots of play time. They tried to mimic a pinky-planter as well as thumb wear on the neck. But oddly, the thumb wear on the neck doesn't even cover first position playing.

[mandobassman]

My guess is that somebody tried (poorly) to "distress" this mandolin to make it look like it had lots of play time.

My thought exactly. Terrible job of it too.

[MikeZito]

Count me in - it looks somebody, (who had no clue what they were doing), either tried to 'distress' it, or maybe even tried to strip it to refinish it? No matter what, I cant imagine that neck would be too comfortable to play, and it might be somewhat cost prohibitive to 'fix' it. Besides, if the previous owner screwed-up the finish, who knows what else he screwed up!

I'll pass . . . .

[Tom C]

Just looks like many years of pinky planting.

[Mandophyte]

Who could or would plant their pinky underneath the A and E strings???????

[Roger Adams]

Saw a similar "wear" pattern on a guitar once. It was the result of Deet insect repellent on the players hands, followed by attempts to "clean it up." Whatever it is, I agree with Tobin - it's not actual/normal play wear.

[Tobin]

Who could or would plant their pinky underneath the A and E strings???????

I have seen some people wear the finish off underneath the A and E strings by curling their pinky when they play. Sometimes it curls under the strings and the fingernail just slowly scrapes the finish off.

But there ain't no way in Hades that the finish on this instrument was worn off like that. It's just bizarre looking, the way the edges of the finish are so clean.

[HonketyHank]

Saw a similar "wear" pattern on a guitar once. It was the result of Deet insect repellent on the players hands, followed by attempts to "clean it up." Whatever it is, I agree with Tobin - it's not actual/normal play wear.

I have been thinking some kind of strong solvent too, but you would think there would be some bleeding into the natural wood. Unless the wood is sealed with something solvent resistant before it is stained (?).

[Eric C.]

I have some wear underneath my A and E strings. For some reason, my tremelo is the culprit. My fingers curl up beneath the strings. Saying that, someone took a sander or something to this mandolin in question....or a grinder.

[Tom Haywood]

I can't see it clearly enough to tell, but it looks a lot like somebody tried to scrape the finish off down to the bare wood and gave up. Makes me wonder if they used some kind of heat or finish remover. Might not be a serious problem other than looks (or it might be), but I would ask the seller what he knows about it.

[Simon DS]

I was wondering if the finish is some sort of plastic varnish coating on the neck? It may have split from heating or moisture on the neck and then was peeled off in order to prevent cuts on the left hand while playing. Is that normal that the back doesn't seem to be matched?

[J.Albert]

I think Grizzly nailed it in post 9 above.

Looks like the owner:
a. got Deet on it
b. Deet bubbled the finish
c. Owner tried to "rub it out" (or scrape it off)
d. Made things worse
e. Owner gave up and scraped finish off.

[Tobin]

I've only heard about what Deet can do to finishes; never actually seen it. I suppose this could be from that. The finish definitely looks like it was melted or chemically dissolved at the edges, not worn from mechanical rubbing action. If it wasn't Deet, it was something similar that melts the finish. But it does seem curious that it took the dye out of the wood grain too. If this was wear from playing, I'd expect to see stains from sweat or grubby hands in the wood. But it's very clean and fresh looking.

[foldedpath]

Doesn't look like natural wear to me. Natural wear is feathered at the edges of the finish, not a sharp edge. When you start picking past the finish into the grain, you get grain lines too. Like this:



It also doesn't look like Weber's usual cherry sunburst to me, or at least not like my Weber OM that's a cherry sunburst. Not much sunburst to speak of, and it's very dark overall. Maybe a complete refinish job, and then ham-handed "distressing"?

[LadysSolo]

I agree with Tobin, when I first saw that I thought "that looks like someone melted the finish off that mandolin!" If I was truly interested, I would send an e-mail with a picture attached to Weber or Two old Hippies and see if they think they can refinish it. I can't see well enough in the picture to see if the wood might be damaged.

[CarlM]

I have an old Yamaha guitar that I got DEET on. The finish came off over a larger area than this and it feathered out. Someone may have tried to clean it up by scraping or something and made it worse. If you ever have to remove an old finish DEET will do the trick.

[Timbofood]

I had an issue with DEET years ago but, got lucky and was able to rescue the top on my D-25 Guild. I had a can of polish in the case and went after it immediately then when I got home and to the shop I worked at, I had the repair guys help me out, slow and careful use of meguires and elbow grease helped, it's still a little dull but, not destroyed.
Now, the neck wear, looks perfectly honest to me, it looks a lot like mine, I'm slowly "speed necking" it.

[jaycat]

If DEET does that to your instrument, what must it do to your skin?

[HonketyHank]

In my experience, mosquitoes do a lot more damage to my skin than DEET.

Actually, I doubt that DEET is the culprit. DEET's carrier is much more likely - probably alcohol.

[jim simpson]

One shouldn't drink and use Deet?, lol! The seller has a very ambitious Buy-it-now price for this in the state it is in.

[Timbofood]

Hank, I've spilled numerous spirits on my instruments with not a whit of the misery that bug dope has done in very short time.
It does make me worry about the damage it could do to people's skin and innards!
I have to be pretty bug chewed to think of using the stuff! The one experience with guitar finish made me leery forty years ago.

[CarlM]

Actually, I doubt that DEET is the culprit. DEET's carrier is much more likely - probably alcohol.

No, it does it to lacquer and varnish too. My Yamaha was lacquer I believe. Non DEET repellents are not nearly so damaging to finishes. Unless those repellents use a different carrier, it seems to be the DEET. DEET is a neurotoxin with sometimes serious side effects to humans. I have quit using it though it does keep mosquitoes away.