As I understand it so far:

The problem is that keeping a nitrocellulose-finished guitar on a stand with foam or foam-rubber or rubber-compound rest arms results in damage to the finish where the guitar is in contact with the rest arms.

The culprit is some sort of toxic (to nitro finishes) gas emitted by these materials which eats away at the lovely finish. I've read where the solution is to wrap the rests in some sort of soft cloth. I use old socks on mine. (Looks great! :o) The vast majority of the time, my guit-boxes spend their time snug inside their cases, but sometimes they do see a stand.

My question is, if gasses are to blame for marring of the finish, would they not easily permeate the fabric such as the cotton I use?

Ive wondered about this too, as the first guitar I built is finished in nitro. I put a t-shirt over the rest arms. I guess if you are scared of the chems eating through the sock, just change its position every once in a while, or put on a new clean sock!

It'd be great to hear from a real chemist. I'm a geologist, and what I understand is that some guitar stands use PVC plastic sleeves on the rest arms. PVC is about 30% chlorine which, reacting with moisture in the air, creates HCl - hydrochloric acid - and it's that which damages your guitar's surface. If it's not PVC you're talking about (i.e. if the foam you refer to is not like PVC), then I don't know! I'll ask around a few friends - might take a few days.

My guess would be plasticisers in the foam, e.g. phthallates. I am not a chemist but my friend is a materials scientist so I'll ask him.

l slot the peaks of my caps in between the slots & a t shirt at the base so the stand is not in contact with the guitars surface.

I've noticed discoloration on guitars with the urethane finish as well hanging on the foam pieces of a stand.

To be honest..i'm getting rid of mine...surely UXL & other companies are aware of this issue...the fact that l spend $50 for a rack & have to come up with a solution to prevent potential marking really annoys the #*@# out of me!!!!!

Chemist here, but I'm not 100% certain what the materials are made of, so I couldn't really make much of a statement.

If you're right about it being caused by the gas, then the sock as protection would make sense.
Direct contact will make it react, but even if they were separated even a little (By lets say, a sock), the gas would diffuse and not react with the finish.

Gary, I will never criticize your old socks again...

Gary, I will never criticize your old socks again...

Holeproof brand too!!

This has been discussed at the ReRanch forum (guitar re-finishers forum), but I can't remember the solution. I've built a few guitars, all in nitro, and I just play it safe by either leaving them in their case or using a towel to cover the foam bits. Hate the look and the trouble of taking a towel along to a jam or gig. There are 'nitro-safe' things out there, and if I remember right, surgical tubing is one of them?? Don't quote me on that though! Like I said: I can't rmember the solution and use a towel!

I've always wanted to build myself a nice wooden stand, but have always been concerned about dents caused by something so hard. Poly wouldn't be a probem, it's just that my nitro finishes are thinner. I subscribe to the thin-nitro-finish=good-tone theory.

Ive built a bunch of teles over the past year, all with tung oil finish. Any chance the stands can harm the oil finish?

I think this entire discussion is a gimick to smoke out a chemist for a meth lab proposition.

I'm pretty sure if I hold my guitar long enough, this too will affect the finish (as well as my lower back). Socks should help, provided you wash them first.

mj

Some guitar hangers and stands used materials that were all but deadly to nitro cellulose finishes. Poly is tougher than nitro but even that can be damaged. My guitars all hang on String Swing slatwall hangers such as you might see in a music store. These are advertised to be nitro friendly and I've detected no problems even though my guitars have been hanging for years including two with nitro cellulose finishes.

I have heard back from my chemist friend, who says:

The foam is neoprene which degrades to form hydrochloric acid in moisture from the air, and other chloride derivatives which attack the nitro.

This phenomenon is well known to him, as it impacts on his own industry.

Hey Matchless, it seems your friend is right. Quoting Wikipedia (a sure route to failing a college exam ;-) it seems that neoprene is a chlorine-bearing compound CH2=CCl-CH=CH2. So it won't create as much hydrochloric acid as PVC (which is definitely bad news) but over time it would still wreck the lacquer. Well how about that - I'll have to check the foam on my guitar hangers.

Some guitar hangers and stands used materials that were all but deadly to nitro cellulose finishes. Poly is tougher than nitro but even that can be damaged. My guitars all hang on String Swing slatwall hangers such as you might see in a music store. These are advertised to be nitro friendly and I've detected no problems even though my guitars have been hanging for years including two with nitro cellulose finishes.

Agree with Synchro on String Swing. I 've used these for 4 or 5 years with no issue. They are secure and don't damage guitars.

Slightly aside but related.
The subject of 'out gassing' causing damage to lacquer. My tech guy, whose opinion I respect enormously, says that leather straps ,especially new leather can do similar damage to lacquer. He recommends not leaving straps attached to guitars & left in cases for long periods of time. Given the range of chemicals that go into tanning leather I think this is good advice.

I use a Herculies tripod stand and hang my les paul standard on it with no issues. On the other hand I learned to watch out for reactions after putting a Couch Guitar strap on it and after a day the vinyl looked like it was starting to react. I noticed it right away and saved my guitar.:D

I bought my guitar last December and no issues to date with the Hercules. But I do suffer from a condition where I can't stop staring at my guitar. ;)

I went to Wally World, and bought some baby
sox that fit right over the feet on the stand.

=====================================

<><> Raspy <><>

I have Swing-Swing hangers on the walls too, but all I have now hanging (luckily??) are poly guitars. At one time I had all my 'favorites' hanging there, but two years ago, my beloved Micawbre copy went CRASH (a parts-caster I did in nitro) off the wall. It broke a framed Keith Richards fold-out poster from Guitar...World?? I had under it. Seems the foam-y hanger "Cried Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of Tele Parts-casters" and she went down. Added some un-intended dents in the ass-end of my tele! And broke the glass to the Keith pic, and a neighoring Jimmy Page w/ bow framed pic as well, but alas with a slight tear. Two glass framed posters busted in one fall. Wierd thing is it had been hanging there, as well as another (poly) Tele, for like 1 full year before that with no problems. Like I said, the Favorites: 2 Tele's, a re-fin Epiphone Sheraton and my scratch-built Les Paul. This is pre-Gretsch....
Since then I don't hang Tele's! BUT there was no issue with the hanger's foam finish. I even had my beloved scratch-build nitro Les Paul hanging for a time from these...until the great crash that is. It was hanging for maybe 3 months.
The point is: String Savor hangers seem to be O.K. with nitro. Just not Tele's...

Yeah... honestly I would never hang a telecaster... Stores dont do it FOR A REASON.

the last time I had a tele on a hanger it slipped and hit the ground so hard, it jammed the schaller strap button all the way into the body flush.

the last time I had a tele on a hanger it slipped and hit the ground so hard, it jammed the schaller strap button all the way into the body flush.

If it CAN happen, it will.

If it CAN happen, it will.

I just checked ans String Swing actually makes a narrow hanger. I wonder if that would be aimed at the Tele problem.

I seldom wear socks but when I do I generally wear something interesting. I do sometimes emit gasses that may be harmful to guitar finishes and small children.

I just checked ans String Swing actually makes a narrow hanger. I wonder if that would be aimed at the Tele problem.

I found that you can manipulate the holder on the String Swing to fine tune it for any neck. My Fenders require a little bit of a pivot so they hang straight.
20748

You can see it on this Strat...

Yeah... honestly I would never hang a telecaster... Stores dont do it FOR A REASON.

I've never been to a music store that didn't hang it's telecasters....

I cant the hanger for my Tele and have no problem. If I had the hanger level it probably would be dicey.

I cant the hanger for my Tele and have no problem. If I had the hanger level it probably would be dicey.

I think you accidentally a word.

EDIT : I'm an idiot.

I think you accidentally a word.

EDIT : I'm an idiot.

Cant as in tilt.

Cant as in tilt.

Yup... Picked up on that right after I hit reply... hence my edit, admitting to my idiocy, haha :)

Thanks for all the info, fella's. I feel better about having a layer of cloth between my guitars and those foamy rests now. Even at the risk of my guitars smelling like my feet.

Thanks for all the info, fella's. I feel better about having a layer of cloth between my guitars and those foamy rests now. Even at the risk of my guitars smelling like my feet.

Mine smell like babies feet. I wouldn't put
my sox on my guitar stands. The smell
would drive me out of the house.

=========================================

<><> Raspy <><>

I've never been to a music store that didn't hang it's telecasters....

Well I wasn't implying ALL, but MANY if not all the stores I frequent have them on stands on the floor instead of on racks. Elderly here in lansing actually has signs explicitly saying "do not hang tele's" They keep MORE of their fender style guitars on carpeted/slotted racks that are SOME of the first built for the store.

Sure Guitar centers hang EVERYTHING as they need floor-space for amps and teenagers, but the Mom and pop places I go to cant afford to let instruments drop on accident or in MANY cases customer ignorance.

I'm not saying stores DONT hang tele's. But its neat that you've never been to a store that didn't.

I cant the hanger for my Tele and have no problem. If I had the hanger level it probably would be dicey.

Haha, Mark, even you will find a way to "overthink" (if that can be done... I've yet to find out) hanging a guitar... :p

What do you call putting the seat down?