Official Luthiers Forum!

I am helping a friend build his first guitar. I am coming off building 4 guitars and I don't have any that will need finishing anytime soon. If I was doing some finishing with my spray set-up, I'd go ahead and let him in on it. So, do you folks have any suggestions for a relatively easy, hand applied, finish that looks pretty good. I have used TruOil on my first guitars and that might be an option. I think french polish would be too challenging this time.

Please give me your thoughts on this.

Thanks

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I would go with the TruOil too. Pretty hard to mess up and it won't be a huge task like learning to spray, sand and buff a finish. He can save that for the 2nd guitar.

Steve--

Is he going to fill the pores?

I've never tried Tru-oil. I have used Osmo, and that is about as easy as it gets. It does not take very much. You can add another coat any time to add some more sheen, or to hide small scratches. Buff with a non woven pad first.

Everything else I've used is pretty experimental! The Osmo was easy. I like the Satin, but it does come in gloss; I've never seen that in the stores. The Satin seems like it would be more forgiving as far as surface prep.

_________________
Why be normal?

Don - I'm thinking z-poxy for pore filling.

Ken - I wonder how Osmo compares with TruOil...

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I've never seen a tru-oil finish. Osmo leaves a thin, hard wax on top. They use it on floors, even in airports! It does stick on pore fill, but I never put enough fill on! Padauk is almost 1/2 pores! I used it over Aqua-coat, and wasn't impressed with the Aqua-coat bluish color. I do like the look of Z-poxy. Even without anything else. A thin wash coat after getting it smooth, and call it good. It did seem to stiffen up the curly redwood archtop belly too. Osmo won't do that.
Or if it doesn't come out nice and even; add a coat of something over it.

_________________
Why be normal?

Steve, I have used Osmo on exactly one neck. However, it’s my daily driver and I love how it feels. It seems reasonably durable although not in the first few days after application. Maybe wait a week.

I can’t say how suitable it is for back and sides, it seems like it would be fine. I don’t think I’d use it on a top but that’s more guessing than anything. Could be fine.

Here is a nice tutorial about it by Josh House - https://youtu.be/mfdZWVTNyzE?si=0w0O7rsxhsMUV8pz


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

_________________
Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars

Hi Steve,
Since you are pore filling with epoxy, you could build a couple of coats of it on the back and sides, sand it smooth, and then coat it with a couple top coats of shellac or Tru oil rubbed on over it. The sound board wouldn't need to be pore filled and would need fewer coats of shellac or Tru oil. It would give you a reasonably durable, shiny, and easily renewed finish.

I think it would be necessary to use shellac on the top before putting anything. I haven’t tried Osmo but I’ve been curious. I assume you can apply it just like you would TruOil, that is, numerous thin coats wiped on until you build a finish. I wonder which is a harder finish…

_________________
Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

After I saw the video mentioned by Brad. I've used Osmp 3043 (silk) on 2 necks (WB body) and one guitars back and sides no pore fill) where I used GluBoost on the top (wore a mask).
The WB was a commission, and second a prototype which was bought by a very good finger stylist who has owned 3 Taran guitars (very nice gloss) and jhe really liked the non-pore filled finish.

_________________
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 just built a guitar with my nephew who came to visit for ten days. It was a first time experience for me and if I was going to do it again I would do some things differently. I made it very clear to him that HE was building the guitar not me and as such it's going to look like a 'first' guitar. So I would suggest that what ever finish you decide to use it's not going to look perfect. We went with shellac because it is fast and again if you accept the fact that you won't be able to use the guitar as a mirror to shave in then you can French Polish.

Tru-Oil is a good choice too.

Poor filling with CA is the fastest poor fill you can do too and it's a darn good pore fill imho. Just be sure to do it outside with cross ventilation.

I recently finished repairing a cheap guitar that had been dropped for a buddy. He wanted a budget repair to make it playable. I had to piece the back and one side together. The water based mahogany dye I used from LeeValley was pretty much a perfect match for the color. I then used Water based poly, specifically Varathane Diamond Wood Finish in Satin Clear for the topcoat as the finish itself was some kind of poly. I brushed on with a foam brush. I was surprised at how easy it was to use and the smooth, sanding free finish it left. I did three coats. Got me to thinking anyway about elusive, easy to use finishes for guitars.

My go-to finish has always been lacquer but I have been trying to get away from spraying finishes so have been experimenting with a few different finishes.
I have not finished an instrument with them but have had very good luck on furniture I have built.

I used wipe on poly on a TV cabinet I built for our use. It has been finished now for about 3 years and still looks great. I applied it as if it were a rub on oil in 3 very light coats. (I was thinking of a guitar finish when I did it so I kept it very thin. I have no idea what it would do to the tone, but I put it up on my list for easy to apply with great looking results.

The other finish I am playing around with is brush on lacquer. I have brushed it on as well as trying to apply it with a rag. Brushing looked surprisingly good. It had some brush marks but stayed wet long enough to level most out. I let it dry and sanded it with 220 wet. Applied another coat and leveled and buffed. It looked pretty good,

The other option with lacquer is to not buff it out but use 000 steel wool and "buff" it but only do it in the direction of the grain of the wood. You can create a beautiful satin finish. I hate steel wool and don't even keep it in my shop (it can leave rust stains if it gets on wood). But there are some things it is great for..

Just some things I have been playing with on finishes that may work for you.

Cheers,
Bob

In the winter, when I don’t spray outside and don’t want to set up my spray booth indoors, I sometimes brush EM6000. I use a very flexible sable brush and thin the finish a bit so I can brush on very thin coats. It takes as many coats as spraying (10-14 when I do it) and some leveling every few coats, but it gives a pretty good finish. If I need to do more than one instrument, I usually set up the spray booth or wait until spring.

For a rapid, attractive no-fuss finish on a student build, grab three or four cans of this:



It describes itself as a “nitro alkyd varnish”. I’m not sure exactly what that means but it is very lacquer-like in its behaviour - burns in and rapid flash off of the solvent. The satin/semigloss self-levels incredibly well. You can recoat every 10-15 mins. Two coats to get build, then scuff lightly with 600 between coats. Five or six total coats results in an attractive satin finish. The whole process takes just a couple hours.