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is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=40735 |
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Author: | nkwak [ Mon Jun 24, 2013 12:46 pm ] |
Post subject: | is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
I'm in the home stretch of my first build but was having trouble with making a bridge so a friend offered to help. What he gave me is a beautiful bridge made of Honduran rosewood but I want it to match the coloring of my east Indian rosewood fretboard. I was contemplating on using a stain but someone else suggested on sealing the bridge with a spit coat of shellac. From experience with sealing the rosewood trim on the body I know that this will darken the wood considerably. Is it okay to do on the bridge though? I understand that the underside/gluing surface must be bare wood so I will of course take precautions to block off that area. Are there any other reasons why I shouldn't do this? |
Author: | DennisK [ Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:39 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
I do it. I don't like ebony bridges, and rosewood doesn't look quite right to me if left unfinished. I use the bridge fitting method where you tape a sheet of sandpaper to the guitar and rub the bridge on it. That clears off any shellac that may have gotten on the underside. |
Author: | Link Van Cleave [ Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:52 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Just oil with some walnut oil or fretboard oil after it is installed. I do this as the last thing. You are going to clamp your bridge on to glue it, drill the holes through the top, ream the holes, slot for the strings (if you do that) etc. The bridge will have some slight scratches, imperfections from all the operations and need a final tune up. When all is said and done mask off the top, polish up the bridge, wipe on some oil and wipe off, Roberts your fathers brother. I wouldn't mess around with staining it. It is wood, let it be wood. It will look fine, it doesn't have to match exactly your fret board. If you oil both of them they will darken and be close enough in tone and color. Do a nice job and all will be and look fine. L. |
Author: | nyazzip [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:29 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
every cheap '50s-'60s-'70s classical i have ever seen had clearcoat over the rosewood bridges....certainly doesn't hurt, mechanically |
Author: | nyazzip [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:29 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
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Author: | nyazzip [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:29 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
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Author: | nyazzip [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:29 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
![]() ![]() ![]() ....sorry, the comper is choked up as of late. some russian or chinese hacker is using it to do diabolical things, likely |
Author: | Goodin [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:34 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Yeah I do it on my floating bridges for bouzoukis. I use one coat of a wiping varnish/oil varnish such as Liberon finishing oil. It makes it look noble and match the fretboard better. I suppose you could just use fretboard oil as well. |
Author: | Tom West [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:01 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
I hope so...............!!! ![]() |
Author: | Dave Livermore [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 10:42 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
I just diacovered a cool technique and don't know why I didn't think of it before. The last few builds, instead of shellac or finish on the bridge, I sanded the bare wood as I would a finish from 600 all the way up to 1500 then buffed it. I am sold. Absolutlely love the look and feel of these bridges. I don't know if that will help you or not, but I hope so. Dave |
Author: | Rodger Knox [ Tue Jun 25, 2013 12:45 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Dave Livermore wrote: I just diacovered a cool technique and don't know why I didn't think of it before. The last few builds, instead of shellac or finish on the bridge, I sanded the bare wood as I would a finish from 600 all the way up to 1500 then buffed it. I am sold. Absolutlely love the look and feel of these bridges. I don't know if that will help you or not, but I hope so. Dave That's what I've always done on rosewood or ebony, but for some reason I used TruOil on my maple bridges. The last one I did was a pinless maple bridge, and I left it unfinished but polished. Polishing to 1500 or higher really brings out the figure in curly maple, but not quite as much as an oil finish. |
Author: | Tai Fu [ Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:15 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Make sure it's a oil type finish and not a thick finish such as lacquer... That G String uke with the painted bridge left a permanent stain on my iron when I tried to remove it. |
Author: | Dave Stewart [ Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:33 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
I'm with Dave & Roger......... amazing how it will polish up, as these fingerboards show. (I actually go to 2000 before buffing) But nothing says you can't put a finish on. |
Author: | Tai Fu [ Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:39 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Fender finishes their fingerboard if it's maple, and they do it with the frets already installed. When the frets are leveled and dressed the finish gets scratched off. Don't even bother trying to polish between the frets... I guess you can do it for other fingerboard materials too. I'd say finish it after the frets go on because with a hard finish if you try to hammer frets into hard finish you might crack it. By the way if you polish a fingerboard to 200 grit how do you keep the maple binding from turning black? I had this problem and the finer you go, the blacker the bindings get! |
Author: | nyazzip [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:11 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Quote: By the way if you polish a fingerboard to 200 grit how do you keep the maple binding from turning black? I had this problem and the finer you go, the blacker the bindings get! ...the black is the abrasive particles from your sanding medium...use a higher quality mesh or paper... or make sure not to sand all the way through the clear coat |
Author: | Tai Fu [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:20 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
By the way in the last message I meant 2000 grit. I was using a very high quality sanding medium (3M sandpaper from Stewmac), and the black comes from the ebony dust that comes off during sanding and it would find its way into the maple binding for being so close to each other. |
Author: | oval soundhole [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:20 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
nyazzip wrote: every cheap '50s-'60s-'70s classical i have ever seen had clearcoat over the rosewood bridges....certainly doesn't hurt, mechanically Nearly every classical guitar of every level of quality has finish on the bridge. |
Author: | Rodger Knox [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:03 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
Nice looking boards Dave! Ebony does polish up better than maple. Did you do any king of sealing or pore filling on those boards? I usually start with a little shellac before final sanding/polishing. |
Author: | nyazzip [ Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:07 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: is it OK to put a finish on a bridge? |
nyazzip wrote: every cheap '50s-'60s-'70s classical i have ever seen had clearcoat over the rosewood bridges....certainly doesn't hurt, mechanically Nearly every classical guitar of every level of quality has finish on the bridge. ...yeah i chose not to speak for expensive instruments because i have really never closely inspected one or spent much quality time with one. my point was, the japanese factory instruments held up swimmingly through the past 50-60 years, so finishing the bridge can't be a bad thing. and don't even tell me a laquer on a bridge affects sound. my hands sweat profusely; on a stage under pressure and hot lights(not that it has happened often), even more. if my wooden bridges were unfinished, that would be all i could think about, is how much grime and salt water they were drinking up: yes, hard oily woods polish up nicely for a few weeks or months, but people, please coat them with something. ![]() |
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