Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi i am completeing my first build, and I am considering sending it out to be finished.
I am just curious if this is common practice among experienced builders. If so who do you recommend?

Thanks
Richard

I do my own Nitro, French polish and KTM9 waterborne acrylic lacquer finishes but out source any Cat. Poly finish.

I send mine out to Joe White at Sunset Finishing. Joe provides outstanding polyester finishes (what Taylor uses) and he is a fantastic guy to deal with too. His turn around time is minimal and his prices are the best that I have seen anywhere. He is also running a first guitar special right now and has discounts available for pros who feed him multiple guitars annually.

I have been outsourcing my finishing for several years now since spraying nitro in a condo is a pretty stupid thing for me to have done...... Finishing with poly has steep start-up costs for the do-it-your-selfer.

You would be very surprised if you knew the extent of how many of some of the finest builders on the planet and this forum outsource their finishing. The advantages are receiving a professional finish that is likely better then one could do themselves since the pro finishers do this all of the time, no exposure to toxic substances for you, your family and pets, low cost when you factor in your material, spray equipment, and time, AND the recipient of the guitar be it a paying customer or anyone else gets an incredible finish.

Joe just asks that you sand the guitar to 220-240 and send it to him. He will take care of the pore filling, sealing, and finish and what you get back is a guitar with a perfect, professional finish ready for final assembly.

It's a no brainer for me. PM me if you want Joe's contact info.

By the way - welcome to the OLF!!

What Hesh said about Joe White! He's a forum member and one of the finest guys you'll ever meet.

Joe has done 2 guitars for me so far. I have never seen better finishes and his attention to detail is unparalleled.

His use of Catalyzed Polyester is about the hardest, most scratch-resistant finish available and he knows just how to get the film nice and thin so it doesn't rob any precious tone.

After experiencing my own efforts spraying with Nitro and several waterborne finishes, I've come to the realization that if I can't do it safely and efficiently at home, I should look elsewhere to have it done professionally. Aside from doing my tops in French Polished shellac, Joe will be taking over the acoustic backs and sides with Poly as well as the electrics I plan to continue building.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

how much does it cost to have Joe finish your guitar? Does he have a website?

I don't think, but I could be wrong, that Joe has a web site yet and if you want to PM Joe (his OLF screen name is Joe White) I am sure that he would be happy to discuss pricing with you.

I've been weighing this one since last fall. Do I invest in a spray setup and learn a skill, or do I send it out and get a superior result immediately? The cost of the poly finish is prohibitive for two guitars a year, but it's the superior finish. But then again, after sending three or four guitars out to a pro, I could have payed for the spraying setup and I'd be able to spray anything I want, like all of my random electrics. I don't post them, but I build about two electrics a year.

How do those of you who send your guitars out package the guitar for shipping?

I just sent one to Joe this past week, I should get it back this Friday, now that is good service!!

Hey J.J., I hear you saw my coco/sinker redwood guitar "finished" at Joe's....so come on, sneak preview...how did it look!

By the way, Joe is great to work with, he sends nightly updates/pics on the progress which I think is pretty cool.

All The Best,
Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

The price does not include shipping, right?
So we would have to add shipping there and back and top of the fee Joe.W charges?

David

in a fabricated 3/16" pressed hardwood box with 3" of foam all the way around, the body wrped in craft paper if only the body and in the case/ in a cardbord box with plenty of bubble wrap if neck and body.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

??????? me

Greg...I was at Joe's shop this morning to pick up "Emily". While there, I saw your beauty. The finish on that Coco was 3 feet deep and looked especially Zootalicious in the sunlight. I was also VERY impressed with the innards of that guitar...very creative and high tech! But he seemed to have lost the neck!

BTW...here's the kind of guy Joe is. He was just notified yesterday of a sudden and unexpected death in his family which will cause him and his wife to make a 7 hour drive today. He worked through the night to finish both guitars and get them to his customers before leaving. I was able to pick up mine this morning and Joe was on his way to ship out Greg's as I was leaving. You don't get much better customer service than that!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Man...I wish I was close to somebody like Joe....I love to build ....Hate the finish work....Larry

Richard,

I too can vouch for Joe White. I had my last one finished by Joe and everyone who has seen it has been more than impressed, even people who have been spraying their own excellent finishes for years. To send it to him (from Boston) it cost me roughly $45 each way overnight through the USPS. I sent only the body, but I would have sent the neck off of the body anyway, so I am not sure it would have made the box too much bigger. I made a box of the thicker cardboard with a double layer and made blue foam nests that the front and back fit into with a snug fit. It went back and forth with no problems, Joe and I worked around the weather on the shipping days. For what it is worth, I think it is good to be able to do your own finishing in some limited sense. I can't set up to spray where I am currently, and I am not sure I would want to anyway especially since Joe does such a perfect job. I do offer a french polish finish and I finish the necks in oil. French polish is a beautiful finish, but definitely is not for everyone and especially for a steel string guitar. It also takes some practice before the results start to look impressive. There is a wealth of information in the archives from Michael P and other people about this. Overall, though, I think a poly finish is the most durable and I was surprised by how little it seems to affect the sound. Let us know what you decide! And post some pictures!

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

thanks for all the great input!

Richard

I do all my own finishing, and under no circumstances would I ever consider subletting out my finish work. I should qualify this though that I've been a professional spray painter for 30 years.

Spraying well is an learned skill, but to spray lacquer is incredibly easy, and well within the realm of anyone who can build a guitar. I wouldn't recommend anyone to start out with Poly or Cat Urethane on their first time out. Inexpensive spray equipment will do the trick, and a compressor is a tool that will have all kinds of uses in the home shop. No need to go out and purchase a $500 spray gun for lacquer. Your run of the mill, cheap Chinese spray gun will produce great results with the right set up and technique.

You can have a look at some of my guitars and see the results that you can get with a $50 gun and most were sprayed outdoors. The spray booths at work are far too busy to for me to spray a guitar in, so I spray at home. I don't use my good spray guns for lacquer either.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Allen,

May I be the first to request a tutorial on how you do this "on the cheap" in your backyard?

Darren

I've sprayed mostly bikes, a few cars, furniture and nitro is extremely easy to use, very forgiving. I even sprayed some fender skirts for a Jag mark IV with Ditzler rattle can lacquer and it turn out impecable. The owner wanted me to spray the whole car with it!

The most important part of any finish has nothing to do with the spraying but the prep, color sanding and buffing. One can do a pretty crappy spray job and have it turn out quite well by sanding and buffing. It's just more work.

The convience of having a profesional do the work along with the consistant quality has a powerful allure even for a guy like me that can do a very passable job finishing.

These guys have the technique, the setup, the in depth material knowledge to "get r done"!

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

One of our pros here once mentioned that they send their finish out because they can build about five more guitars per year by doing so.

I love spraying finish, and I've gotten great results when I've done it...but I HATE leveling and buffing finishes. So I'm pretty happy to send mine out. Mike Collins (the Selmer/Archtop Mike Collins) will be doing all my finishes in UV polyester.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I do my own finishing with nitro and do enjoy it. I don't think I would ever send my
guitars out. I have a small 4 hp/ 20 gal. compressor and two spray guns. I
spray in my garage with plenty of ventilation. It's not that difficult after a little practice.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Exactly my thinking, plus sanding and buffing is not my favorite task in the shop!



Cool JJ...Oh, I can't wait to see it! Yeah, thanks for the kind words about the guts of that guitar, took a LONG time to figure it all out but I believe it will enhance the tone of the guitar. And the missing neck...well I finished that part back here but I'm going to be sending those to Joe as well in the future.

As JJ said, Joe went beyond the call of duty to finish these guitars like he did, I am very appreciative of that, and look forward to sending more work his way.

Greg

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Gwaltney Guitars

Learn how to do it yourself. It ain't that hard.