Goodall danneggiata...mail di James Goodall!

Oggi ho ricevuto una mail del grande James Goodall dove sviscerava il problema della mia Goodall, che a quanto pare è più comune di quanto io non pensassi, e comunque è ben documentato e non è un difetto della mia chitarra in particolare, bensì un problema legato al tipo di vernice a nitrocellulosa usata fino al 1998. Lu l'ha usata fino al modelo 1575, il numero di serie della mia è 1567!

Hi Vincent,

Thanks for owning a Goodall guitar and for your kind compliments!

The finish crazing doesn't hurt anything and is quite normal on older instruments. Unfortunately all older guitars with nitrocellulose lacquer finish are subject to finish checking. It was not until recently that the guitar industry as a whole recognized the far superior high tech finishes which are much more resistant to the problem. A few high end guitar makers still use nitrocellulose finish!

I suggest that folks not be too concerned about finish checking.
Sometimes it can be repaired but will eventually return. The only cure is to refinish the instrument, at least the top, but this isn't recommended for a number of reasons, tone being one. This finish related issue is not covered under our warranty.

Thermal checking, also known as finish checking is small hairline finish cracks in the lacquer and does not pose any structural problem.
They are usually limited to the top and can be nearly invisible except at just the right angle. Thermal checking and occurs when the instrument is exposed to extreme cold and warmed quickly. Under extreme temperature conditions the finish on nitrocellulose finished guitars is unable to expand and contract at the same accelerated rate as the wood, which can result in finish crazing (lacquer checking).

Unfortunately, this is a nitrocellulose lacquer normality even though we used the finest quality lacquer finish available formulated specifically for the acoustic guitar. To help achieve the finest tone, the finish must be hard and thin. If it is too flexible (as is some finishes used by many large guitar factories) tone may suffer. It's best not to use polish on the top because it can penetrate past the cracks into the wood. Polish really doesn't help anything much anyway.
Finish checking is not covered under warranty.

One way to help prevent future finish checking is to not let the instrument get real cold and then open the case in a warm room.

Although we now use a finish that is impervious to finish checks, we used a high quality nitrocellulose lacquer from 1972 when we started building until 1998. Nitrocellulose lacquer was used on Goodall guitars from 1972-1998 in model numbers up to model number 1573 (exceptions:
KJ1550, RS1545, RGC1564).

Catalyzed Urethane has been used exclusively since 1998.

All the best,
James Goodall