Now repeat this process on all parts of the body where you want the weather checking. After the frost I run the hair dryer over the same area again, which of course expands the wood again and increases the checking effect. The finish doesn't expand and contract as quickly as the wood, which causes the weather checking. The wood was expanded by the heat of the hair dryer, and the frost from the compressed air rapidly cools it down and makes it contract.
You will probably hear some light popping and cracking. After the surface is good and hot (maybe 3-4 minutes), hold your can of compressed air upside down and generously spray frosty liquid over the area you heated up. The first few guitars I did were so checked they looked like puzzle pieces glued into the shape of a guitar!Īnyway, start by holding a hair dryer about an inch away from the surface of the body and moving it back and forth so that you're heating up about half the surface area on one side. To relic the guitar, we simply speed up that process so it happens in a matter of minutes.
Being stored in differing climates over the years affects the wood whether in a car, closet, studio, girlfriend's apartment, or whatever. What causes this on original vintage instruments is the way the body wood contracts and expands over time. "The last step is weather checking in the clear coat finish, where there are little lines like spider veins running along the finish. Weather Checking Taken from: Relic Deluxe - Vintage Relic Guitar How-To and 50s Pinups for Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, and Gibson Les Paul, SG, and ES-335 330 Guitars