Custom 24 Artist finish faded from 'blue matteo' to 'dull grey' in 4 years - options?

[DISTORT6]

It's been said, and well documented, that some blue stained guitars can fade - truth : ) Here is my 59/09. The Faded Blue Jean has faded a lot, but the guitar has been gigged and played outside a lot. I'm considering sending it to PRS to be restored to the brilliant original faded blue jean color.

I love how you wore the finish off that bridge post.
I also see Bugs Bunny right below the bridge.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

For Me, Seeing This Made A Little Part Inside Of Me Die...

I Would Be So Sad And Disappointed If My Guitars Faded Like That.

I’d consider it an answered prayer.

To each their own.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I’d consider it an answered prayer.

To each their own.

I've been told that you have your own method for fading blue guitars! Something about draining the main vein in the direction of the blue guitar!! No prayers needed with that kind of powa'!!!

 

[LerxstFan]

For Me, Seeing This Made A Little Part Inside Of Me Die...

I Would Be So Sad And Disappointed If My Guitars Faded Like That.

This guitar has been played and loved a lot. I‘ve been to a few PRS open houses and events in New England, and as Paul has said, “Every guitar has a story. Don’t let yours have a boring one.” This one is still being gigged. Has the original 59/09 in the neck and DGT in the bridge. Sounds as good as ever, and still has one of the nicest PS grade quilt tops I’ve ever seen.

It had an interesting start to its history - Dweezil Zappa signed the back of the body in huge writing in permanent black marker. I think it was the only reason it didn’t get bought right away with the rest of the guitars in this color for the run. It was the top then, not the back and the signature, (which is long gone) that still gets me every time.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I love how you wore the finish off that bridge post.
I also see Bugs Bunny right below the bridge.

Or three Kermits.

 

[LerxstFan]

I found the spec sheet for the 59/09 and confirmed the nitro finish is quite thin. "Ultra-thin" in fact, lol. Definitely not like the newer more durable nitro they use now on many models.

 

[TheStereoImage]

I have a Custom 24 Artist with the same issue. It was purple mist, now it looks Charcoal or Brown. PRS game me know reason why its fading but did offer to refinish it for 1400 plus shipping with a 4-6 month timeframe. PRS should have a little more respect for the people who are shelling out 5k and up for their models. I have seen another CU24 with the same finish, purple mist without any purple in the finish. I honestly have never seen this with any other reputable builder besides PRS. I wonder what Paul has to say about this?

 

[GavQuinn]

Twenty years after it was made, would you expect Toyota to repaint your car because the finish doesn't look like it did when it was new?

Guitars aren’t out in the rain, sleet, wind and snow for 20 years like a car. I take your point, but not the best example.

I have a DGT from 2016, it’s faded out from Faded Blue Jean to a pale green. It’s not something I’m happy about, if I ever had to sell it I don’t know if I’d take a hit on it.

I’ve considered refinishing only the top in gold top to match the dark back, but that’s not something I expected to have to do.

I wouldn’t have bought it had I known it’d fade out so much.

 

[GavQuinn]

It's been said, and well documented, that some blue stained guitars can fade - truth : ) Here is my 59/09. The Faded Blue Jean has faded a lot, but the guitar has been gigged and played outside a lot. I'm considering sending it to PRS to be restored to the brilliant original faded blue jean color.

Oh Jesus… you’d want to love that darker fade, wouldn’t you?... I think both colours are nice, but if you weren’t prepared for the darker colour??

Whew… that’s extreme. If I was at PRS I’d be reluctant to continue offering those colours until they’re sorted out. They say quality is king, I would consider this part of it.

 

[Erick_S]

Guitars aren’t out in the rain, sleet, wind and snow for 20 years like a car. I take your point, but not the best example.

I have a DGT from 2016, it’s faded out from Faded Blue Jean to a pale green. It’s not something I’m happy about, if I ever had to sell it I don’t know if I’d take a hit on it.

I’ve considered refinishing only the top in gold top to match the dark back, but that’s not something I expected to have to do.

I wouldn’t have bought it had I known it’d fade out so much.

Toyota doesn’t use organic dyes that fade upon exposure to UV (even indoor UV). The dude has a point. PRS blues - and any blue-derived finish like violet - fade the fastest. It’s the chemistry of the dye formulation.

PRS doesn’t cover fading…they call it “wear and tear”. There are folks with 10k Private Stocks whose Northern Lights finishes have faded. I can only imagine their frustration. I switched to PRS after being a Gibson bubba for two decades. PRS makes better guitars, but my Les Paul trans Blueberry Burst never faded.

 

[SinSir]

Guitars aren’t out in the rain, sleet, wind and snow for 20 years like a car. I take your point, but not the best example.

I have a DGT from 2016, it’s faded out from Faded Blue Jean to a pale green. It’s not something I’m happy about, if I ever had to sell it I don’t know if I’d take a hit on it.

I agree the car analogy is a bit extreme, but often these guitars are exposed to elements, especially sun and other light. If guitars hang exposed all day, I'd expect fading. Like I would expect a car that sat outside in a sunshine state for its life to be different vs garage kept. Sweat and humidity is a whole extra layer. Then add gigging and who knows?

I always figured faded blue jean would fade more, similar to a pair of blue jeans. It's pretty much in the name I'd personally get the finish for the fade potential. Resale, there's going to be buyers that love it and others that hate it, like this thread..

I do wish PRS was more reasonable on refinishing fees. I think it would be good PR for the original owner to get a break vs off the street. Especially in the window of reasonable time frame.

For reference of my expectations of faded finishes, here's my trusted jeans new and today, almost 4 years later. Still fading..

 

[GavQuinn]

The jeans are nice though, and expected.

I agree the car analogy is a bit extreme, but often these guitars are exposed to elements, especially sun and other light. If guitars hang exposed all day, I'd expect fading. Like I would expect a car that sat outside in a sunshine state for its life to be different vs garage kept. Sweat and humidity is a whole extra layer. Then add gigging and who knows?

I always figured faded blue jean would fade more, similar to a pair of blue jeans. It's pretty much in the name I'd personally get the finish for the fade potential. Resale, there's going to be buyers that love it and others that hate it, like this thread..

I do wish PRS was more reasonable on refinishing fees. I think it would be good PR for the original owner to get a break vs off the street. Especially in the window of reasonable time frame.

For reference of my expectations of faded finishes, here's my trusted jeans new and today, almost 4 years later. Still fading..

No mate. We’re not talking about jeans.

It’s not the same. The car comparison isn’t the same either, guitars aren’t subject to weather and rain, despite the come t about gigs outdoors, honestly like…

You have other finishes that don’t fade out, you can explain it away with facts of chemical explanations, and try to tell someone they have to expect it with a photo of jeans, but it doesn’t change the fact that a a layman would reasonably expect a guitar colour, underneath a clear coat, to remain the colour they bought it. You might not agree but you’re not correct to insist that others should expect it, it’s not jeans.

I think for someone to not be ok with it is perfectly reasonable. I wouldn’t buy a faded out green/yellow that used to be blue. I don’t like green, it’s not unreasonable.

I would expect a guitar not to drastically fade to a pale green or completely fade out within 7 years.

The exception would maybe be that it’s a vintage reissue fender where that’s part of the whole sale, but I wouldn’t expect or welcome it with a brand new, non relic PRS. I wouldn’t like it. It’s not nearly as nice as a sunburst fade, to me, once complete.

 

[SinSir]

The jeans are nice though, and expected.



No mate. We’re not talking about jeans.

It’s not the same. The car comparison isn’t the same either, guitars aren’t subject to weather and rain, despite the come t about gigs outdoors, honestly like…

You have other finishes that don’t fade out, you can explain it away with facts of chemical explanations, and try to tell someone they have to expect it with a photo of jeans, but it doesn’t change the fact that a a layman would reasonably expect a guitar colour, underneath a clear coat, to remain the colour they bought it. You might not agree but you’re not correct to insist that others should expect it, it’s not jeans.

I think for someone to not be ok with it is perfectly reasonable. I wouldn’t buy a faded out green/yellow that used to be blue. I don’t like green, it’s not unreasonable.

I would expect a guitar not to drastically fade to a pale green or completely fade out within 7 years.

The exception would maybe be that it’s a vintage reissue fender where that’s part of the whole sale, but I wouldn’t expect or welcome it with a brand new, non relic PRS. I wouldn’t like it. It’s not nearly as nice as a sunburst fade, to me, once complete.

No we're not talking about jeans and it's not on me to tell someone what to accept. I expect a guitar named faded to continue to fade.

There is plenty of information out there for me to read about the blue family dyes and fading. For PRS and other brands. Regardless of color, I expect guitars in sunlight to fade. Everything fades in the sun. Someone else can feel, say, and think whatever they'd like. I'm only sharing my views.

 

[GavQuinn]

I expect a guitar named faded to continue to fade.

Really, would you? I wouldn’t, I take ‘faded’ as a description, as in it’s been made to look faded.

Mine wasn’t sunbathing, but it wasn’t stored in a case all the time, I’d expect a piece of paper in the case to advise of that if the colour was more prone. I don’t expect reasonably to have to store it in the case all the time, it’s not practical for me, cases are stored away in my place, for space.

I guess some of us expect more. If I liked what I’d describe mine as, closest to ‘pale trampas green’, I’m sure I’d feel differently.

What do you think, Bodia?

 

[Simon Says]

I sympathise with the OP, and I understand for him to be angry. It's irrelevant, though, but I like the faded colour. I wouldn't say I like the vibrant PRS finishes. There is a blue-ish 24/08 WL at Peach I keep thinking how it would look faded, lol. But I agree that PRS need to address colour fading.

 

[SinSir]

Really, would you?

Yes. I would.

Mine wasn’t sunbathing, but it wasn’t stored in a case all the time, I’d expect a piece of paper in the case to advise of that if the colour was more prone. I don’t expect reasonably to have to store it in the case all the time, it’s not practical for me, cases are stored away in my place, for space.

I don't case either, and I understand that's part of the risk. Casing isn't practical for me for lots of reasons, but I also like looking at them and play a rotation more when hanging. My music room has light blocking curtains and minimal overhead light to help.

Blues, greens, and purples are all more prone to fading. Heck lots of guitars do if kept out. Even my leather chair and coffee table fades. Natural goods fade.

Indoor lights can supposedly cause fading too.

I'll say it again, I do think PRS should give customers some grace that are upset in a reasonable amount of time, but they're are others that prefer or understand the fading. They do disclaim it, but we live in a warning label world.

 

[bodia]

Really, would you? I wouldn’t, I take ‘faded’ as a description, as in it’s been made to look faded.

Mine wasn’t sunbathing, but it wasn’t stored in a case all the time, I’d expect a piece of paper in the case to advise of that if the colour was more prone. I don’t expect reasonably to have to store it in the case all the time, it’s not practical for me, cases are stored away in my place, for space.

I guess some of us expect more. If I liked what I’d describe mine as, closest to ‘pale trampas green’, I’m sure I’d feel differently.

What do you think, Bodia?

I can go both ways on this one. I mean, I get the disappointment, bordering on rage, that some would have. I truly do. I also know that it has been talked about many, many times on this forum. Personally, I really like how some have faded. That said, if I bought something that faded in 3 or 4 years, and I wasn't frequent here (meaning "how should I know it was going to fade") I'd be really pissed off. I also think that PRS should handle this better. At the very least, a warning about it in the case. I also think they should do a better job of warranty work/pricing on these.

 

[Jo-]

What I don't understand is how the OP had a Blue Matteo that faded in a couple of years, and I have had my Blue Matteo HBII out on the stand for 20 years and to me it still looks like the same blue when I first got it. Maybe the recipe for Blue Matteo was different back then, mine was the very first HB to come out in that colour.

How can it be so different between the guitars? Is it a wood problem and not a dye problem?

 

[SinSir]

What I don't understand is how the OP had a Blue Matteo that faded in a couple of years, and I have had my Blue Matteo HBII out on the stand for 20 years and to me it still looks like the same blue when I first got it. Maybe the recipe for Blue Matteo was different back then, mine was the very first HB to come out in that colour.

How can it be so different between the guitars? Is it a wood problem and not a dye problem?

They have altered dyes and finish processes over the years, but I'd guess it's an environment thing more than anything. But I'd say wood probably factors in too.

 

[GavQuinn]

Maybe it’s something to make these lighter, more transparent colours. Some of the more solid, opaque blues seemed to have held up well, but the lighter colours, the ones that almost look like watercolours seem to be the ones fading.

Mine has faded so much in 6 years, it’s crazy. I just about like it, but I buy and sell guitars, so I’m concerned to hold onto this one too long in case it becomes hard to move.

I don’t want to refinish it, if I’m going to sell it on, but I sometimes imagine redoing the top in gold top..

To be clear, mine hasn’t sat next to a window, etc, it’s been out of the case on a rack. This has never happened to me before. It’s more the dread I’m gonna end up with an ugly colour, that I’d have to just refinish it solid.. can’t bear the idea of refinishing a perfectly (otherwise) good guitar..