How to stop a white guitar going yellow

H671 · Post by **H671** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:10 pm

I have a Greg Bennet RL4 LTD which is white in colour. It slowly started yellowing - I now keep it in its case to try to stop this.
Does anyone know of a way to try to restore the original white colour?

jeremyb · Post by **jeremyb** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:11 pm

Sand it back and re-paint I'd imagine!

Post by **GrantB** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:15 pm

Refin? No clear coat?

In most cases the clear coat goes yellow, giving the impression that the white lacquer underneath has changed. Some old Fenders you can see where the clear coast have worn off the white is bright and normal white.

H671 · Post by **H671** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:31 pm

The guitar is about 2 years old & in perfect condition apart from the yellowing - It's one of those things that slowly creep up on you.
It was very apparent recently when I took off the Bigsby for adjustments - underneath it was the original white colour. From your comments it appears that most finish systems would end with clear coats. Do you think that it is possible to use some fine grit wet & dry paper to remove the yellow layer then to put another clear coat on, or would that be considered too risky?

jeremyb · Post by **jeremyb** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:34 pm

One of the reasons things get clear coated is so they can be sanded back and buffed to a fine gloss, you could sand back the clear and re-do it, as long as you know what the base paint is so you don't get a clear that reacts badly with it, also get one thats UV stable so it doesn't yellow... you might find with some car polish and elbow grease it comes right, or even some cutting compound if you're gentle, the latter is a tad risky tho' if its a small number of coats.

Doc Murray · Post by **Doc Murray** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:37 pm

If you want the guitar to look new buy that model and sell the old one on

calling card · Post by **calling card** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:47 pm

Some like the 'butterscotch blonde', you got yourself a graceful relic.

Post by **GrantB** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:21 pm

Yes - a lot of folk like the yellowing. Street cred type hoohah...I also prefer the slight yellowing that goes on...but maybe not so much the banana colour that some 70's Fenders can get to.

Zaulkin · Post by **Zaulkin** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:22 pm

Funny, I talked to Ash about this recently... I think his conclusion was that all white guitars will yellow to some degree, with some finishes yellowing faster than others.

Embrace it!

alanp · Post by **alanp** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:26 pm

So it's not just tobacco smoke with the nicotine making white paint go yellow?

Post by **Capt. Black** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:41 pm

How to stop a white guitar going yellow?

File a lawsuit...

Badoom tish

rickenbackerkid · Post by **rickenbackerkid** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:23 pm

Personally, the last new guitar I brought, I chose white so it would
a) show wear fast
b) yellow

because guitars that look played are moar awesome. Provided that they have been played. Fake relic is dumb. Real relic is cool.

slash-ed · Post by **slash-ed** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:28 pm

Fake relic can make a guitar nice to play though.

Doc Murray · Post by **Doc Murray** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:43 pm

White guitars are like teeth they go yellow if not cleaned.

H671 · Post by **H671** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:21 pm

Thanks for the feedback.
It still looks white on stage so I'll just learn to like it.

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