Do R6/R7 Goldtops have a nitro finish?

[Mynameisfritz]

The finish on these guitars is different from the finish on a R8 or R9. At least that's my impression. Does anybody know if it's another nitro based laquer or a poly.

[paulster]

I believe that all Custom Shop guitars are nitro, but it's a question worth asking over at the Les Paul Forum as stranger things have been known from Gibson.

[yngwie308]

Actually John Suhr hardly ever shoots nitro at all unless it is for a strictly vintage style guitar, what he is using these days he can spray thinner than nitro, I'm not sure if it is poly, but he had some good points and I respect his opinion..as far as the LP's ask the question on LPF..
yngwie308

[Mars Hall]

It's my understanding that all "Historic" guitars have a nitro finish. The nitro is not exactly what they used back in the day. For one the plasticizers are different.

[yngwie308]

You are correct Mars Hall, there are huge differences in what they are using these days, compared to the fifties..
yngwie308

[Mynameisfritz]

Thanks guys.

Yep, Suhr has some interesting things to say, also about the wood selection.
Thanks for posting, yngwie308.

[fillmore nyc]

It's my understanding that all "Historic" guitars have a nitro finish.

I dont think the paint they use in custom colors (such as on Historic Firebirds) is nitro. I believe its a Duco paint, possibly an acrylic or poly. Not 100% sure, but I dont think its nitro.

[56goldtop]

It's my understanding that all "Historic" guitars have a nitro finish.

I dont think the paint they use in custom colors (such as on Historic Firebirds) is nitro. I believe its a Duco paint, possibly an acrylic or poly. Not 100% sure, but I dont think its nitro.

Many people have said that it's not the same kind of nitro they used in the old days. But it has to be some kind of nitro, since that's what it says on the specs sheets to the guitars. Supposedly the finish varies a bit depending on who mixed it and so on.

[fillmore nyc]

Many people have said that it's not the same kind of nitro they used in the old days. But it has to be some kind of nitro, since that's what it says on the specs sheets to the guitars. Supposedly the finish varies a bit depending on who mixed it and so on.

Oh, man, 56!!!. Dont go by what it says on Gibsons spec sheet!!! They TOTALLY have their heads up their asses when it comes to that kind of thing!!!
Example: "Historic" Firebirds I, III and V are supposed to be accurate down to the last detail, but all come with chrome plated banjo tuners, and nickel plated everything else. I had a conversation with Edwin Wilson (MR. Gibson Custom Shop), and asked him about this very subject.
(Approx quote): "We had a ton of chrome plated tuners laying around for the USA issue FB's, and didnt think it warranted making a bunch more with nickel plating for the Historic guitars, leaving the chrome tuners unused".
This is on a guitar thats supposedly "historically accurate".
They pulled the same shit with the specs on the "Johnny Winter" FB... "No detail overlooked... painstaking recreation"... What a load of crap. They used standard, off the shelf high output ceramic mag USA issue pickups instead of getting off their fat asses and making a "painstaking recreation" of a '63-'65 FB pickup, which is clearly what it SHOULD have had, especially considering the going price for one of those guitars.

It IS possible that Duco is some sort of nitro (Im just not 100% sure if Duco paint is nitro or not), but these days, Gibson is notoriously inaccurate with their spec sheets. I make no bones about that I have zero confidence in ANYTHING Gibson says, or puts in print these days.
They CAN and do make a good guitar, but ya GOTTA check the new ones really carefully. They leave the factory with ALL sorts of blurbs and eff-ups, not to mention the ad hype that doesnt match the product.

[Mars Hall]

It's my understanding that all "Historic" guitars have a nitro finish.

I dont think the paint they use in custom colors (such as on Historic Firebirds) is nitro. I believe its a Duco paint, possibly an acrylic or poly. Not 100% sure, but I dont think its nitro.

Forgive me if I'm splitting hairs here, but the paint and the nitro are 2 different applications for finishing guitars. The nitro is a clear coat that goes on after the paint to protect the paint and give it "shine".

[fillmore nyc]

It's my understanding that all "Historic" guitars have a nitro finish.

I dont think the paint they use in custom colors (such as on Historic Firebirds) is nitro. I believe its a Duco paint, possibly an acrylic or poly. Not 100% sure, but I dont think its nitro.

Forgive me if I'm splitting hairs here, but the paint and the nitro are 2 different applications for finishing guitars. The nitro is a clear coat that goes on after the paint to protect the paint and give it "shine".

You may be right about that, Mars, but I've had quite a few old original Duco finished FB's and Im pretty sure they dont have any sort of clear coat on them. I've always been under the impression that the finish is either nitrocellulous exclusively, or its something else... to my knowledge nitro doesnt mix well with much of anything except shellac.
I certainly could be wrong about this, but anytime I've shot nitro, its always on a shellac base due to its incompatibility with other finishes.

[56goldtop]

fillmore nyc:
Hey man, don't get me wrong with what I said, I'm not that naive to trust what Gibson says .... It's just that I don't think they would dare to use something that isn't some kind of nitro on their historics when the specs says "100% nitro laquer". If it's regular poly they could probably get sued, which isn't what they're after I guess. I've never played a real burst, but I've heard that they have a different kind of nitro.

Im not educated enough on these things to be sure, though. I know that in Sweden, they could get in big trouble for that kind of false advertising, but maybe it's a loophole somewhere?

[paulster]

I don't think they would dare to use something that isn't some kind of nitro on their historics when the specs says "100% nitro laquer". If it's regular poly they could probably get sued, which isn't what they're after I guess.

I believe my R9 specifications indicated that it used authentic recreations of the fabled bumblebee capacitors (or words to that grandiose effect).

A Mallory M150 in a painted shell cover isn't what I'd call an authentic bumblebee recreation.

Gibson patently don't give a rat's ass about authenticity or their specifications, but about shifting product.

That said, mine is definitely nitro finished. That or they've found a polyester that takes about two years to fully cure! And I believe that all of the historics are similarly finished. In fact, my 335 is nitro-cellulose as well, and that's from the custom shop as well.

There are some differences between old and new nitro from what I've read because of EPA restrictions and suchlike, but it's still nitro-cellulose.

[Mynameisfritz]

I found out that they use a different kind of gold powder than back in the days. This powder doesn't include these metallic micro-flakes that oxidate and give the old models a slightly greenish shimmer - at least that's what I read.
The reason I was asking is that I found a R7 from 2004 - not a V.O.S. - that has more depth and sweetness than any of the other 8 Historics in this shop. Another R7 from 2007 sounded remarkably weaker, anthough they had the same weight. At first sight the clear coat on both R7's looked like poly to me, it also smells different than a R8 or R0. I played the 2007 model in 2007 already and I remember the finish didn't tend to get sticky like on non-Goldtops. Maybe they use another kind of nitro based coating for the Goldtops now like they write - but never trust Gibson, that is true.

[MacGaden]

Check these pics: http://www.jaegerguitars.com/gibson-eng.html They put plasticisers in the nitro to make it dry faster, and not check..