Over recent years there has been some attention brought to certain PRS colors which have faded over time. Off the top of my head I seem to recall a Northern Lights which faded, and then of course Tag's famous Salmon pink Private Stock. The 1959 Les Pauls too were notorious for fading, but I was under the impression that mankind had solved that problem by now.
The idea occurred to me that industry in general may be leaning towards this trendy idea of using environmentally friendly bio-degradable chemicals on their manufactured products. I'm not talking about any waste byproducts which may come out of a particular factory, I'm talking about products, chemicals, stuff which comes with an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) which goes on the final product which the consumer will actually buy and take home with them.
* In the TV industry, the latest technology has two competitors at the top for the best picture quality. LG has the OLED technology and Samsung has the QLED technology. The difference is that the LG uses a bio-degradable substance inside their screens while the Samsung does not. Time will tell which picture fades faster over time.
* In the firearms industry, there have been a whole lot of new brands of lubricating oils which have popped up in recent years and are advertised as being environmentally friendly and bio-degradable. But over a short period of time, if you leave that oil on the gun, the oil turns to a glue like substance and they seize up and stop working.
Me personally, I have absolutely no interest in environmentally friendly bio-degradable chemicals on finished products as described above. I'm not going to leave my consumer products laying on the ground in the back yard where they can get rained on, which will then contaminate the water in the Chesapeake Bay. (yes, I actually live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.) I keep all those things indoors where they won't get rained on. It is my carefully considered opinion that for as much as a Core line or Private Stock guitar cost, they had better not fade in MY lifetime.
Thus, in the PRS guitar finishing effort, I can't help but wonder two things:
1. Are the PRS finishes among the trendy bio-degradable and environmentally friendly chemicals? If so, will that cause them to fade quickly over time?
2. Regardless of what coloring agent PRS uses on their guitar finishes, does anyone have any idea which color or colors are the most durable and fadeproof over time?
The idea occurred to me that industry in general may be leaning towards this trendy idea of using environmentally friendly bio-degradable chemicals on their manufactured products. I'm not talking about any waste byproducts which may come out of a particular factory, I'm talking about products, chemicals, stuff which comes with an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) which goes on the final product which the consumer will actually buy and take home with them.
* In the TV industry, the latest technology has two competitors at the top for the best picture quality. LG has the OLED technology and Samsung has the QLED technology. The difference is that the LG uses a bio-degradable substance inside their screens while the Samsung does not. Time will tell which picture fades faster over time.
* In the firearms industry, there have been a whole lot of new brands of lubricating oils which have popped up in recent years and are advertised as being environmentally friendly and bio-degradable. But over a short period of time, if you leave that oil on the gun, the oil turns to a glue like substance and they seize up and stop working.
Me personally, I have absolutely no interest in environmentally friendly bio-degradable chemicals on finished products as described above. I'm not going to leave my consumer products laying on the ground in the back yard where they can get rained on, which will then contaminate the water in the Chesapeake Bay. (yes, I actually live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.) I keep all those things indoors where they won't get rained on. It is my carefully considered opinion that for as much as a Core line or Private Stock guitar cost, they had better not fade in MY lifetime.
Thus, in the PRS guitar finishing effort, I can't help but wonder two things:
1. Are the PRS finishes among the trendy bio-degradable and environmentally friendly chemicals? If so, will that cause them to fade quickly over time?
2. Regardless of what coloring agent PRS uses on their guitar finishes, does anyone have any idea which color or colors are the most durable and fadeproof over time?