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Thread: Kentucky 2013 finish help

  1. #1
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    Question Kentucky 2013 finish help

    howdy again,
    i received a 2013 KM1050. extreme, extensive finish cracking, see pix. in the channel/recurve areas of the top and back, the cracks are a bit more longitudinal. was a surprise.

    --is it correct to assume a 2013 is nitro?

    --anything that can be done to merge or seal all these finish cracks?
    polish can end up getting hidden in the cracks which can leave you a crappy looking finish.

    finish looks to be a bit heavy to me. i'm assuming the cracking is due to thermal shock as i had a couple 2014 950's w/ no issues. i have a number of vintage instruments so i'm clued into aging finishes.

    FWIW, since the finish seems to be thick, i think the cracks probably free up the top such that it responds better than when it was new and intact. go ugly, and simulate a nice but thin finish.
    thanks for any suggestions. b
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  2. #2
    Teacher, repair person
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    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    I would assume nothing, but it looks like nitro checking to me. However, some imports use nitro over polyurethane.

    While a mist coat of lacquer retarder might take care of it, it is very risky, and the results might only be temporary. And it might then be necessary to add another top coat of nitro, which would make the finish even heavier, and more prone to checking in the future. And it would take at least 30 days, perhaps much more before it could be rubbed out and the instrument returned to service. I advise against it.

    To paraphrase fellow member Sunburst's comments on finish repair, it's easy to make it look worse, and difficult to make it look better. Even if you know what you're doing.

    If polish residue is building up, naphtha might remove it. Then a very light coating of high grade violin polish can be used to bring the gloss back. After that, just wipe the instrument off every time you put it back in the case. Polishes should only be used very sparingly and very occasionally.
    Last edited by rcc56; Jul-13-2021 at 2:00am.

  3. #3
    Likes quaint instruments poul hansen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    Yo could try to have it french polished. It will only add a very thin layer and can be removed with alcohool if you don't achieve an improvement.
    Kentucky KM-805..........2 Hora M1086 Portuguese II(1 in car)
    Hora M1088 Mandola.....
    Richmond RMA-110..... .Noname Bearclaw
    Pochette Franz Janisch...5 Pocket............Alfredo Privitera pocket
    Puglisi Pocket 1908........Puglisi 1912.......Puglisi 1917
    3 Mandolinetto ..............C.Garozzo
    1 Mandriola...................Cannelo G. Mandriola...Böhm Waldzither 1921
    Johs Møller 1945............Luigi Embergher Studio 1933
    Marma Seashell back......Luigi Embergher 5bis 1909

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    That batch seems prone to checking you could ask FG about this one: http://www.fiddlersgreenmusicshop.co...r-model-km-900
    Kentucky km900
    Yamaha piano, clarinet, violin; generic cello;
    a pedal steel (highly recommended); banjo, dobro don't get played much cause i'm considerate ;}

    Shopping/monitoring prices: vibraphone/marimbas, rhodes, synths, Yamaha brass and double reeds

  5. #5

    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    It makes the instrument look older than it is, which is a plus for some people. I'd just polish it up and consider it part of the instrument's mojo.

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  7. #6
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    There are solvents (notably "butyl cellosolve") that can be sprayed on checked lacquer to redissolve and amalgamate checks, left to cure and re-buffed, but as rcc56 says, the results are likely temporary and the checks will almost certainly return.

    There have been well known lawsuits and settlements in the past between finish manufacturer and instrument companies after someone at the finish manufacturer made a mistake when mixing the product. Before I worked there, my former employer got a settlement from a lacquer manufacturer when someone left out a plasticizing chemical from a batch of lacquer. The results looked a lot like the finish in your picture. I suspect a bad batch of lacquer and there is really nothing do be done short of refinishing.

    (When I was working for my former employer there was another somewhat publicized settlement with a finish company. I can tell you from experience that it can be very difficult to get a finish maker to admit to a mistake!)

  8. #7

    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    A very thin French Polish treatment can work really well on a cracked nitro finish. It doesn't fill or build, but creates a better visual continuity across the surface. (I have used this twice myself after reading a Dan Erlewine bit where he described doing this to a beatup old Gibson guitar.) I don't see much likelihood of doing a sort of half-refin to smooth things out a lot; I don't think that's necessary anyway. Good luck. The French Polish treatment worked wonderfully for me, but as you know, French Polishing itself is touch sensitive and not for everyone.

  9. #8
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    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    ok, thanks for the ideas. seems like too much to do for this mando, not a gil or nugget, and might make it worse. so i'm gonna just live with it ("distressed") and try to clean it better with my breath and a piece of old cotton sheet, and then old flannel shirt buff.

  10. #9

    Default Re: Kentucky 2013 finish help

    Can you return the mandolin for a refund?

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