Aging a body

[ash]

I've got a Heritage H150, Nitro finish. I'm thinking about aging the body: not with heavy traces of usage, but only slightly "cracking" the paint.

1) I was told that this improves the guitar's tone. is that really the case?

2) How do I properly do this? I've read about using compressed air, circuit cooler, or exposing the guitar to coldness and then to warmth.

thanks.

[cavpilot]

Originally Posted by ash

I've got a Heritage H150, Nitro finish. I'm thinking about aging the body: not with heavy traces of usage, but only slightly "cracking" the paint.

1) I was told that this improves the guitar's tone. is that really the case?

2) How do I properly do this? I've read about using compressed air, circuit cooler, or exposing the guitar to coldness and then to warmth.

thanks.

1) someone was pulling your leg

2) warm it with a hand-held hair drier, then cool it with compressed air. There's videos of people doing it on Youtube.
Nitro will naturally lacquer check over time and temp extremes.

[JTC]

Before you ruin a perfectly good guitar, I suggest you first try relic strings (preferably pre-1964 Black Diamonds). Or you could age your own strings by soaking them overnight in Coke (not Coke Zero or Diet), then burying them in moist dirt (not potting soil) for eleven days. I guarantee this will have a much greater effect on your tone than destroying your finish would.

[fumbler]

I have a bunch of sets of natural relic strings I'd be willing to sell you at only a slight premium over the cost of new strings.

Some are what you might call "heavy relics." I charge extra for those.