Finish issue on 2001 Singlecut

[jc986]

Greetings,

I've bought this guitar brand new in 2001 and it's my #1 of the 10 guitars I own. It plays and sounds amazing, but I've begun to notice an issue over the past 2-3 years where it looks like the finish on the top beneath and around the neck pickup is graying or there is air getting under the clear coat or something.

What causes something like this to occur? I keep all my gear in pretty great shape and haven't ever gigged with this guitar so it has spent most of its life in the PRS case when not being played. My main concern is that whatever is happening will continue to spread and would look pretty terrible if it spread across the whole top. Would I be looking at a refinish to address the issue?

Here's a picture, and I can take some more if what I'm referring to isn't apparent in the photo:

 

[Rider1260]

All I can say is give PTC a shout they are great to deal with !!! ( fixed my CU22 like new )

As far as why who knows most things like that would seem to be moisture under the finish

 

[rocguitar]

Looks like that could b a possible warranty issue.
Give the guys at PTC a call....they'll take care of you. As Rider1260 said, they are great to deal with.
I too had a finish "clouding" issue on My Paul's Guitar, and the PTC team did a complete refinish job! The outcome was perfect.....and I really do mean PERFECT!!

 

[jc986]

That was my first thought as well about the warranty, but reading through the warranty terms it is pretty explicit that no finish issues are covered. I did send a request to the PTC to see how much it would run.

 

[Rider1260]

Hey JC
What the warranty says verses what PTC does are often two different things
Here is my experience both my issues were clearly outside of warranty , I asked for nothing and expected to pay for repairs.
In the end I only paid one way shipping on my items.
Like I said in my experience PTC goes way beyond the call in there service.
That also sent me free trem lockdown screws once again I would happily pay but it came free
Since you are the original owner I am really confident you will be well taken care of

 

[jc986]

Very cool, that's great to hear.

 

[jc986]

Alright, the guitar is on its way back to its birthplace. I'll update with pics once I get the guitar back.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Killer top...just looks a little bit "played"... Bet it sounds awesome, too.

 

[Mixstar]

Folks pay a fortune to have that done to their guitars. Me personally I'd leave it as it is.

 

[jc986]

Looks like that could b a possible warranty issue.
Give the guys at PTC a call....they'll take care of you. As Rider1260 said, they are great to deal with.
I too had a finish "clouding" issue on My Paul's Guitar, and the PTC team did a complete refinish job! The outcome was perfect.....and I really do mean PERFECT!!

If you recall, do remember what the turnaround time was from when the PTC received your guitar and when you got it back? Obviously it can vary depending on the volume of work they have in queue, but just curious.

 

[garrett]

Alright, the guitar is on its way back to its birthplace. I'll update with pics once I get the guitar back.

Would you mind sharing what their verdict was? I have a similar thing happening on the back of my HBII.

 

[John Beef]

I can only imagine if I had a 2001 Chevy Cavalier and contacted Chevy about fixing a paint issue under warranty. The collective laughter at that company would generate enough energy to demolish their ginormous Detroit towers. PRS is a great company.

 

[jc986]

Would you mind sharing what their verdict was? I have a similar thing happening on the back of my HBII.

Not 100% sure on the verdict yet, but I believe they are taking care of it as they haven't given me a quote or asked me to provide payment info. Their initial reply was asking if the guitar had been subjected to extreme moisture & temperature, to which I responded that it had only been stored in its case and played in my home, which is humidity and temperature controlled. They then said, "I can arrange for you to send the guitar back to PRS and if the lifting is a manufacturing issue we would take responsibility for the repair." I'm not certain how they would determine that the top coat lifting is a manufacturing issue vs. normal wear & tear.

I confirmed they received the guitar on March 7th and that it was with the tech department. I asked for a status update on March 22nd and was just told that my guitar was still with the tech department and they would provide more details once they have them. I suppose it's possible their queue of work is large enough they haven't even looked at my guitar yet.

 

[garrett]

Not 100% sure on the verdict yet, but I believe they are taking care of it as they haven't given me a quote or asked me to provide payment info. Their initial reply was asking if the guitar had been subjected to extreme moisture & temperature, to which I responded that it had only been stored in its case and played in my home, which is humidity and temperature controlled. They then said, "I can arrange for you to send the guitar back to PRS and if the lifting is a manufacturing issue we would take responsibility for the repair." I'm not certain how they would determine that the top coat lifting is a manufacturing issue vs. normal wear & tear.

I confirmed they received the guitar on March 7th and that it was with the tech department. I asked for a status update on March 22nd and was just told that my guitar was still with the tech department and they would provide more details once they have them. I suppose it's possible their queue of work is large enough they haven't even looked at my guitar yet.

Gotcha. I was wondering if lifting is what's happening on mine, and I think this confirms it.

I bet the PTC guys have a bunch of work lined up. Considering the wide range of services they perform, I would guess it could take them a while to work through their queue.

 

[bodia]

Gotcha. I was wondering if lifting is what's happening on mine, and I think this confirms it.

I bet the PTC guys have a bunch of work lined up. Considering the wide range of services they perform, I would guess it could take them a while to work through their queue.

You're probably right on point here. I sent a guitar in last month for a refinish, and some other upgrades. I was given an estimate of 15 weeks, not including shipping. I was perfectly cool with that. I mean, come on, you can't rush genius!

 

[jc986]

Coming up on 16 weeks since my guitar arrived to the PTC. It was in basecoat having the poly coats applied when I checked on the status on May 25th. Hoping it might be on its way back next week.

 

[jc986]

I got the guitar back on Wednesday and the PTC did an AMAZING job. I can't praise them highly enough, as the guitar looks brand new. They did a complete refinish of the entire guitar, gave me a new nut, deep cleaned the fretboard and polished the frets, and setup for my preferred tuning and string gauge. Way above and beyond what was required. I'll try to get some pics up this weekend to show a before and after.

If you're considering having anything done to your PRS don't think twice about getting in touch with the PTC.

 

[bodia]

If you're considering having anything done to your PRS don't think twice about getting in touch with the PTC.

I couldn't agree with this more. I was STUNNED by what they did with my Cu22.

 

[jc986]

 

[bodia]

Very cool!