NGD: Finish checking on a 2020 SC594 McCarty affecting value?

Atlantic

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Hi everybody, this is my first post in the forum. Writing from Spain.

I have had a couple of PRS guitars over the years. A Custom 24 that was nice but I didn't love it and ended up selling and more recently a double cut 594 McCarty that I do love and it's one of my favorite guitars.

Well, just a couple of days ago I bought second hand my third PRS, a 2020 SC594 McCarty 10 Top in Trampas Green. It is beautiful, plays amazing and sounds great as expected.

But just last night while I was just enjoying the guitar and admiring the incredible maple top, suddenly I noticed something that has made me almost sad. There are circular checking lines in the finish all around the pickup selector. They are quite difficult to see and I didn´t notice them until now.

As this is my first post I will not be able to post pictures for the time being I believe.

I still love the guitar but my concern is how much would it affect the value of the guitar if I ever decide to sell it again. I am worried that if that is the case, maybe I have overpaid for it as it was presented "as new".

Thanks in advance.

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Those 594s are a great guitar but very sad about the checking around the selector - almost like the ring was tightened way too tight!! If it was there when you bought it then the seller really should have declared it ... did you buy it online or at a shop? In my opinion, you should be compensated in some way.

I can imagine it would affect the value for a future buyer if you ever decided to sell it at a later date.
 
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Those 594s are a great guitar but very sad about the checking around the selector - almost like the ring was tightened way too tight!! If it was there when you bought it then the seller really should have declared it ... did you buy it online or at a shop? In my opinion, you should be compensated in some way.

I can imagine it would affect the value for a future buyer if you ever decided to sell it at a later date.

I found it online but it was a local pick and I had the opportunity to check the guitar in person before buying. This kind of "checking" is not easy to see if you don't have an intense light and to be honest I checked the guitar and didn´t notice it. Took me two days of having it until I saw it. Of course now the seller says that he thinks that was not there before and I must have done anything to damage the guitar. He is not blaming me directly but just saying that it was not there before. He says that maybe because I changed the strings to a higher caliber (which I did) or maybe a temperature change at my home if I have heating (which of course I have... it's fricking january).


Is it checking, or did someone scratch it with pliers trying to tighten the ring?

No, it is not scratched. It is internal (and very light) damage to the finish only. Not the wood either.

That's not finish checking, in the sense of traditional nitro finish checking, anyways... that looks like the selector switch took a hard hit and it fractured the finish and perhaps even the wood where it's routed out underneath.

The wood is fine. My initial thought was also that it looks like if the selector took a hit and the finish cracked very lightly. But that is why I am asking here to see if others had similar experiences. I know these new SC594s have a nitro finish and maybe the checking is more common.

^ This ^
Does not look like checking, but looks like damage, maybe even from taking a hit during shipping.

That is what I thought. But I have no proof of that. There was no shipping between the seller and me so if it was shipping damage it would have happened before.
 
That is my guess, and you didn’t notice it when you checked it out the last time
 
Well, most of you seem to agree on what I thought was the cause of the damage. But more opinions on the subject are welcome.


Now I would like to know, what do you think would be the price drop for a small damage like that? The guitar is second hand but otherwise is completely new as if from a shop. Not even the pickups or bridge have any marks, typical from being played. And all the metal parts are shiny as new (my other 594 has a light tarnish on the pickups, bridge and tailpiece from being played. And this seems quite common on the PRS guitars I have seen).

I´m just trying to decide If I should do anything else towards the seller. He seemed honest about not knowing about the problem and the price was fair. I don´t think I would be able to find a similar one at the same price.
 
Agreed. That’s not checking per say, looks more like trauma with the selector taking a hit.
The good news is that since it’s lacquer it should be easy for any respectable luthier to make it disappear completely with blush eraser. Trivial overnight fix essentially.
 
Agreed. That’s not checking per say, looks more like trauma with the selector taking a hit.
The good news is that since it’s lacquer it should be easy for any respectable luthier to make it disappear completely with blush eraser. Trivial overnight fix essentially.


Maybe I should contact PRS support to ask them about this repair technique for this particular finish?
 
You know that sick feeling you get when you put that first ding in a pristine guitar? I’m sure that’s how you felt finding it, but now it’s there and you no longer have to worry over it. Once you’ve extracted a good bit of playing pleasure from the instrument, a bit of loss from what you paid over a finish imperfection won’t be such a big deal. Play it, enjoy it, and you may never want to sell it. In that case, it’s all gain.
 
It'd certainly be safe to confirm first.
Thought about it again, definitely worth asking.
My guitar on the way to PRS is their vintage lacquer, that one is an easy repair it seems.
That blush eraser trick is only effective on lacquer though. It would do nothing to the base coat if it's some kind of poly; if that layer is also cracked nothing short of a refinish would fix it.
 
Thought about it again, definitely worth asking.
My guitar on the way to PRS is their vintage lacquer, that one is an easy repair it seems.
That blush eraser trick is only effective on lacquer though. It would do nothing to the base coat if it's some kind of poly; if that layer is also cracked nothing short of a refinish would fix it.

Already asked and Shawn from the customer service told me that only a complete refinish would solve the problem completely. He gave me a quote of 1900$ plus shipping.

He also confirmed that "the guitar appears to have been subjected to rough treatment which caused the finish around the toggle switch to crack".


Being in Spain, paying 1900$ plus shipping round trip would be more than what I paid for the guitar. So If I ever feel sad about this I might as well and expend that amount of money in ANOTHER guitar and have 2 of them!!! Hahahaha!!


Keep it long enough and play it often enough for those marks to be nothing compared to the other wear and tear that shows up.

I second this!

You know that sick feeling you get when you put that first ding in a pristine guitar? I’m sure that’s how you felt finding it, but now it’s there and you no longer have to worry over it. Once you’ve extracted a good bit of playing pleasure from the instrument, a bit of loss from what you paid over a finish imperfection won’t be such a big deal. Play it, enjoy it, and you may never want to sell it. In that case, it’s all gain.

As you all say, maybe I will just enjoy the guitar and forget about it. It is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen and it sounds and plays amazing.

Thanks a lot to everyone for your input on this matter.
 
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