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Anyone tried it on an acoustic?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I have only used CA for touch-ups on acoustic guitars. I have finished entire bass necks with it, and it's durable and good looking. It's hard work to do that, and I did it outside to keep the fumes at bay.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

You might be just as well off brushing polyester

you would need a hell of a lot of CA! Wouldn't it be very expensive and I would think you may need some heavy duty, fresh air fed, respirator as the fumes are nasty!

Also doesn't it stain spruce end grain? Would need to keep it away from the top or seal with several layers of shellac first.

I finished an ebony fretboard for a fretless bass with it once and didn't like the slightly sticky feeling it left. Different brands would probably give different results.

I have use thin CA as a pore filler and it worked fantastically. I thought about it as a finish too but it's just not out there yet. I have seen some wood turners who used it on things like pens.

I have seen demos of the Glu Boost brand, which is designed for this, and know one maker who uses it on acoustics. It's formulated to have little or no odor.

I used Gluboost on a chisel handle that I turned. I rubbed it on as the handle spun on the lathe. For a least a couple of months, that handle had quite a plasticky feel when I used it. A couple of years later, it’s still a bit plasticky. I won’t be doing that again.

If it feels like plastic, you made it too smooth.... Hitting it lightly with gray Scotchbrite will break the surface tension enough for a smooth and satiny feel, while leaving the shine intact. It's not much different than scuffing a lacquer or poly finished neck on new guitars.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Some CA's exist that are good for polyester finish touch-ups, but generally lack the finishing -ilities (e.g., sprayability/brushability/tintability) of purpose-formulated polyurethane and polyester finishes. Some CA materials may see color change, etc. as the material ages, so another reason to verify that the material is suitable for long-term use and is tintable or otherwise suitable (e.g., may be pad-applied) for the intended use.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

I may be off, but didn’t Dana Bourgeois develop a CA finish for their torrefied guitars?

Yes, he has.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

A warning - I have become hypersensitive to some CA's and must wear a respirator any time I work with it. Trying to finish a guitar with it would probably finish me.

Hi Colin I thought that I remembered a prior thread about CA as a finish and I found a few. Here's one, hope this helps.

https://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=43613&p=577716&hilit=+CA+as+a+finish+#p577716

Thanks Hesh.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I developed the sensitivity almost 30 years ago. I have been using odorless CA ever since. It has the added advantage of not attacking lacquer, so it works great for touchups. I once finished an entire neck with it, but was not satisfied with the look or the feel.

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John

Many of us tried it at one point
it can turn spruce yellow there are many better finish products out there.
Was an early fan of glu boost but it has a short shelf life and no longer use it.
I am using star bond CA .
CA's are great for some uses but I think it does get over used.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I also find CA useful for touch ups but am not interested in using it as a finish. Interestingly I do not find Glu Boost to have a shorter shelf life then other CA products that I use (like StewMac or Hot Stuff). I used to use Hot Stuff but years ago I had a bottle split just sitting on the shelf, made a hell of a mess, and I won't use that anymore. I haven’t tried Starbond.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

The only time that I`ve used it as a finish was recently on an ebony headstock veneer and it worked very well. I usually french polish but because I had already drilled the tuner holes the pad snagged and it was difficult to get a level finish.
I stopped the tuner holes with foam earplugs, cut them flush and applied three coats of medium CA. It was ugly lumpy but after block sanding through the grits to 1500 and then micromesh I am pleased with the outcome.

We`ll see how it goes but I imagine that it will not be as vulnerable as shellac.

Roy