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I am having a nightmare finishing two bubinga guitars. I pore filled with Z-poxy and the boxes were dead flat with NO pores visible. Spryaed two coats of McFaddens vinyl sealer and scuff sanded to 320. Then applied 3 coats of McFaddens urethane lacquer at 1.5 hour intervals. It was as slick as glass. Came back the next day and I had 100's of gaps in the bubinga. {you know the kind that you get ocassionally on purflings or binding seams)? These are NOT fish eyes. They are elongated separations in shape and some are 1/4" long. It's all over the surface of the bubinga.

I have several bubinga rosettes on other boxes and it did the same thing. I sprayed 9 boxes and only the bubinga gave me problems. All the others are smooth.

McFaddens has a special sealer for rosewood and oily woods. I will sand these back and use the special sealer. Has anyone else had these problems and if so what was the fix?

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Yes
I had a problem with the finish over bubinga binding. After I sealed it with several coats of shellac the problem went away. My brother Steve just finished a bubinga guitar. I wonder if he will chime in.

Tim
I also sealed with shellac. I use Target Coatings Waterborne Shellac. I don't really find bubinga to be oily. However I used KTM-9 for the finish coats with no problem.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

I have been French Polishing all my guitars. I have done two Bubinga boxes this way and have had no problems. I guess it likes Shellac.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Tim do you seal the zpoxy before shooting lacquer? I always seal coat. I have not use bubinga for anything but bindings but have had no problems. On another project I built (not a guitar) I used a generic finishing epoxy. I can't remember the maker name, I picked it up at a RC model hobby store, but I had a issue that sounds the same as yours. I removed the lacquer and seal coated with Zinner's Sanding Sealer and had no problem after that. I think some lacquers have problems adhering to some epoxies.

I did seal the Z-poxy with Zinslers shellac then a coat of viny sealer. I can't believe it's contamination or epoxy exposure as all of these guitars (9) were prepped and finished at the same time. Some of the other boxes have bubinga rosettes and the rosettes have the same separation problems as the two bubinga boxes. This sure is frustrating.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Tim,
I finished that Bubinga guitar in my bio picture last year, and it was the best finish (most successful) I've done. It was really curly, and to accentuate the curl I started w/ Danish oil. Over that I used Qualasole, a miracle product that--I'm sure--would dry over peanut butter. It effectually seals everything. Filled the pores w/ shellac, then hit it w/ the vinyl sealer. Built the coats w/ McFadden's like you did.
No problems yet....

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks Steve. I must be holding my mouth wrong or something as both of these guitars have been reeeeeeely stubborn the whole way. Maybe the Lord is trying to teach me something and I am just to blind to see it. I am not asking for patience so don't misunderstand me

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I know better than this Tim, but you didn't dip them in silicone first did ya? just kidding

I may be way off base here but if the wood is sealed with shellac and vinyl sealer then the problem has to be somthing other than the wood. If you were spraying bare wood then I could see where the wood may be problematic. It sure sounds like some kind of contamination. Tim you'll forget all about the bubinga problems when you sell both of theses guitars.

_________________
Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498