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I am something of a Luddite when it comes to finishing. I have only ever French polished instruments. My wife (who paints) sprays more finish than I ever have. But I am very curious regarding UV cure finishes. Who here is using UV cure products? Would you be willing to tell more about your gear (both light gear and spray gear), the brands of finish products you use, your process, and your current assessment of the goods and bads? I hear the siren call of instant curing and I need to know whether I should put wax in my ears and/or be strapped to the mast. Note that I am not asking in order to increase production in a professional setting; I am a committed hobbyist. But my time is actually kind of expensive, so cutting out a lot of finishing time might be a good thing for me, even as a hobbyist. Thanks for any information you would like to share.

I use the products from uvcure.com. The light is good and I am aware of several other people that use it. Although I tried to find them so I could pick their brains, I was unable to find others that use the finish products. So I was on my own in learning how to use them and I found the learning curve quite steep. The people at uvcure.com were of no help. So I had to learn on my own, for example, that although the instructions say that only two coats of the "adhesion enhancer" are required this stuff also acts as a sealer and several coats are required over end grain to keep the top coats from wicking in and out of sight of the light when it came time for curing. Then the stuff would weep out after under the cured top coats and give a blotchy look to the grain. Also, the top coat finish does not "hang" well so I have had to develop a procedure for doing partial cures between coats in order to build up a decent thickness that would also hang. So I think there are probably easier products out there provided you have a proper spray set up with good ventilation. Never-the-less, I stayed with the uvcure.com products because I wanted to stay with the zero VOCs and now I consider it the best finish that is available to my particular set up. And I have tried many other finishes over the years. One thing nice about a polyester finish is that once its done, it is tough enough that it stays done. When I French polish a guitar, for example, I have a hard time doing final assembly without damaging the finish with, say, a finger nail and needing a repair before the guitar is even completed.

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Good info Pat. I am interested in trying a urethane finish but as of now I'm leaning toward the 2 part stuff, but I would like to hear more about the UV stuff.

One of the mysteries for me is how is the wood pore filled?

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Part of the kit is a "pore filler" gel which is also cured with the uv light. It works OK and it also helps that the finish is on the forgiving side with respect to having the pores filled. Just make absolutely sure they are sealed.

_________________
There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Thanks Pat, that is helpful. Maybe urathane is in my future

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I appreciate the information, Pat. I'm like you in that I can't set up the guitar without manhandling it a bit, and that can cause some issues with a relatively fresh shellac finish.

I have experimented with Royal Lac, and I liked it. This weekend I will see the one guitar I French polished with Royal Lac (it's my daughter's guitar), so I will take a close look at how well it has held up. It would be great if that were a good enough solution. But it still takes a while to cure. That instant cure thing with UV products is very attractive to me.

I would love to hear from others about their UV cure experiences. Thanks for any information you can share.

Pat can you clarify which company you use?

I'm finding that uvcure.com does not lead to a working website.

I do and in fact started a tutorial article on Monday..... Should have it published by the end of the month, I'll post a link in the forum when done. Learning curve here is tough! I was a professional finisher my whole life and had applied every finish you can think of including sprayed "hot" polyester pore filler and it took me years to figure this out even with advice from an associate at Taylor.

First off the buy in is high. At least $2000 if you already have the spray equipment and at least double that if you do not. I have tried several brands and each is slightly different but all should include an Isolante sealer, a pore filler and a finish coat. There are dual cure systems that use a mild catalyst that will cure anything the light doesn't automatically ( but will not cure properly without exposure!) and UV only cure. there is an upside and downside to each. Some brands cure easier at thicker film weights and others thin.....

In the end, I love this stuff! Discontinued all my other solvent spray finishes except for serious restoration. The ALMOST instant curing is wonderful and being able to completely finish a guitar from start to finish in a single day if you desire is unbeatable in my book.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Brian, Pat is using the system from cureuv. Do you have a recommended hardware vendor as well?


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I am using a UVIII system. Was recommended By Taylor so That is what I got.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

UVcure.com is SPDI I believe

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/