Santana arrived... but what's this?

[MichaelS]

'New' 2015 Santana arrived yesterday (from Signature Dealer) and noticed today that there's something like a blister or hairline crack on the neck.
One of them that can be felt to the touch and two smaller ones that just look like a dull blemish or bubble so far under the finish.
I can't figure out why I wouldn't have noticed right away. The only things touching the area have been the case and my palm.

I emailed the dealer already but it's the weekend.
What's the normal course of action here? Anyone have experience with something like this?
How would this happen? I was think By climate potentially. It travelled 2000 miles to California, but so do plenty of others.
Was there some moisture caught on here?

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UPDATE 3/14/2017

My dealer confirmed that it is likely tiny air bubbles which is covered under warranty and should take 2-3 weeks at PTC.
I don't have to send it in right away. Unless it bothers me while playing, my dealer suggests waiting up to 6 months (unless it gets much worse) as most issues seem to surface in the first 6 months of a guitar's (playing) life.
I didn't even realize this falls under lifetime warranty. Amazing.
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UPDATED PICS from PhotoBucket to IMGUR

Here's the location on the neck marked with the paper corner:

The smaller ones are an inch north of the larger one to the left of the light reflection.

Here's the large in closeup, you can see the little one top left of the light reflection

Another angle

And the little ones isolated from glare:

And since people usually like seeing guitars here's the eye candy:

 

[Whitecat]

Looks like finish delamination. PRS normally will repair or replace (their option, via your dealer) if you're unhappy with it.

 

[MichaelS]

Looks like finish delamination. PRS normally will repair or replace (their option, via your dealer) if you're unhappy with it.

Thanks for the info! I'm just afraid it might peel further or that the little ones expand or pop.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

How would this happen?

Pants zipper burn if it was mine.

 

[MichaelS]

Pants zipper burn if it was mine.

Yeah but on the neck?

So maybe the transit did play into this?
It's right under where the neck support is in the case. Although the big one is just outside of it unless the guitar slides a bit.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Yeah but on the neck?

Do you really want me to explain?


But yeah, maybe it got bumped somewhere along the line. I'd be patient and wait until your dealer hits you back. If it's delaminating it'll only get worse but PRS is pretty rad about that kinda thing.

 

[alantig]

Pants zipper burn if it was mine.

Sweatpants don't usually have zippers.


(I've had a couple pairs that did.)

 

[Jazzedout]

Great top BTW...

 

[MichaelS]

Great top BTW...

Thanks!

 

[bodia]

Love the top, and color! Congrats! Bummer about the blemish . You got it from a great dealer, and PRS is worlds above others in handling things like this.

 

[László]

PRS will fix ya up. It won't be a problem at all.

 

[toothace]

Great looking guitar! I can second (or third?) what has been said...I had a delaminating issue, contacted my dealer, and had it shipped back to the PTC for a repair.

 

[shallbe]

I had a similar situation on the back of the neck of my Santana when it was shipped to me. Lots of small dents on the back of the neck. Nothing thru the finish though. Made no sense, as I saw the pictures before shipping.

Did a little research and found the tiny black allen wrench got loose in the case during shipping and was up under the neck during travel. Case interior is black as well, so it was hard to see.

Anyway, I used some 2000 grit paper and just buffed it out.

 

[MichaelS]

I had a similar situation on the back of the neck of my Santana when it was shipped to me. Lots of small dents on the back of the neck.
[...]
Anyway, I used some 2000 grit paper and just buffed it out.

I'd be able to buff it, but this is the reverse. The little marks are under the finish. The large one already cracked so I'd be afraid of further peeling.
Lots of encouraging feedback here. I'll keep you posted on what the dealer says.
A card in the case said if anything is wrong then send it straight to PTC after getting an RA number.

 

[winemaker]

Not too long ago I ordered a PRS SE Alex Lifeson acoustic and when it arrived I noticed the finish on one corner of the headstock was all marred up and scratched. Didn't seem to go through the finish but I was a bit disappointed as it was a lot worse than your damage, and in a more visible area. Anyway, contacted the dealer and PRS and they both said to just send it back, which I really did not want to do as it played well and didn't want to pay for shipping it back or the hassle.

Did a little more investigating and found a staple/wire that is used to attach the felt to the inside of the case had come loose right in that area where the tip of the headstock contacts the end of the case. Bingo! I bent the staple back into place and problem solved. Except the guitar was still screwed up. Fine then, I'll just play it and forget about it. I was hoping to get a little financial discount instead of having to ship it back but no dice. So check around the inside of the case in the area where the guitar damage is and see if anything metal and sharp is sticking out. Here's a picture of what I found:

Here's what the guitar looked like:

 

[Spikedog007]

I had a similar problem on my Paul's Guitar along the neck binding. I contacted the PTC directly instead of going through the dealer. They quickly provided an RMA so I could send it in. They fixed it up and I haven't had a problem since. The only issue is that I was without the guitar for a couple months. Luckily I had a few backup PRSi to tide me over...

 

[MichaelS]

I had a similar problem on my Paul's Guitar along the neck binding. I contacted the PTC directly instead of going through the dealer. They quickly provided an RMA so I could send it in. They fixed it up and I haven't had a problem since. The only issue is that I was without the guitar for a couple months. Luckily I had a few backup PRSi to tide me over...

MONTHS!!?!
Omg.

Maybe my dealer can do the work. It's a luthier shop.
I might even go more local if I have to pay for shipping anyways.

Any recommendations in south OC or LA?

 

[bodia]

MONTHS!!?!
Omg.

Maybe my dealer can do the work. It's a luthier shop.
I might even go more local if I have to pay for shipping anyways.

Yep, months. Not sure if Warranty work moves to the front of the line though. I sent a Cu22 in for a facelift last year. I was quoted 16 weeks, and it was. TOTALLY worth the wait though.

 

[Spikedog007]

There shouldn't be any shipping costs, they cover all of it. And for mine, even though it was a very minor flaw, they refinished the entire guitar. They even offered to change the color but I was happy with what it was originally, so I didn't make any changes. The work was perfect and if I didn't tell you, you could look at the guitar all day long and there's no way you would be able to tell there was a problem to begin with.

 

[xjbebop]

I'd just sand it down & play it ....