possum1284 Posted October 12, 2005 Report Share Posted October 12, 2005 hi im looking for an easy to apply finish thats doesnt require all sorts ofequipement for a guitar. id like a health friendly one. any suggestions i was considering using minwax but was advised its not the greatest choice. adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Tru-oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Tru-oil, or shellac dissolved in grain alcohol and applied french polish-style (google milburn guitars french polish tutorial). Still wear gloves when handling finishes, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Shellac's pretty delicate, though... it tends to get messed up pretty easily by sweat/hand oils, or alcohol, or free water. It is totally safe, though - the only reason you'd need gloves for it is if you used denatured alcohol. Shellac is actually approved by the FDA for use as a pill coating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 (edited) Shellac's pretty delicate, though... it tends to get messed up pretty easily by sweat/hand oils, or alcohol, or free water. It is totally safe, though - the only reason you'd need gloves for it is if you used denatured alcohol. Shellac is actually approved by the FDA for use as a pill coating. ← Yep, check your gum/pills/whatever, odds are they've got shellac in/on em. Shellac's affected by pouring alcohol on it, sure, but less and less as it ages (and gets progressively harder), but it's not as fragile as many people seem to think it is. On the body of an electric, it may not be ideal, but oil's not going to provide more protection, really. Once it's cured, shellac is as unaffected by water/humidity as any laquer is; you get those 'wet' while spraying, and you'll get plenty of blushing. I have pretty corrosive sweat (not the worst ever, but pretty bad; eat through strings pretty quickly), and I use shellac on my necks. Feels great, works perfectly, doesn't get eaten away by anything, and I've never heard of people having problems with it that way. It's about keeping the wood looking nice, and making it easier to clean/preventing dirt getting in there (no finishes really prevent moisture/humidity from affecting wood, unless that's specifically what it's designed to do). Also, still wear gloves, even is using 'regular' alcohol; denatured is really bad, but regular 'ol alcohol remains a poison. Edited October 13, 2005 by mattia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Yep, check your gum/pills/whatever, odds are they've got shellac in/on em. Shellac's affected by pouring alcohol on it, sure, but less and less as it ages (and gets progressively harder), but it's not as fragile as many people seem to think it is. On the body of an electric, it may not be ideal, but oil's not going to provide more protection, really. Once it's cured, shellac is as unaffected by water/humidity as any laquer is; you get those 'wet' while spraying, and you'll get plenty of blushing. I have pretty corrosive sweat (not the worst ever, but pretty bad; eat through strings pretty quickly), and I use shellac on my necks. Feels great, works perfectly, doesn't get eaten away by anything, and I've never heard of people having problems with it that way. It's about keeping the wood looking nice, and making it easier to clean/preventing dirt getting in there (no finishes really prevent moisture/humidity from affecting wood, unless that's specifically what it's designed to do). Also, still wear gloves, even is using 'regular' alcohol; denatured is really bad, but regular 'ol alcohol remains a poison. ← Huh... that's just what I've picked up from furniture makers who use shellac guessing about how it'd work on high-wear spots like guitar necks, but if you use it and it works, I may have to try it. My next guitar's going to have a rosewood neck with ebony fretboard, so it's getting at most some lemon oil, but I may try it on the limba and wenge body. It'd probably help bring out the slight flame to the limba better than tru-oil would - things really seem to glow under shellac finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum1284 Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 anyone know a resonabley priced shop that will do a professional finish for me? the cheapest ive found is $200 adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 anyone know a resonabley priced shop that will do a professional finish for me? the cheapest ive found is $200 adam ← That's already a very, very reasonable price for a pro finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 The secret to making shellac hold up is to put a good coat of paste wax on it after it cures. This makes it much more water and sweat resistant. Nothing will make it alcohol resistant, so keep the beer and martinis away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum1284 Posted October 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 cool is the alchol a carcinegen or anything or just an irrantant? once applied and dried i assume shellac is perfectly safe to touch for long periods of time correct? also does shellac reguire a grain filler if used on mahogany? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Denatured alcohol is, and alcohol, straight, is a poison. Not great, but not that nasty. I always wear gloves anyway. Once cured, it's perfectly safe. Grain filler is a seperate issue from the finish of your choice. Shellac will not fill the grain for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum1284 Posted October 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Denatured alcohol is, and alcohol, straight, is a poison. Not great, but not that nasty. I always wear gloves anyway. Once cured, it's perfectly safe. Grain filler is a seperate issue from the finish of your choice. Shellac will not fill the grain for you. ← so does shellac require a grain filler? im looking for a finish to use on mahogany that does not require a grain filler if there is one. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 If you want a smooth, glassy finish on mahogany you have to fill the grain with something. Any finish will fill the grain if you put enough of it on there, but that's not always advisable. The best thing to do is decide on what kind of finish you want, then go from there. BTW, the answer to practically every question you've asked in the last couple weeks is available in pinned topics here or in tutorials on the main site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 If you do a traditional French polish with shellac, oil and pumice you don't need to use grain filler. Google French polish. There are a couple of sites for this old but useful technique. I had an English finisher who worked with me who got amazing results this way. It's also great aerobic exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPL Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 BTW, the answer to practically every question you've asked in the last couple weeks is available in pinned topics here or in tutorials on the main site. Hell, just about every question he's asked has been answered in the last topics he posted. I'm starting to wonder if he is just trying to push buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.