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I just buffed out this OM finished in Behlen's Rock Hard Varnish. I had heard from a well known Luthier that this stuff is pretty good so I thought I'd give it a try. I really enjoyed the process of brushing it on. It sand easily and goes on pretty thin. I have 8 coats on this guitar and I think it is probably the thinnest finish I have done. You have to be very careful when sanding or you won't have any finish at all. I put it over schellac and sanded with 400 between coats. I gave it about a week and a half to cure (more would have been better no doubt) and then wet sanded to 2000 and buffed. I realy like the way it looks and it looks better than my old lacquer jobs used to look. Here are a couple pics, I'm still working on finishing the neck.

John How38499.930150463

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

WOW!!

Beautiful, John!!! A few questions:
1) How would you rate the hardness relative to nitro?
2) Is it clear or amber-colored?
3) How resistant to the usual fluids... sweat, beer, water, etc. compared to nitro.
4) What kind of brush did you use?
5) Any application techniques?
6) Was it thinned or directly out of the can?
7) Any negatives or precautions?
8) Would you use it again?

Well, maybe more than a few!

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

Beautiful guitar John....you always do excellent work!!
Is that a cedar top?
When you have time post some more info on this finish product.
Congrat's
Walter

John,
Beautiful finish, and beautiful guitar! I have the same questions as JJ. I'm thinking of trying this finish on a mandolin later in the year, and want to have the process down before attempting it. I want to use Haselbacher's technique from Cumpiano's website, but it does not give a lot of specific information like JJ is asking. Can you fill in the lines for us? My biggest question is what kind of brush do you use, as there is 2 types...square across the top, or the bristles come to a point. Brand name would be good too. Then, how much of the varnish do you put on the brush, and what is the technique for brushing, etc....
Tracy

Walter, It's Behlen's Rockhard Table top varnish. It's Bruce Sexuaer's preferred finish and I understand there is an article in this month's AG about Bruces use of this varnish. I haven't checked it out yet myself. I do like it though.

JJ's ?
I'm not sure about the hardness yet but it is rumored to be fairly hard, actuallu it's call Tck Hard Table top varnish.
It is amber colored and give a nice warm look.
It's an oil varnish so I think it is fairly resitant to most chemicals, except paint thinnner I'm sure.
I used a badger brush thaat I got from woodcraft. A good brush is key and the need to be broken it by use and cleaning before they start to perform. My brush is probably not the best out there.
My technique siesn't exist, I really don't know what I'm doing I just brush it on and try to keep from having runs. I take a small dip and then brush most of that off before applying the finish. The brush needs to be soft enough to allow a smooth flow but stiff enough to be able to sprewad this stuff around.
I thinned mine with about 5-10% rockhard spirit reducer and finding out what works in your conditions is key to geting a good smooth flowout.
The only negetive is it takes considerably longer to finish a guitar. I'm told that you can put on two coats per day but I only did one. You also need a fairly clean environment because it takes about 4 hrs to be dust free dry.
Yes I am using it on a 000 right now and I do plan to use it again. It will be a good way to finish a guitar in the winter time I think.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

John the guitar and finish look beautiful. I have read a lot of posts from Bruce Sexuaer and he swears by this varnish. I bought a quart 6 mo. again but I've been too busy to try it out. Having used varnish for many years on furniture I can tell you that a good badger hair brush is a must. Along with that as John has stated a clean enviroment is imperative. Shop dust will settle on the finish during the long drying time.

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John,

Impressive! Does it have an strong odor?

Keep us posted on that finish.

Jeff

Can It be sprayed-does it have to be cut-with what?What dik
did you use for filler?
Thanks,