My mint 2008 SR Finish is bubbling up

[dagrev]

Hey,

Pulled my bought new '08 SR Burnt Apple finish out and was playing and wiping it down good and noticed the finish has bubbled or popped up on the PU side at the bridge, but is in tact. Kind of like the bridge pressing down has scooted the finish like moving furniture on carpet. It's absolutely mint and has seen very, very little playing. It has been babied and is literally perfect--except this factory flaw. I'm sick. It's been stored in climate controlled area with my other basses (which are having no problems).

Is this is common problem EB had or am I just an unlucky sucker who got a bad one.

I'm not sure if I should take the bridge off to see if that will "release" the pressure and allow the finish to go back down or not. Could pop it loose and make things worse.

I sure there's no point in contacting EB since it's way out of warranty. I suppose I'm just stuck with a finish that's going to get worse....

Any suggestions as I grasp at straws?

Hadn't been here in a while and that constant are you a human thing is a real joy as well.

Thanks!

 

[Holdsg]

a picture is worth 1000 words

 

[dagrev]

It's just about impossible to see in a pic no matter which angle I try, but this one shows the most, but that isn't saying much.

The finish is pushed up a little all around the front edge of the bridge plate.

 

[Chuck M]

I wonder if the bridge mounting screws could be loose. I still would not expect the finish to separate from the body as it has but it looks like the bridge has moved and has caused the finish to bubble as it has.

 

[dagrev]

I wonder if the bridge mounting screws could be loose. I still would not expect the finish to separate from the body as it has but it looks like the bridge has moved and has caused the finish to bubble as it has.

Yes it does look that way. I checked and everything was nice and tight. I did loosen the strings and the bridge just a tad to at least take some pull off.
Thanks

 

[tbonesullivan]

That definitely is odd. It looks more like the finish has "stretched out" somehow. Never seen anything like that before.

 

[Golem]

a picture is worth 1000 words

Need no pix for me. Got exactly same situation,
in the same spot.

It will prolly crack open. The affected area is no
longer adhering to the body underneath. Just bad
"luck off the draw".

OTOH, same effect can appear anywhere on the
body from impact. So pressure of the bridge can
ultimately do this. Opaque finish allows for more
"grippy" primer under the finish than finishes of
any degree of transparency.

 

[dagrev]

Need no pix for me. Got exactly same situation,
in the same spot.

It will prolly crack open. The affected area is no
longer adhering to the body underneath. Just bad
"luck off the draw".

OTOH, same effect can appear anywhere on the
body from impact. So pressure of the bridge can
ultimately do this. Opaque finish allows for more
"grippy" primer under the finish than finishes of
any degree of transparency.

You are either person someone on another forum knew about or you are a third person with that problem.

What year if your bass and what's the finish? (Trying to find any commonalities other than EB.)
Thanks

 

[Golem]

`

You are either person someone on another forum knew
about or you are a third person with that problem.

What year if your bass and what's the finish? (Trying to
find any commonalities other than EB.)
Thanks

All my examples are EBMM, not brand new, not ancient
or "vintage". Two are from impact, one is at the bridge,
same as you described.

Other basses on hand here have a different form of
trans finish, NOT the the thick glossy-glassy clear coat
thaz on the EBMMs. I think the "glassy" aspect is the
vulnerability. Thinner finishes, lacquer finishes etc may
be fragile, in that they may crack or chip, but "wounds"
stay very localized. The EBMM "glass coat" behaves
more like a sheet of glass than like paint.

I have lacquer that has blistered from being in contact
with a faux alligator strap. It's a chemical vapor effect.
The EBMM "glass" finish is quite immune to that. Each
type finish has it's benefits and drawbacks.

 

[dagrev]

Talked to EB. Told them it was years out of warranty and they requested pics and serial number. Then told me it was out of warranty and my options were to take it to a local person to see if they could fix it or buy a new body from them for $700! I didn't expect a free fix, but was a little insulted by the offer to buy a new body to replace the one that clearly had a production issue. Told them I didn't want to buy another body for an already expensive instrument. Oh well.

 

[tbonesullivan]

I am not sure I would term something that happens 9 years after it was made to be a "production" issue. Wood is a natural product, and it can do things like this. The wood may have slowly compressed over time, and that is the are on the guitar that would be most likely to compress, and there is nothing on top of it to prevent it bubbling up.

Have you pulled the bridge off to see if it has moved? Maybe the bushings have compressed the wood a bit. Who knows.

I would learn to live with it, or pull the bridge and see if you can push it back down, though I suspect that would not work. You could send it out for a refinish for a fraction of that cost, or have a good tech who works with paint see if they could do something about it.

 

[dagrev]

After my last email, EB ran this up the food chain and will now give me a big discount on a new body. Their offer seems very fair and I'm very grateful. Way to go EB!

 

[Bert]

Great !!!

 

[Tollywood]

After my last email, EB ran this up the food chain and will now give me a big discount on a new body. Their offer seems very fair and I'm very grateful. Way to go EB!

That's fantastic!

 

[Kirby]

This is not a hard fix, but it takes a little patience. I have seen specifically the sparkle finishes that did not adhere to the primer as well for one reason or another. I have fixed this on one of my sparkles and I dare anyone to find the original finish lift and crack. If you go to StewMac, they sell 4 different types of viscosity of super glue. You want the thinnest and the one right above. If you do repairs for others, grab the 4 pack it will save you some money. First off, gently place a toothpick or a couple pieces of a business card between the lifted finish and the body, careful not to crack the finish with too much pressure. Next using the fine tips, allow the thin glue to run under the finish. You won't need to press on the glue container, just let it wick back under the finish. Remove whatever you used to shim and either clamp or tape the finish down overnight. In my case, there was also a crack in the finish by the neck pocket. I used the thicker adhesive to build up with several coats a line over the crack. Again, allow this to fully cure and then use successively finer sanding pads or paper to knock the super glue down to flush with the finish. Then buff with a fine buffing compound. Auto buffing compound with work just fine if you have any around. I repaired mine years ago and have never had the problem resurface. This type of trick also works if you have nicks or chips in your clear coat. As long as the paint below has not been damaged, you will most likely not see your repair after a good buffing.

 

[bigswifty]

My 2008 Black Stingray has almost the same thing happening, same place as the OP. I've been expecting it to flake off any day now for the past 6 months. It's a bass gets played out a lot, shipped a lot, in and out of the truck and so on. Given a choice I'd rather that the paint stayed good, but as long as it plays great and sounds great, I'm not touching a thing - if it flakes off it flakes off.
Mike

 

[Golem]

Nice thing about an opaque gloosy black
is the easiness of touching up the finish
with black nail polish.

 

[dagrev]

Got my replacement body back today and just installed the neck and set it up. Nice job! They even adjusted my PU the way I had it and installed the new style battery box (since that's how the new bodies are routed). I was really concerned when EB said they would work with me that I couldn't get the same Black Cherry finish since I didn't see it listed. But they said I could still get it, so I was really happy. Put the Cobalts back on and a little adjustment on the neck and it was ready to go. In the end I was happy to pay what I did to get it back in perfect shape and am happy EB worked with me on the initial price to something very reasonable. Good EB experience!