Spectrum ST -1986 (USA)

I dunno what sort of hell this poor baby was put through but she's got a pattern of surface cracking that I've never seen before. Looks like she was bent or something similar.
Despite it all the seller claims she's still in fine playing form. 'Course it's a MATS, so what else would you expect eh?
Good fixer-upper for someone. It should go cheap!
LINK

I wonder if there is some dodgy veneer caps lurking under that paint?

DAN.

Dunno Dan. If so, it would be a very unusual quality lapse for Mats.
It looks very much like a stress pattern from some sort of body flexing. But for the life of me I can't imagine what.

If the player had been pulling on the headstock to get some sort of effect you'd think that that would have destroyed the neck joint long before doing any damage to the body.
Improper storage/humidity somehow?

i would guess it is an overpainted white one... i'm not sure but i think there is some white paint under the black (the scratches seem to be white and there is also some white stuff on the back...could be undercoat but white undercoat under a plack paint?

Anything's possible I suppose, but that looks like an original (black) finish to me. What's registering as "white" is, I think, just light refracting off the cracks. The spot you pointed out is likely bare wood showing through.

If you use your browser to enlarge the picture of the front body, have a look at all the dings and bruises below the bridge. That looks again like typical impact result you see on an original Mats finish i.e., tough as hell and no chipping.
If she's been over painted it was a damn good job, um, originally.
Of course we could always ask the seller. But that would spoil the fun!

Usually if one coat of gloss isn't fully dried and you keep painting over it the under coat will eventually crack. But it usually has a crackle effect rather than such uniform lines. Maybe they stored the guitar in a walk in humidor with their cigars. I agree Barry, looks like stress cracks.

Maybe someone has tried to do a vandal finish like key scratches on a car.
What a feast of offerings today.