Clear finish vs opaque, resistance to damage.

[Golem]

So far, I'm believing that EBMM's opaque fishes have a superior
response to minor impact. With opaque finishes, my observation
is that chips and dings in the finish are limited to the point of
impact, and do not grow or spread.

OTOH, three instances of impact that does NOT dent the wood,
two of which I own, one of which I inspected in a shop, have a
different response to such minor impact and these are NOT on
opaque finishes, being one sunburst, one trans orange and one
trans red. In each instance, the small impact [not denting the
wood] puts a crack in the trans finish, which subsequently will
spread. The crack grows and the finish lifts away from the body
in a noticeably larger area, typically [sample study of only three
cases] allowing the now-fragile lifted-away finish to further chip,
crack, etc.

My semi-semi-erudite conclusion here is that an opaque finish
adheres to the body more securely because of the use of primer
between the wood and the outer finish. Also, observing cases of
trans color finish, it seems that the color is "rubbed into" [?] the
wood, not incorporated into the outer gloss coat which appears
to be clear. This makes me wonder if the "rubbed in" color acts
to inhibit good adhesion of the outer clear coat. My oldest clear
finish is a '93 that is plain clear gloss, no coloring, and altho it
has been around that long, it seems immune to minor impacts.

I'm just observant, and thoughtful, and all I know about paint is
what I learned in art school. IOW maybe incomplete knowledge
is more misleading than toadall ignorance. Anywho, I welcome
[and anticipate] more knowledgeable comment from others.

 

[sanderhermans]

I have similar experiences. Anny dents in my trans finishes will crack further or chip off. Where my opaque finish dents just leave a small mark and dont chip away. I have 2 opaques with small dents and 2 trans with cracking or chips of paint fell off. So it seems the clear coat on trans finishes is harder and less capable of "bending" into a dent.

 

[five7]

The stealth finish that was on my bongo was very prone to chipping and flaking especially around the edges.

 

[agt]

I have not experienced many dings and dents, but on those that have occurred, I have not noticed any difference.

 

[Golem]

I have similar experiences. Anny dents in my trans finishes will crack
further or chip off. Where my opaque finish dents just leave a small
mark and dont chip away. I have 2 opaques with small dents and 2
trans with cracking or chips of paint fell off. So it seems the clear coat
on trans finishes is harder and less capable of "bending" into a dent.

My theory is not that trans finished are less capable of bend. My
idea is that trans lifts cuz it's much less well adhered to the body.

IOW it's a bit like a brittle shrink wrap, and when it is breached,
it lets go. When the opaque finish is breached, only the point of
impact chips away, the surrounding finish is still being supported
by the wood to which it is well adhered, presumably due to the
layer of suitable primer.

I even suspect that the clear "wrap" adheres reasonably well to
plain uncolored wood, but once you color stain some wood, that
operation makes the wood adhere less well to the clear top coat.

Surely we will soon here from the folks at SLO who engineer the
whole finishing operation.

 

[sanderhermans]

My theory is not that trans finished are less capable of bend. My
idea is that trans lifts cuz it's much less well adhered to the body.

IOW it's a bit like a brittle shrink wrap, and when it is breached,
it lets go. When the opaque finish is breached, only the point of
impact chips away, the surrounding finish is still being supported
by the wood to which it is well adhered, presumably due to the
layer of suitable primer.

I even suspect that the clear "wrap" adheres reasonably well to
plain uncolored wood, but once you color stain some wood, that
operation makes the wood adhere less well to the clear top coat.

Surely we will soon here from the folks at SLO who engineer the
whole finishing operation.

I can follow your train of tought. Might it also be possible that with age the finish becomes more brittle? Anny experience on that?

 

[Golem]

My oldest clear coat is '93 and has zero problems. OTOH, I
have a dual PU burst finish [an HH can't be over 10 yrs old
IIRC] and a crack grew from the cap screw that secures the
bridge, IOW not from impact ! There is minor lifting of the
surrounding finish near the crack. My trans orange SR5 is
a ceramic era ax, not sure about DOB, and it has a major
lifting stemming from minor impact [no dent to the wood].

The 93 has no color, no burst, just clear over ash, thus my
wondering if the clear adheres better to plain wood than
to wood thaz been stained for color.

The trans orange case is how I learned that trans colors
are NOT tinted clear coat but are trans color stained wood
under a non-colored clear coat.

Still hoping for news from the authorities at SLO .... and I
emphasize again that this thread is not intended to dump
on the quality of the products. In a real world, schidt will
happen, and the differing effect on differing finishes has
set me to wondering, cuz I'm a wondering type. Also, I'm
not one to put cosmetic effect over practical consideration.

So, altho I like to SEE the wood, if opaque finishes really
are less vulnerable, and the finish is there to protect and
preserve the wood, I'll change my preference and prefer
opaque finishes [and part with my trans crimson SR30th
while it's still 100% intact finish-wise].