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Hello,

I dont post very much here cause Im not a luthier, but the threads are so interesting, its a really enjoyable resource. Thanks.

The finish on my Chinese made OM guitar is a very hard thick poly. If I sand it off would the sound improve?

The instrument was medium priced and has various detail requirements that I need, I even think it is starting to "open up"....or so I think, so I will definitely be keeping it, I just cant help thinking the finish is dulling the sound potential of the guitar.

Thanks

Sanding the finish thinner will definately change the sound... It may help it, it may not help it.... but it will change things.

If you really want to try it out.... (We certainly won't stop you...)
Your goal is to thin out the finish a bit... Not *Remove* it... It needs some finish to protect it from the elements... and refinishing is a royal pain in the rear.

Get a good, high quality Automotive body shop type sanding block and some automotive body shop sand paper in every grit from 600 to 2,000 grit.

Start with 600 grit and wet sand till the surface is uniformly dull. Start sanding cross-grain, then sand long grain until all cross-grain scratches are gone... Then repeat with the next grit....

Move through each progressive grit (Don't Skip Any!), wet sanding up to 2,000 grit... If you want a satin finish.. stop somewhere between 1,200 and 2,000 grit depending on the satin texture you want.

If you want a more glossy finish... Once you get to 2,000 grit, buff it out with kitchen paper towels.... Start with dry ones, then move to wet paper towels. (The more expensive soft sort.. not the cheap, hard, coarse sort you would find in a High school bathroom)

It takes quite a bit of "Elbow Grease" to do this... Your arms will be pretty worn out when you are done... and it probably won't be as shiny as it was when you got it..

Now, string it up and play it hard and often for a month or two. It will change over the next few weeks... If you want to try another round after a couple months... have at it..

Thanks

John

If you are carefull, you can use a heat gun to completely remove the finish. Then sand, and spray some nitro over it. You will still need to sand to a high grit, but it will be less work. I sanded a poly finish off of a guitar top once. Took a whole week and that was just the top. Never do that again!

I have seen threads where the process is explained with pictures to help.

Mike

Truckjohn,
Thanks for the info. Ive done a lot of auotomotive and boat re-finishing so I'm good with the wet and dry paper, I just don't have any experience of how finishes on wood can affect the way the material behaves sound wise.

I can see its gonna be a hell of a lot of work but if I take it easy Im sure the end result will be an improvement if not a huge one, besides it feels all sort of plasticky like a tupperware box if you get my drift...lol.

Mike. Think Ill stay away from heat just now, I would hate to see those bindings melt before my very eyes...but thanks anyway.

Thanks guys.

my advice would be to not even dream of sanding the poly off. the stuff is basically bullet proof. even scraping will drive you crazy. in my experience, when things are hard and go slowly, i tend to get reckless and make a real mess of things. this is bound to happen if you start this project.

with that warning in mind, the answer to your question about sound is 'yes.' the guitar would definitely sound better with a thinner/lighter finish. of the nine guitars that i've completed so far, i've only sent one out for a poly finish. the finish was done way too thick and the guitar sounded like a bunch of the nuance of a lightly built guitar had been choked out of it. i had my mentor look at the guitar and he agreed - that based on the bracing, the guitar should have had a lot more sound - and based on the finish, it looked like it had been 'dipped' in poly. just the weight of that amount of finish alone would have reduced the response of any guitar - sort of changing it from a ringing fingerstyle tool into a thumpy, blues style instrument.

so, if you want the fun and adventure of hacking your guitar to bits, try to remove the finish. but if you want a guitar that sounds like a different guitar, resell the one you've got (while it's still worth something) and shop around for the one you want.

phil

Playing with the finish is opening a can of worms…
It may be thick, but the top coat may be thin, with a heavy thickness of polyester and/or filler under. Besides, for a steel string, it is extremely difficult to obtain good results without removing the bridge and neck.

_________________
Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

How much did this guitar cost?

$450

sell.
and, when buying another $450 guitar, if they've got 10 of the same model in the shop, play all 10. they'll all sound different, and you're likely to find one sweet one in the bunch. and don't be afraid to pick up a name brand that you haven't liked in the past. again, with it being a factory guitar, you might just find one of the lucky ones that came out a little more lively than the rest.

Now, that is something you should have pointed out earlier. Yes, sell it to someone who could care less. You are obviously more discriminating.

Do not do any damage to it. Just sell it and find another.

Mike