BEWARE Spider Cases review - Flightcase Warehouse - Nitro damage

bodhi

But is that the colour from the case plush being transferred to the finish, or damage like we're seeing here where the nitro is eaten away?

I've seen the former, which is kind of cute in a Gibsonny way, but not the latter.

Whitecat

bodhi said:

But is that the colour from the case plush being transferred to the finish, or damage like we're seeing here where the nitro is eaten away?

I've seen the former, which is kind of cute in a Gibsonny way, but not the latter.

I’ve seen both... I have a white guitar that has a bit of the pinky/reddish thing going on where it was placed on an errant stand for a short while. I’ve also seen the “cigar burn” on a natural wood finish where a guitar was placed in a case with a shitty rubber strap still attached and left for a month at least... 

Legionreturns

Maybe it's a relic case? You put a guitar in, say the magic words and six months later you have a relic. 

mbe

I have one of those Spider mock croc LP cases and it stinks. Can't get rid of it, really foul chemical smell. Carry my Epi LP to jam sessions in it.

I'm a retired chemical engineer and haven't a clue what the smell is. Nothing like I've experienced in 40 years running every type of chemical plant.

Strat54

So are all the manufacturers of guitar stands responsible for the many tens of thousands of nitro finished guitars that have been damaged by the chemicals in the rubber rest? After all they sold you a stand for you guitar? I think not. 

Whitecat

Strat54 said:

So are all the manufacturers of guitar stands responsible for the many tens of thousands of nitro finished guitars that have been damaged by the chemicals in the rubber rest? After all they sold you a stand for you guitar? I think not. 

Most cheap stands I’ve ever bought carry a warning. 

Daved756

You sure there wasn’t a wasp in the case?

Strat54

Whitecat said:

Strat54 said:

So are all the manufacturers of guitar stands responsible for the many tens of thousands of nitro finished guitars that have been damaged by the chemicals in the rubber rest? After all they sold you a stand for you guitar? I think not. 

Most cheap stands I’ve ever bought carry a warning. 

Ever? Wasn't so long ago that nothing came with a warning.....you just had to learn, sometimes the hard way!  I remember when PRS introduced nitro on the Modern Eagles and lots of dentists got their finished burned by the PRS straps....they weren't happy. But hey nitro has been around on guitars for a hell of a time now, its not a new concept....doesn't everyone know by now how it reacts to certain modern chemicals?

Whitecat

Strat54 said:

Whitecat said:

Strat54 said:

So are all the manufacturers of guitar stands responsible for the many tens of thousands of nitro finished guitars that have been damaged by the chemicals in the rubber rest? After all they sold you a stand for you guitar? I think not. 

Most cheap stands I’ve ever bought carry a warning. 

Ever? Wasn't so long ago that nothing came with a warning.....you just had to learn, sometimes the hard way!  I remember when PRS introduced nitro on the Modern Eagles and lots of dentists got their finished burned by the PRS straps....they weren't happy. But hey nitro has been around on guitars for a hell of a time now, its not a new concept....doesn't everyone know by now how it reacts to certain modern chemicals?

Well, probably at least as long as consumer protection laws have been as robust as they are.

That’s quite funny about the MEs though...! PRS does so little nitro that you’d almost think they would have warned the buyers...!

Neil

rlw said:

I'm going to be a bit Devil's advocate here.

The case is advertised as being a Les Paul case, suitable for a Les Paul guitar.  It holds the guitar firmly and protects it from handling damage.

Les Paul guitars come in nitro, poly and even metal finishes. As we know, nitro finishes are funny things.  Nowhere does Flight Case Warehouse say it's safe for nitro finishes.

The guitar fits in the case well.  The case works.  Ergo, it is fit or purpose.

It is unfortunate that the guitar has been marked by the case but, since many other similar guitars have not been marked by similar cases, the fault would seem to lie with the guitar.  I would even go so far as to say that the guitar was not fit for purpose since it could not be stored safely without being damaged.

I think any sort of court case would be a complete waste of time.  The supplier has offered to refund the price of the case.  End of.

Additionally, how old is the guitar?  If it's very recent, had the finish hardened properly?   Has the storage room varied in temperature a lot?  Gibson do allude to the fragility of the finish in their paperwork somewhere.

Funnily enough, I kept two Gibson Les Pauls in one of these cases and neither was marked.   I have since bought a further two and both of these have been marked by standing them on an expensive stand, allegedly extremely unlikely to do damage to a nitro finish, but not guaranteed.

I think it's a bit caveat emptor, a bit unlucky and a bit unfortunate on the OP's part.

Agree with this.

TBH if it were me I'd accept the offer of a refund and get the neck fixed.

It's not that horrible really, just a scar that I imagine a refinisher could make invisible.

It's easy for some people who are not affected to start spouting the law, CBA etc but if it's going to cost money/time over a cheaper Gibson, why bother?

FWIW the company obviously make cheap (and probably decent) cases for people but any Gibson Les Paul owner should be wary of stands, cases etc etc especially when leaving the guitar for long periods, it comes with the territory.

ICBM

nibs said:

Hi - so recently I checked on one of my guitars been sitting in hardcase for a few months - took her out and noticed the nitrocellulose finish on an area of the neck had blistered / melted /reacted with something (see photos) and noticed where the neck was resting on the case compartment tab handle was the area damaged - same place shape etc.

Surely she should have known not to lie down on a bit of leather? It must have been uncomfortable anyway.





It does seem pretty stupid that the case is made with the tab there. I've never seen that before, they're usually in the corner of the flap.

I think Flightcase Warehouse are very well aware that it is the cause too, but cannot say so because that would potentially make them liable. Take the refund and put it down to experience. It's unfortunate that it will cost a fair bit for the damage to be fixed but I can't see FW paying for that.

I think it's unlikely you would have any success with legal action, it's a well known problem with nitro finishes and FW's lawyers would be able to find an almost infinite amount of information available to this effect.

HAL9000

ICBM said:

... it's a well known problem with nitro finishes and FW's lawyers would be able to find an almost infinite amount of information available to this effect.

If it’s a well-known problem then surely FW should have been aware and used appropriate materials.

nibs

HAL9000 said:

ICBM said:

... it's a well known problem with nitro finishes and FW's lawyers would be able to find an almost infinite amount of information available to this effect.

If it’s a well-known problem then surely FW should have been aware and used appropriate materials.

Exactly - just plain ignorance by Flightcase Warehouse - again I've not even had any call from them either - it just says they don't care about the guitar damaged or their customers.

ICBM

HAL9000 said:

If it’s a well-known problem then surely FW should have been aware and used appropriate materials.

Certainly - or more simply fitted the tab where it can't contact the neck, like other manufacturers do - but that still doesn't mean they're legally liable for the damage.

I'm not actually sure they even make these cases, I think they buy them in - but I could be wrong.

nibs

Well that would be letting Flightcase Warehouse get away with the damage to my guitar - some offer of compensation for the repair of the guitar is the least they can do - but they totally refuse.

If you read the complete ad below, you'll see under the "Features" list that they say "Will fit all std Les Paul Type Guitars"

http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=7087-7652

It's like i predicted... The "Director" is not at all concerned with the issue and has never even considered this as a factor or even imagined that any potential risk factor could come from it, when they where making the cases and choosing materials for them.
So in his view because it's a less expensive case, they don't really need to take in account the potential risks their choice of materials can be for every different type of guitar finishes out there, it's not the guitar owner that should  "guess" what the cases materials are made of, and if it's going to have an adverse reaction with the guitar's finish... it's the companys responsibility..

If by any chance they used a material for the inner lining padding that would react with the finish too and ruined the whole finish on the body like it is on the neck, i wonder what would they say then...

It's their responsibility to properly research the materials they use on a product that's meant to be used as protection for another object so that it inflicts no kind of damage to the object stored!

ICBM

nibs said:

Well that would be letting Flightcase Warehouse get away with the damage to my guitar - some offer of compensation for the repair of the guitar is the least they can do - but they totally refuse.

If you read the complete ad below, you'll see under the "Features" list that they say "Will fit all std Les Paul Type Guitars"

http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=7087-7652

It's like i predicted... The "Director" is not at all concerned with the issue and has never even considered this as a factor or even imagined that any potential risk factor could come from it, when they where making the cases and choosing materials for them.
So in his view because it's a less expensive case, they don't really need to take in account the potential risks their choice of materials can be for every different type of guitar finishes out there, it's not the guitar owner that should  "guess" what the cases materials are made of, and if it's going to have an adverse reaction with the guitar's finish... it's the companys responsibility..

If by any chance they used a material for the inner lining padding that would react with the finish too and ruined the whole finish on the body like it is on the neck, i wonder what would they say then...

It's their responsibility to properly research the materials they use on a product that's meant to be used as storage for another object so that it inflicts no kind of damage to the object stored!

It is also the responsibility of the owner of a nitro-finished guitar to check that anything it may come into contact with will not harm it. Nitro is well-known to suffer from this issue, with both stands and straps as well as cases - and even clothing.

Unless FW specifically claimed that it would *not* harm a nitro finish - I read the ad and they haven't done - they are not legally responsible for what you put in the case. All they've claimed is that it will *fit* a Les Paul *type* guitar - which is true.

If it was an *official* Gibson case sold specifically to fit a Gibson guitar, you would probably be right. But it isn't, it's a cheap aftermarket case not made or supplied by the guitar manufacturer and not intended for only one brand.

Take the refund. If you want, publicise it on social media and hope you can push them into making an offer for the repair, but don't expect anything. Write them a stinking review after you've got your money back.

I have no affiliation with FW by the way.

BloodEagle

Yep, accept the refund for all of the reasons above, continuing to pursue it looks like an attempt at an opportunistic cash grab tbh. 

fretfinder

Yep, as above. You've not done badly to get a free case out of it in my opinion. I’m guessing it’s a cheaper LP anyway if it didn’t come with a Gibson case in the first place, so there’s not a huge impact on value. I would either just live with the minor damage or get it fixed, and move on.

nibs

BloodEagle said:

Yep, accept the refund for all of the reasons above, continuing to pursue it looks like an attempt at an opportunistic cash grab tbh. 

Really not in anyway trying to cash grab at all - just seek some compensation for the repair of my guitar.

When I puchased the guitar case I went through the Flightcase Warehouse website links which said 'Gibson' Les Paul Guitar cases - see here:

http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/industry/index.asp?section=gibson-guitar-cases-3959

So obviously thought they were perfectly fine for 'Gibson' Guitars - which all have a nitro finish.

Obviously not ....

StormshadowGuitars

Take the refund and buy a Hiscox one