Official Luthiers Forum!

I am thinking about just doing french polish on my guitars. I have cut production down from 30/40 guitars a year to just 10-12 guitars a year. 4 of these will be flat top acoustics. My guitars sell in the $5000 to $7500 range. The french polish instruments both acoustic and electric sound way better than the lacquer finished instruments. My lacquer finsihes were good and I kept the film thickness thin. I think the french polish just works better. Is there any negitive reaction in the market for french polish on high end guitars? Are there any high end luthiers that use french polish?

Mr.P,

Thought I'd bump this up for you.

Of course, lots of high-end classical builders use FP finishes, but the jury still seems to be out on steel-string buyer acceptance. On the other hand, people have gotten used to poly finishes instead of nitro lacquer, so I think the public can be swayed to the beauty of shellac. Then again, I'm not trying to sell guitars, so I hope those who do will add their thoughts here.