Official Luthiers Forum!

Greetings Everyone, iv been looking at all the different ways to finish a guitar and have done a few, im just wondering what people here think is the best way to finish a guitar ( water based, french polish, natural oil based, lacquer)

Thanks.

Best way! There really is no best way. Each type of finish has attributes and pitfalls. For instance nitrocellulose lacquer is easy to work with high solids and very hard. Bad things are it is both toxic and very flammable. French polished shellac is one of the least tone dampening finishes you can use. It is relatively easy to apply once you understand how each process in the application works in conjunction with the other process, It can produce a stunning finish and is easily repaired or touched up for the life of the guitar. Then there is drying oils and penetrating oil varnishes and many other finishes as well each with different attributes. There is no one best finish.

A little more definition of what you mean by best would help to isolate the finishes that best suit your requirements.

With Michael here.

Will add that the best finish is the one you stick with and master. They all work but all take time to get to know, so if you try one and it does not work out for you, and then you go and try something else instead of persevering, you will not have learned very much along the way.

To see what i am talking about, do a quick search of a few different types of finish. You will soon come across post relating to efforts which have turned out superbly and others of the same finish which have been a complete disaster. The lesson in that is we need to learn from OUR mistakes rather than being so quick to blame a product for our own lack of skill, if we commit and accept responsibility for our own failings, we will master any finish quite quickly.

Cheers

Kim

Agreed on all counts with the above. My plan is to try different ones and decide what I want to achieve in the end.
Questions that go through my head...
-Yeah, that mirror finish always looks fantastic...but would a satin finish be great to?
-Which can I master and/or want to spend the time mastering?
-Heck...I need to spend more time on perfecting the sanding and scraping first!

-Matthew

While I agree with what has been said WRT every finish having its strong points...I still think polyester is bester

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Just my 2 cents here. Although to date I have only used aerosol lacquer from the home center to see what nitro looks like, I think it's more better than all the others.
Just kidding.

Rene

Surely the best finish is the one that contributes to the sound of the instrument, and not whether it acts as a substitute for a hard case.

My old violin was dark, kinda grubby looking and virtually bare of finish, it sounded very good and looked a little beat up but it was a lovely instrument.

Either gloss or satin can be done with most types of finish. I have my preferences, but I offer Varnish, Nitrocellouse Lacquer, Urethane or Polyester for my clients. The processes are different, but mainly its just preparation and hard work.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

That would depend entirely upon what the intended use is for the instrument, if it is to be gigged regularly on an open air stage through an amp, or passed around to act as a beer coaster at parties, how much the finish does or does not detract from the sound is not really a consideration.

Cheers

Kim

I am new to building and finishing guitars, and so far have done 2 flamencos. The first one was done with a water based product from KTM, The second was done with McFadden Nitro. I found the nitro much easier to spray and lay down wet coats without runs or sags compared to the water based stuff. I used retarder in all coats of nitro, and would recommend the same to an inexperienced finisher like myself. The retarder helped me avoid orange peel which made level sanding, and later wet sanding much easier. That being said, I have the luxury of using a spray booth at work that is set up for flammable finishes and I also use a respirator, gloves, hair net hat etc.. With the water based stuff, explosions are not a problem. One caveat, I highly recommend the hair net, nothing is worse than finding one of my gray hairs in the finish after it is dry. I attached a pic of my nitro sprayed work in progress.

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John Nowicki

Guitars-lacquer
Mandolins-spirit varnish over oil varnish

Thanks everyone for the replies, i guess il just have to try everything and find out what is best for me.