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Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:07 pm
by Kbore
Just received my Four Pack of Pro Line guitar stands. A warning label affixed says WARNING:...NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE WITH NITROCELLULOSE LACQUER FINISHES. I’m want to just replace the tubing. Silicone? Auto gas or brake line hose? Recommendations?

Thanks,

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:28 pm
by MaineGeezer
That seems bizarre. Why would a guitar stand manufacturer include something in his product known to cause damage to perhaps the most common modern guitar finish???
Oh well....I guess the "why" is irrelevant.

To replace it, I think the first thing I'd do is go to http://www.mcmaster.com and search for "hose" and read the information about all the different kinds of hose and tubing. There is quite a selection.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:49 am
by Stray Feathers
Does seem strange. Check the size of the metal parts to see if you can use surgical tubing (like they use on slingshots.) I have a couple like that (pretty inexpensive stands) and the tubing does not seem to affect nitro finishes. It perishes over time and has to be replaced every few years.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:53 am
by MaineGeezer
Polyethylene is pretty much non-anything, so that would probably work. It is fairly rigid though.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 10:40 pm
by phavriluk
Maybe it's the stand maker's liability lawyer/insurance company talking? I'd be curious to see how many stands sold in today's market come with such warnings.

And how long does OP think any one guitar will be on a stand?

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 10:56 pm
by Kbore
phavriluk wrote:
And how long does OP think any one guitar will be on a stand?
Well, if I have four stands, playing one at a time maybe a 50-100 to one "duty cycle". One hour off, 100 hours on, year after year. Since I'm not a professional guitar player,
I spend 100x more time keeping up my property and working than I do taking guitars off the stands, unfortunately.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 9:17 pm
by Diane Kauffmds
Hi Karl. Do you control the humidity in the room where the guitars will be kept? I'm asking, because I have a client that owns 46 guitars, mostly older Martin's. He kept them on several stands in a room, where there was no humidity control. He lives in Georgia, so high humidity was his problem. It damaged several of his guitars, because of the wood swelling.

Conversely, I've fixed many guitars that fell victim to the opposite problem, low humidity. They cracked, esp when it was hot outside, because of the Air conditioning. Also, heated air in the winter dries them out, causing cracking.

The client in GA bought a good dehumidifier for his storage room, so the guitars remain on the stands. My other folks simply kept their guitars in their cases, where the humidity is controlled.

Just thought I'd add some food for thought.

This is the first time I've heard of a damage warning, due to foam. I use rubetex pipe insulator, usually found in the big box stores, to replace worn foam on my stands. It's in the plumbing section and comes in several sizes.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 10:04 pm
by Kbore
I do have a whole house humidifier for the central furnace but I wouldn't call it controlled, just humidified. I do keep humidifiers in the sound holes now after a winter episode of drying that back bowed the necks of wood and laminated ( mex Martin) necks. Think I was lucky. I've heard of the foam incompatibility for years, surprised to see it face to face in 2017 on a warning sticker. It's the same stand every axe in the GC sits on. But like wine not sorted on the side in the wine store, it's a matter of time on the shelf ( or stand). Might just be a liability disclaimer, but coming from China you never know what your product is going to be made of. : (

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 11:51 pm
by Diane Kauffmds
I've heard of foam and finish incompatibility too, but like you, I would figure that an instrument accessory manufacturer, would use inert materials.

At any rate, rubetex works.

Re: Help! Guitar stand Foam and Nitrocellulose Finishes

Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 12:44 pm
by Kbore
Problem solved. Grosgrain fabric ribbon from Hobby Lobby wrapped and hot glued along the length of the wrap. Took about 45 minutes for the 16 foams on 4 stands and cost $4. I contacted ProLine Throught their contac link and asked what was an appropriate material, and if they sold it- I never got an answer. Shame on them - more like SNOW-Line ha.