Flowing A Finish

[unclej]

ok, this is a term that i hadn't heard of until yesterday. a good customer brought me an old martin that has quite a few issues. there have been quite a few cracks that have been repaired. someone started refinishing the top but didn't complete it and the neck has some major finish cracking leading me to believe that it's lacquer.

the customer asked me if i'd ever heard of the techniqe of flowing..taking a rag with the proper solvent and rubbing a small portion of the finish until it softens and "flows" back together.

so i have two questions..did martin generally use lacquer on their older guitars? (he brought it in late sat. so i haven't had time to date it) has anyone ever used the flow method and with what results? i guess three questions..will the flow method work on older lacquer if that's what it turns out to be?

thanks

[thegarehanman]

I've seen that done on furniture before. Some companies will offer products that "magically" make scratches disappear. Realistically, they're just melting the finish. I can't attest to whether it's useful on instrument finishes or not, but I'd say there's a good chance you could. I guess it would come down to how thick the finish is.

[Mr Alex]

These two articles may be of interest:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Te...cetonetest.html

then

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Te...algamator1.html

Hope that helps

Mr A

[Setch]

Yes, they used lacquer, and yes, this technique is used on guitars,

BUT - I wouldn't recommend you try it on an old Martin until you've notched up a good deal of experience with the the technique. As Frank Ford says in the linkabove:

"The trick is to use enough amalgamator to get the job done, but not so much that I cause the entire finish to thin and run."

[marksound]

Guitar ReRanch has Blush Out to reflow lacquer. Check this thread.

[Mattia]

Older Martins are probably Nitro, yes, but rubbing with a cloth with thinner doesn't sound too wise. Maybe spraying some one, but I'm no refinish expert. Check Frets.com for refinish info, might help.

Honestly, I'd just leave it alone, or, if it's in really bad shape, ponder a full refinish of the top plate. Probably less effort than a touchup. Do consider that on an acoustic, you might change the sound, because you might change top thickness when removing the finish, etc. You gotta be a lot more careful than when refinishing a solidbody.

[unclej]

thanks everyone for the info and the links..i'll check them all out later today. the reason he brought me this particular guitar to experiment on is that it's really, to him, a beater guitar that will probably never be worth bringing totally back to pristine condition so were just going to see if we can make it a little better.