Sad Day :( Please Help

F

Fariz

New member
Last Night, i was playing my Taylor 812ce and i forgot to put it back in the case and left it on the bed, and i went to watch a movie with friends and when i came back my 3 year old sister was drawing on it with a pernement marker :( is there anyways or chemical that i can use to remove the Permanent Ink without hurting my guitar?
 
Taylor typically uses a waterborn lacquer on their instruments. I have never tested but there is a chance that acetone will not react with the finish (Muttley may have experience with this). You could test by removing a tuner and trying a small place inder the footprint. IF acetone doesn't react and IF the marker ink doesn't penetrate the finish you may can clean up the damage that way.

Good luck to you
 
Take it to an authorised repair shop. Whatever you do you will make it worse unless you know what you are doing. In all likelyhood you will just spread the stuff around if you try to remove it and the slightest softening of the finish or blemish and scratches will just attract the stuff.
 
muttley600 said:
Take it to an authorised repair shop. Whatever you do you will make it worse unless you know what you are doing. In all likelyhood you will just spread the stuff around if you try to remove it and the slightest softening of the finish or blemish and scratches will just attract the stuff.
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I'm gonna have to strongly suggest you follow muttleys' advice here.
This is definitely something he knows about and if there were a safe way to remove it, he would tell you in between guffaws.

So his solemn statement indicates to me that he thinks this is a bad thing.
 
Or you could just let your sister go crazy on your guitar and have a one of a kind finish. Or not.

Sorry to hear this though :( my Uncle has a Gibson with the same problems. For many years now. It has become a conversation piece when he plays out. He figured that it doesn't hurt the sound and he will never be selling it, so what the heck.

I would certainly be looking at it in a different frame of mind if the guitar was mine.
 
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I don't know anything about it, but I do know enough to listen to Lt. Bob, and if he says listen to Muttley, that's what I would do.
 
Hey Muttley, on a related note, I've got a gloss finish cheapie that has signatures in permanent marker (Sharpie, to be specific) and I wondered if there's anything I can put over the top of the sigs to keep them from smearing, without making them bleed?
 
notCardio said:
Hey Muttley, on a related note, I've got a gloss finish cheapie that has signatures in permanent marker (Sharpie, to be specific) and I wondered if there's anything I can put over the top of the sigs to keep them from smearing, without making them bleed?
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Traditionally you'd shoot a very fine mist coat over them to seal them. A mist coat dries almost as it hits the surface so it doesn't have time to bleed into the existing finish. It's what I do with very bright sunbursts and colours as well as to seal in rosewood and ebony bindings that may tend to leach into the spruce top when washing coulours onto front and sides. It's also a good technique to seal off watersllide decals before applying them to headstocks..

You'd need to know exactly what finish is on there first though to avoid adhesion problems. Once the mist coat is on you can build as usual.

Always test finishing methods on scrap first.
 
From the Taylor website:

Factory Service Center Customers in the U.S. and Canada are encouraged to contact our Factory Service Center staff toll free at 1-800-943-6782 with any service, maintenance or repair questions concerning Taylor guitars. ... We’ve found that a personal conversation is the most effective way of answering questions and quickly troubleshooting problems. That’s why you won’t find a service e-mail link here. So, please call, and we’ll be happy to help you.

I'd call them and get their recommendation; I expect it will be the same as Muttley's. However, Taylor modern finishes are made of a UV-cured polyester resin that is extremely strong and stable. It may be a simple matter of wiping with a solvent, such as naptha. Good luck.
 
Treeline said:
From the Taylor website:

Factory Service Center Customers in the U.S. and Canada are encouraged to contact our Factory Service Center staff toll free at 1-800-943-6782 with any service, maintenance or repair questions concerning Taylor guitars. ... We’ve found that a personal conversation is the most effective way of answering questions and quickly troubleshooting problems. That’s why you won’t find a service e-mail link here. So, please call, and we’ll be happy to help you.

I'd call them and get their recommendation; I expect it will be the same as Muttley's. However, Taylor modern finishes are made of a UV-cured polyester resin that is extremely strong and stable. It may be a simple matter of wiping with a solvent, such as naptha. Good luck.
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Thats the most likely scenario. However there is a very good chance that even if a naphtha or MK solvent will move the stuff that you will still get some shadowing. To fully get rid of it it would need to be professionally cut back and buffed. Call Taylor, if nothing else their customer service is top drawer, it has to be.
 
Treeline said:
From the Taylor website:

Factory Service Center Customers in the U.S. and Canada are encouraged to contact our Factory Service Center staff toll free at 1-800-943-6782 with any service, maintenance or repair questions concerning Taylor guitars. ... We’ve found that a personal conversation is the most effective way of answering questions and quickly troubleshooting problems. That’s why you won’t find a service e-mail link here. So, please call, and we’ll be happy to help you.
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Or, take a flight on United Air Lines, which will almost certainly result in your guitar being trashed. Then, Taylor will fix it, for free!:D
 
I agree with taking it to a guitar shop but I will share my experience with permanent markers. I have had to remove that stuff from all kinds of finishes and found that WD40 works really well on a lot of surfaces. The concern here is if the finish will allow the 40 to sit and break down the ink without damaging the finish. WD40 is particularly gentle and I have never had it harm any finish that I used it on but still, if this was a lesser guitar, then I would try it cautiously but being a Taylor, a guitar shop would be the best way to go.
 
Do NOT use wd40 on any part of a guitar. If you really must try and remove permanent marker from a finished surface naphtha is the way to go. Test on an unseen surface and be prepared to pay more to have it fixed if you mess it up.
 
Wear it with pride.
My twin sons were forbidden to even touch my favourite guitar.
Now I'm older and wiser.
My wee girl's favourite stick on jewelry is stuck on the head of my cedar top tenor for all the world to see.
Your sister is three?
Anyone asks what happened to your guitar and you tell them with a little smile on your face and just watch their expressions.
Heartwarming, Jnr.
Edit...
Just caught your age and deleted the "Whereabouts in Oz are you?".
Don't be giving out personal info, Bud.
Sorry.
 
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