Since PRS said it was a base coat issue, etc. I am sure that was it. And every company has their own Nitro formula.
BUT, a word from someone with a LOT of experience with guitars and checking. It does not aurprise me to see a checked ice blue guitar.
In my opinion/experience, the metallic finishes with nitro clear coats check a LOT more easily than plain solid colors or stains.
Is this because of the metallic nature of the paint getting colder or something else? I really can’t say definitively. Just that I have seen it a whole lot.
Secondly, hollow and semi-hollow guitars check more readily than solid body guitars. This one is easy to understand. For the same reason that it applies to acoustics. The ambient air penetrates and effects the wood so much faster, because of how thin it is relative to a slab of wood. And that means temp shifts are more likely to move the wood.
Thirdly, checking generally follows the nature of the wood grain. So on instruments with Typical linear wood grain, they’ll check along the length of the guitar. Exceptions to this are figured woods, like a flame maple will often check across the width, following the ripple in the flame. And quilts tend to “spiderweb” a bit. But there are exceptions to this. Metal hardware can kickstart checking along grain, or obliquely to it, just because it cools faster than the wood. So things like fixed bridge studs, strap buttons or tuners are often a starting point.
And lastly, areas of strain will also show checking first. Often because of “invisible damage becoming visible during cold temp flexes on the finish. Meaning areas like around the heel of the neck. Or up by the angle of the headstock, where the wood might flex over the years. From being played, having had the neck manually flexed or pushed, or even flexing in transit. The wood is 100% not damaged, but the hardened nitro doesn't flex as well as the wood. So invisible stretch marks can become visible if the wood shrinks and then expands again. It gives the fear of actual neck damage or body damage but was really just showing finish stressing that maybe wasn’t apparent at the time of the incidents. Or cumulatively.
All good reasons for people not disposed to it, to temporarily case guitars to give them a buffer between themselves and the temp shifts, especially this time of year. Depending on where you are. Can’t hurt.
I have a thermometer/hygrometer in my homebrew guitar cabinet, and even though it does a great job most of the year, on weeks like this one, I take the guitars out and move them to their cases.
Our house is temp controlled, with a whole house humidifier system installed. It helps a ton on winter. But even still, I see the needles move a bit more than I’d like, over the course of a few days. Generally things feel pretty even, but going by the numbers they do fluctuate.
Its 11 degrees out this morning. The system has been going hard for the last couple weeks. Last months electric bill was
. And I learned a long time ago not to hang guitars on exterior walls if possible. General room temp can be one thing, and wall temp something else altogether. Even with good insulation. Having a temp gun is handy.
Proceed with caution. For those who hang all the time, go back to rocking out when things get back above the freeze?
