Official Luthiers Forum!

I am sure it is my hand chemistry. All of the guitars I have out, 8 or so, have no issues with the neck. I sprayed those the same as I sprayed mine. I do have to say I have had no issue with my shellac french polished neck over a number of years. I have been playing a classical guitar with Royal-lac for about 8 months that is holding up as well.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I like tru-oil for necks... makes a fairly durable finish that players love.

As for body, I used nitro but I really need to epoxy seal the wood to get a good finish, or else the pores show up after a year or so. I do not know whether or not the epoxy would create problem with finish adhesion.

I'm wondering about tru oil for the whole guitar...

I also used french polish, and it can work well assuming your shellac is in good condition. I had problems with the shellac being more sticky than usual and as a result it couldn't build a good film no matter how many coat I applied. It was possible that the shellac went bad due to the excessive humidity I had in Taiwan. The top I did with fresh shellac was more durable than I imagined. It does nothing against dents however.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I mostly FP now. I gave up on water base a long time ago after trying real hard for ten years with it. I like Lacquer and will still use it when it's desired. I do plan on giving the royal laq a try.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Sounded like a good idea to me!

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I thought that might be met with resistance. Okay plan B -- John, send your hand to Steve for a year; we have to get to the bottom of this.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Nitro lacquer -- from rattle cans.

Yes its expensive --- yes I am lazy and hate fiddling with and maintaining our spray equipment.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

What brand are you using Ken? I'm sure folks will want to know.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I have always like the Behlens products -- I found little difference between the musical instrument finish and the less expensive Jet series. No snickering -- I really like Watco $6.00 per can (made buy Rustoleum which is a key coating supplier worldwide) Satin neck and body with FP sound-board is my fav appearance. I am going to try the Mohawk pre-cat -- seems like a good idea.

Seems makers are using anything and every thing these days to put some really nice finishes on wood musical instruments -- the old taboos related to plasticizers, poly's, acrylics, etc. are for the most part lost in the past. Who'd a thunk we be talking about Waterborne "varnish" and synthetically enhanced shellac? All good in my book. Just put on enough to level and take off everything that's not necessary to maintain integrity.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

It's hard to beat the depth of a good oil varnish, that's for sure.

Is there a brand of oil varnish that is recommended?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Manuel Velazquez considered by many to be one of the best classical makers of all time -- uses Pratt and Lambert #38 clear. I saw this in a GAL quarterly publication

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

is Pratt and Lambert #38 still available? Has it been discontinued?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I could be wrong, but I vaguely remember that it has been discontinued or converted to a poly finish. I believe Mario (Grumpy) used to use it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

http://www.prattandlambert.com/product- ... ar_varnish

and for sale

http://www.uspaintsupply.com/paint/38-varnish/

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I stand corrected!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I sprayed 10 coats of Watco Gloss (rattle can) on a build for my daughter this past weekend and was very suprised how well it went on and levelled. No nibs, runs, or other issues that pop up during spraying.

I bought one of those snap on spray handles for $6 and sprayed away 2 hours between coats over three days. Five minutes of effort and no clean up after spraying. I will say though that a proper respirator should be worn and the spray area properly ventilated. In my case open the garage door. ;o) i.e low tech.

I'll let it sit until the end of the month then wet sand and buff. Also, I noted that it comes in matte, semi-gloss, and gloss and can be purchased an Home Depot.

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

I've been using Deft rattle can lacquer for years. Lately, I'm finding that it doesn't cure for a long time...if at all? IIRC, it never used to be like that. Now, when I case an instrument, it leaves impressions in the finish & this also happens when I set the guitar on the rug or any surface for that matter. Capos as well...grrr! I like Mohawk products & most likely, I'll be switching over to that in the future. Someone once mentioned that Sherwin-Williams makes a decent Lacquer. I've done quite a few necks w/ Tru-Oil & have found it to be quite durable & w/o too much stink.

I was a pro painter for 45 years w/ my own business & have no intention on messing w/ any more spray rigs....

I have not had a good experience with Deft.my observations were the same as yours I only finished one guitar with it...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I like this thread! I recently moved to Ithaca New York, great town but the smallest city I have ever lived and I'm now faced with the challenge of finding things locally. Lacquer is one thing that's super expensive to ship. I have been spraying Mohawk and before that Belens which I could pick up locally for around $40 a gallon. Nothing of the sort in this area. I tried French polishing a few guitars since I got here and it's so delicate I can't get a done without scratching or denting it. I don't know how anyone can do a hole guitar at once, what do you rest it on that won't ruin it? Anyhow going back to nitro cause it seems to work for me. I read a few threads that she twin Williams has a good nitro but it takes a month to cure before buffing. Has anyone had luck with any brands that aren't labeled as instrument lacquer on acoustics?

For me, the client usually chose the finish after I showed what was available. I shot nitro lacquer and acrylic lacquer for years - no problem, had a pro Binks booth, Sharpe touch-up gun, the whole rig. Also provided oil finishes on request - Watco Danish Oil and TruOil were very popular. Didn't like shooting enamel, but if that's what was paying... I hired an aircraft finisher to paint those instruments that were destined for Imron or other poly finishes. He worked at LearJet, and I didn't want to learn 2 part epoxy stuff - I was busy enough at the time. I always bought DuPont brand if at all possible from my dealer. Sealer - either traditional wood sealer, or later I used DuPont 1980 S water thin sealer. Also finished fretless necks with super glue for a nice hard surface. When bright colors were popular I even shot thinned down fingernail polish! These days I don't spray much, mostly just touch-ups.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Mike: I use nitro and don't have a separate building for spraying. The back patio has worked for me. A calm clear day especially this time of year as the RH is generally suitable. I use a turbine system which is easy to transport and hooks on the overhang of the house to hang guitars and allow the nitro to set up. Maybe worth thinking about. Take care.
Tom
P.S. Nitro on the bodies and FP on the necks. Another think to thank Grumpy for passing on to me.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

As a professional guitar finisher here are a few of my thoughts.....

Finishing is an art unrelated and mostly at odds with woodworking. It requires a different environment, a completely different shop and quite a bit of equipment ( compressor, guns, buffers, etc...). Guitars are extremely tough because they are the only wooden objects you will finish that your customer will inspect with a jewelers loop. It takes patience and a lot of practice to get good at the process.

Most of the products I use are professional grade and not available OTC because of environmental regs. They are quite different in composition from there OTC counterparts both in vehicle and resin. They can be quite expensive with my top of the line clear coats costing me about $400 a gallon. These are basically the same exact products being used by the major makers like PRS, Gibson etc. What you are buying online or at the local store has been altered over the years to conform to clean air regs for consumer commodities and this has had an effect on the working properties and durability of the final product.

Shipping? everyone scared of shipping......In the 6 years or so I have been offering this service I have only had one instrument damaged in return transit. I spray year round so stuff comes in and goes out via the brown truck year round. By following a few basic common sense rules this is not even an issue. It does add some expense, but I can includce it on the invoice and since I ship a good bit of stuff I can usually provide round trip shipping via UPS for a little more than they would charge the average person one way.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

In my never ending quest for the perfect finish I am going to try a varnish for the first time. After reading about good results others have had and seeing the images to boot I thought why not. So I'm just about ready to start finishing a dread and have done some test scrap pieces with Sherwin Williams fast dry varnish and it's looking pretty good. It's dry to touch in 15 minutes which is great in a small shop and the only expensive piece of equipment is a good brush.

I usually spray nitro. I have a dedicated finishing room in a building separate from my workshop that I built for the purpose, with good natural light and heating. It has a large compressor and all the necessary cooling, filters, water traps etc, a large fan for the fumes, filtered air intake, the whole bit. It has made my life a lot easier, for years I was spraying nitro in a shed in all seasons, which was "interesting" at times up here close to the arctic circle. Needless to say, I get much better results these days. Without the right equipment and a good spray booth, I'd go with a hand applied shellac based spirit varnish or oil varnish. I haven't tried many, but my favorite commercial varnish is Epiphanes, which I have used on mandolins.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin