Official Luthiers Forum!

I read a post here recently but can't find it - who are the "goto" sprayers in the US for poly and nitro?

Nigel
www.theluthierblog.com

I don't know about nitro or poly, but I'm sending my next two to Tony Ferguson for catalyzed urethane, which I hope I will like.

Was quite unsatisfied with the effect that UV poly had on the last guitars I had done with it.

Could you elaborate? I personally love the UV stuff I am doing.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

You can check with Dale Bartholomew for nitro, he is about the last guy I know who may still doing it. (610) 759-5287

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Was that the local? There seems to be a lot of people sending guitars to Vancouver these days. From all across the country.

UV poly ate my trebles.

Maybe Adam Stark is still doing nitro. Don't know, but he's good.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

[/quote]
Was that the local? There seems to be a lot of people sending guitars to Vancouver these days. From all across the country.[/quote]

I needed some finishing help with a repair I botched and Vancouver Guitar Finishing was super helpful. They phoned me back really quick and talked me through my situation, and the price they quoted was super reasonable too.

http://vancouverguitarfinishing.com/

I have not had that issue or received any complaints of it when I was applying it for other builders. Could be that it was applied to thick as it is easy to get a lot of build.

Was this a single guitar or a group of them? One guitar by itself could be a lot of things killing the highs besides finish like a top that is stiffer for some reason around the perimeter because of denser wood. Purfling schemes can affect highs greatly too, especially shell borders.

IMHO builders give to much credit to finishes for effects on tone...... To be sure there are some differences but in the end it all seems to come down to the final film thickness more than the material with thinner films like FP being more transparent sounding and thicker films being a bit duller sounding.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

To be sure, it was thicker than I'd like at .007, however...

I have two brands, satin and shiny. The satins, while all different from eachother, are very consistent in their general tonality. The ones I had done with UV poly were a stark contrast to them, especially in the trebles. The one I had done in conversion varnish sounded distinctly different, and better, than the UV poly. Particularly in the trebles.

All voicing processes are the same, so as it's been said, when all else remains the same, look to the finish.

I was reading an article by Dana B where he was of the opinion that you have to take your finish into account during the voicing process. So it could very well be that others can build and have UV poly work for them, but for me, it did not. I still have the guitars around so maybe I'll try to get some clips to demonstrate the stark difference.

Another thing I read somewhere is that the finish makes the majority of the mass of a gloss finished top, which if true, is pretty significant...

I have had well over 100 guitars finished by Joe White who uses a catalyzed polyester finish. Joe's work is impeccable and his sunbursts are the best that I have ever seen. I like the fact that Joe is a full-time instrument finisher and gives his full attention to finishing. He also can provide a special shipping box which has never resulted in a damaged shipment for me.

Joe can be reached at 574-370-5577.
jwguitar@gmail.com

Mike Franks
http://www.mjfranksguitars.com

Satin finish is softer.....always! And as such will exhibit more damping of energy. That is physics.... sound waves travel better through glass than rubber. 7 mils is a little thick, but i have seen 12 mils or more of original finish on cherished and coveted vintage Gibsons and Martins that people drool over the "tone" of so......



Pure BS! I refer you all to a study done by Roger H Siminoff during his days at Gibson and contained as chapter 10 in his book "The Luthiers Handbook" -Hal Leonard. This is a scientific study on finish film thickness and its affect on actual tone production on tuned mini plates. He lists the film thicknesses & finish weight on the test plates. Spruce plates made like mini tops weighing an average of 440 grains. The test chart shows that the highest build which was .010" only added 38 grains of weight to the panel when dried for 6 days. The chart also shows deviation from tuned pitch for varying thicknesses of finish. and also shows how curing affects this as well.

Interesting reading if you are truly interested in the affects of finish on tone as it is the only published study of it's type I am aware of.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/