Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello friends
till today on my 5 guitars i have dont shellac polishing
but as im not trained very well i dont get good finishing on my guitar
so this time i want to apply synthetic finish
should i go for PU or Laquer?
do i have to fill the pores?? if yes can i use pumice for it?
also do i have apply any coat before pu or lacquer?
can i french polish the guitar with 2-3 sessions before i go for synthetic finish?
waiting for ur reply....
thnks in advance

why no reply this time???

Rahoul, I think because it's hard to know where to start!
French polishing is an art & a skill ....lots of instructional info here & elsewhere (eg http://www.milburnguitars.com/fpbannerframes.html ) so learn & practice.
PU means nothing to me, but you can pore fill under lacquer with Zpoxy or equivalent, a generic pore filler or shellac pumice.
Which finish you "go for" is a question every builder asks ... no easy answers here! Depends on your skills, tools& equipment, availability etc etc etc etc
Hope this helps at least a bit.

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Dave
Milton, ON

It's a tough question to answer from here. Do you have any spray equipment? What products in particular are you looking to use? Poly or lacquer leaves the field wide open, that's almost anything that is not a varnish. Do you need to pore fill? NO, but should you? I don't know. Can you use shellac as a sealer or base? Yes, sometimes. Do you need a sealer at all? Depends on the finish.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Finishing seems like something you ought to be able to just do, right? Like how you'd grab a paintbrush and go at your interior walls. But there's a ton to know about it, and a huge learning curve. There are some great books on the subject - Bob Flexner's being the standard. And that's just understanding finishes. Executing proper technique is another thing altogether.

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David Morris