Official Luthiers Forum!

Is it becoming, or has it become, derreggure for Martins, etc to finish guitars with a "matte" finish. OK if that's what the customer wants but by its use may of the great color, figuring, and wood nuance is lost using this finish-not for me, please.

Thanks again Todd.

It's been said here before that who ever decided that guitar finishes needed to shine should be dug up and shot.

I have one client who requested a matte finish so that the guitar would not flare and reflect TV lighting (this wasn't just wishful thinking but a genuine need on his part). In general though Todd is right on in his assertion that it is a cheaper finish (read less labor intensive) than a high gloss lacquer finish. It is a major factor for instance in the plethora of lower priced Martin models which have appeared in the last ten years or so. Martin applies fewer coats of finish on these guitars as the partial fill of the surface is masked by the matte top coat. This is one of the reasons why I cringe when folks talk of buffing these out thinking they have created the equivalent of Martin's full gloss finish. 

I do a lot of satin finishes. I fill and shoot pretty much just as I would for a gloss finish, but level out the last coat of polyester with 320 and then shoot McFadden's satin urethane on it...one or two coats. Done...and it's a lot easier than doing a full buff.   On many of our Renaissance guitars, we'll gloss the top and satin the backs and sides. I do now go for a completely pore-filled look...not the look of an oil finish.

I satin all the Renaissance necks, and often gloss the face of the peghead.   The feel of the satin necks is really nice.

The key to satin is to strain your finish mix well so no lumps get through, and then to shoot in a clean atmosphere.

You can also do the open pored look of an oil finish, and you can do it over an oil sealer if you use Waterlox.

Some of my customers have asked for satin on very expensive instruments, and I have to say it can look very classy.

With regard to Todd's comments...I do all the build with clear materials and then just shoot a very thin top coat or two that has the flatting agent. That way the finish has good transparency but a very even satin sheen. If you try to build with a satin coating, it does get less and less transparent.

Thanks Rick, straining the finish mix is an extremely important tip.

Nothing is worse than spraying that final coat (it has to be perfect too...) with the flatting agent and ending up with a chalky lump in the finish because it was not properly mixed and strained.   

One more consideration is that a matte top--well, one done via abrasives--becomes an issue in the recording studio. The extra friction there translates to hand noise or sleeve noise that one might not want on a recording. I would always recommend to a studio customer that the instrument needs at least a gloss top.

Steve

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