Aging of the varnish

[Maleco]

Hello,

I have a quick question that stays in my mind. I bought a Precision Bass Player from Fender recently. You should know that when I buy a bass, it's forever haha. So I wanted to know, knowing that the handle has a PU varnish (satin on the back, and gloss on the fingerboard and the head), will it darken over time? I am "afraid" that it will be really very ugly if this is the case because the buttercream color of the body requires a very light shade for the neck so as not to look ugly.

It's a small detail I will readily admit =)

Thanks in advance everyone!

Best regards,

Sorry for my level in English, I tried to do my best!

 

[lz4005]

It will very slowly turn more amber. This will take many years to be noticeable. You'll get over it.

 

[Maleco]

Thank you for you reply, and concerning the body, how do the PU finishes age?

 

[Maleco]

As for the color which darkens a bit, I'm just afraid that it will become really yellow-orange as with the "vintage" finishes which I find really not to my taste!

For example like the handle at the top in this photo

 

[fretno]

Poly will take forever to age and may never change its color. We’ll all probably be in the big dirt nap before it does. Just play that and make sweet sweet music with it.

 

[RSBBass]

Sunlight is the cause of most color change in finishes. Keep it in its case when you are not playing it and it will look the same in 50 years.

 

[Maleco]

Now it's a bit difficult for me. But knowing that the handle is in urethane varnish and the body in polyester varnish, both will in all cases age at the same time and therefore darken at the same time, right?

 

[BurningSkies]

Note a few things. First off, the finish on the guitar isn't varnish. Most modern are considered 'poly' which is either a polyester resin or polyurethane. OLD guitars (before the mid to late 60's mostly had nitrocellulose lacquer, or 'nitro', which aged more quickly and was a more delicate finish.

That said, the various poly finishes CAN age and yellow...but that usually happens due to exposure to lots of UV light. How to keep your new clear finished neck to stay as un-yellowed as possible? When you're done playing put your bass in a case so it has less exposure to UV light. I have basses from the 80's and early 90's that have no appreciable finish darkening.

 

[jj.833]

I'm no expert, but I make my living as an architect. I noticed that in last ca 15 years, there's a high demand for a 'natural' look in wood coatings. The chemical industry reacts to this trend by developing coatings that don't turn the wood color to yellow. However, supposedly, all those 'natural' colors are more sensitive to UV light (in sunlight, the coating deteriorates more quickly than darker one). I guess that if you store your instrument out of direct light, it will stay the same forever.

The 'vintage' yellow is the normal behaviour of nitro finishes, which are not much in use since 70s for ecological and other reasons. With today's choices, I guess both types of finishes - 'natural' or 'vintage' will be generally the same type of lacquer with the same algorithm of aging, only with a different hue.

 

[TrevorG]

My Spector has taken about twenty years to change from Black/Blue to Blur/Purple. My Fender has taken about eight months to change from pretty orange to something closer to a rusty brown. Don’t know why, don’t know what the rules are. But luckily I prefer both changes.

 

[Maleco]

thank you for all your very enlightening answers. I try to look for examples of old Fender from the 70's - 80's with a blonde / butterschotch / buttercream finish and especially a maple neck with urethane finish to see what it looks like, but unfortunately I can't find much.

And suddenly, the body being him in polyester (urethane handle), it will darken in the same way as the handle?

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

All painted finishes will darken over time, typically. Polyester resins do that, and Nitro ones do too. In fact, may be more of a problem if kept inside a case, where finishes can't breathe. Light and sunlight can do a lot to increase this tendency.

There is not much you can do to halt this process. It may take years, and since the process is slow, and take years before you even notice.

My advice, don't keep the instrument locked up in a case, since the case can add to the problem. Get a gig bag to store your instrument in, since it can breathe more easily.

Remember, all finishes have a cure time. And typically it is long, many times longer than the manufacturer wants to wait before sale. So expect changes.

Keep your instrument in a controlled environment, away from sunlight, away from smoke; and it may do better.

Or better than that, strip the finish and refinish with an oiled wood grain hand rubbed finish, and forget about it.

This is a 20 year old matte oil finish

 

[Maleco]

Thanks for your answers !! Any of or have a picture of an old maple neck with an urethane finish? to see what it will looks like in the futur?

 

[bbh]

You need to make this point secondary to the playing experience. After all, when you are playing it, you aren’t really looking at the color, at least that’s how I approach this topic. If it’s a great player, color can always be changed down the line if it drives you crazy.

 

[arbiterusa]

Poly will take forever to age and may never change its color.

simply not the case. Poly will visibly age within a couple of years, and it does change color. Nothing like what the OP is fearing; you’re not going to get the orange color that you get with decades old nitro, but it will get a bit more golden as the years pass.

Now this depends on how much UV it gets; if you lock a poly finish in a closet and never take it out until nighttime, it won’t darken. But if you keep it in a room with even only indirect light, it will darken. I am personally a fan of how poly ages as opposed to nitro.

 

[Maleco]

I understand what you mean but I really have a special approach to the things I buy. In fact, if I buy a bass it's for life, I wouldn't sell it. So I want to be sure that this one will please me at all levels throughout its life =)

The point is that I hesitate a lot between a PB player butercream or a PB (warmoth etc) in 2tn Burst nitro finish (because visually, these are the only two variants I like with a PB).

 

[JoeDaddio]

My P is an 03-04 with a satin finish and a rosewood fingerboard, so I don't know if it's super helpful, but it was sitting next to me and I thought I might as well snap a photo for you.

I read an interview with Les Claypool ages ago where his advice to aspiring bass players was to throw the case away and buy a stand (basses in cases don't get played, being the idea). I kept the case but this thing has rarely been inside it and spends most time in a stand, so it might give you an idea, at least.

Maple fingerboards change because of your skin oils and all that, so I don't know if there's much to be done on that front other than basic maintenance and cleaning.

joe

 

[Maleco]

Now this depends on how much UV it gets; if you lock a poly finish in a closet and never take it out until nighttime, it won’t darken. But if you keep it in a room with even only indirect light, it will darken. I am personally a fan of how poly ages as opposed to nitro.

do you have any pictures of how PU varnishes age? (whether for the handle, but why not for the bodies as well).

For my part I have a polyester body and I have no idea how this kind of finish aged? (even on the internet, I can't find any photos, even though it's dated this kind of finish, isn't it?)

 

[Rabidhamster]

I understand what you mean but I really have a special approach to the things I buy. In fact, if I buy a bass it's for life, I wouldn't sell it. So I want to be sure that this one will please me at all levels throughout its life =)

The point is that I hesitate a lot between a PB player butercream or a PB (warmoth etc) in 2tn Burst nitro finish (because visually, these are the only two variants I like with a PB).

The buttercream will probably age and yellow also. Maple itself darkens with time and light exposure. The polyurethane may also darken but it’s mainly the wood.

I wouldn’t expect it to go much darker than this if you’re playing it a lot and it’s seeing a lot of sunlight.

 

[Maleco]

My P is an 03-04 with a satin finish and a rosewood fingerboard, so I don't know if it's super helpful, but it was sitting next to me and I thought I might as well snap a photo for you.

I read an interview with Les Claypool ages ago where his advice to aspiring bass players was to throw the case away and buy a stand (basses in cases don't get played, being the idea). I kept the case but this thing has rarely been inside it and spends most time in a stand, so it might give you an idea, at least.

Maple fingerboards change because of your skin oils and all that, so I don't know if there's much to be done on that front other than basic maintenance and cleaning.View attachment 4003359


joe

For example, this is perfect for me, not too dark, not orange or yellow =)

Thank you very much for your help !