Some might remember how my sweat ruined my Epiphones in no time, and how the contact of my skin did a number on my SGJ...
 

 
Well...
 
You may also remember that 4 months ago, I finally got my Gibson Les Paul (Studio). 
 
Shortly after however, I was recruited for the big Judas Priest Classic Album Night and had to switch back to the SG. Right after which I was recruited for another project which required me to switch bass, so I didn't really have much time to play the Les Paul at all.
 
A couple of weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to get back to it, and that's when I noticed that, as little as I seem to have played it, I have managed to damage the finish... It's actually hard to capture with the iPhone camera, but every area which is in constant contact with my skin seems to have been discoloured, such as on the edge where my picking hand forearm rests when I'm playing...
 

 
The odd thing is that I have a white Epiphone Les Paul Jr which I've played a lot more than that and the finish is intact.
 
Kinda weird, uh?

Acid Rain? 

Hi,
 
Cheap Trick?
 
Cheap Technology?
 
Cheap Paint?
 
I don't know ... just saying

Acid sweat. Well, you are an alien after all.

Will an auto paste wax like Maguire's clean some of that up?  Having a little bit of a coat of the wax on and wiping it down afterwards may help to preserve the finish....If you care about that.  Some really dig the "worn" look.  I dig it on Strats, but not as much on Gibson's.  Go figure.
 
Or.....it is just truly Acid Rain.    

Purple Rain?

nitro wont do.
 
poly seems to be key.....
 
my carvin has 7 coats of clear poly over koa....
 
i bet that would work for you.
 

batsbrew
nitro wont do.
 
poly seems to be key.....
 
my carvin has 7 coats of clear poly over koa....
 
i bet that would work for you.
 

Yeah, but should he put it on the guitar or his hands??? 

michaelhanson
Some really dig the "worn" look.  I dig it on Strats, but not as much on Gibson's.  Go figure.
 
Or.....it is just truly Acid Rain.    

I tend to agree with you, though those old 50's Les Paul's are gorgeous. 
 
The irony is that even though it was my main axe for over a decade, my strat showed very, very little sign of natural use. It does bear the scars of me throwing it around and doing stupid stage tricks with it, but nothing seemed to ever affect that finish beside absolutely excessive behaviours on my part.
 
As Bat say, this is probably a case of nitro vs poly.
 
As for the rest, I don't mind. I don't really want it to age that way, but if that' what happen, that's what happen.