Serius13 Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 Im building a les paul type guitar and I was wondering about wwhat type of finish I could put on it. It would be cool to hear your ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 Danish Oil. It's fool-proof, and makes one of the better satin finishes. It can be applied over dyes, too. Dries hard, it's not like just throwing oil on your guitar. Here's a good example of how it turns out: http://www.planetbass.com/images/Basses/Mo...nut_HighRes.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 Dries hard, Really ? Do you have a can of the stuff where there's some "dried" oil on the top of the can ? If so, how hard is that "dried oil" ? . I have used Watco and General finishes danish oil and noticed the stuff on the top of the can is like hard rubber at best after it has dried. Because of that, I stopped favoring it for guitar finishing. I look at it like this now : If the damn stuff is going to dry like rubber, I don't want it soaking into the wood. I'd rather have a wax finish which also might be along the lines of hard rubber when "dry", but doesn't soak in nearly as much. Oh yeah, have you ever sanded a fret-board that had been generously finished in an oil finish ? It's like the wood has been creepified. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 I really do not like oil finishes at all...I went through that when I started to build,but I hate watching all of my hard work get scratched,dinged,and filthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Shellac is SUPER easy to use, cures fast, and can go anywhere from barely there & feel the wood to a thick barrier. The only two drawbacks I've seen so far is that it doesn't sand well when leveling and it's the least durable of the film finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 So what's a better finish than oil that doesn't require spray equipment and can form a good satin finish? Lacquer? Poly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 My new one is yellow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 So what's a better finish than oil that doesn't require spray equipment and can form a good satin finish? Lacquer? Poly? I don't know if you are aware of it but you can go to Sherwinn Williams or something similar and some of them will put any finish you want into an aeresol can.....the benefit is that if you use it immediately you can get some very good finishes...the ones you buy in the store have retarders added(I am not sure if that is the right term) to keep it sprayable for a couple of years...and that really causes the paint to not harden as well once it is sprayed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Oh...and yes you can buy just spray or wipe on poly and get the same easy finish on your guitar(especially wipe on poly) which will hold up better than oil...it still will not be nearly as protective as a catalyzed finish...but it will be very good...and I know the minwax wipe on cans of poly are available in gloss or satin.. Shellac is great...but alcohol will destroy it in a heartbeat...I think Drak said he covered his shellac in Cat Laquer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 So what's a better finish than oil that doesn't require spray equipment and can form a good satin finish? Lacquer? Poly? Any of the film finishes (shellac, lacquer, poly) are available in cans to be brushed on. I don't own any spray equipment, so I speak from experience in saying that brushing the finish on works just fine. The main drawback that I've found is that it takes more effort to level the finish before buffing it out. Consider this: Buying aerosol cans of finish will take 3-6 cans at +/- $3.50 each and you'll have nothing but empty cans when you're done. One quart of finish and a can of solvent will be $15-$20, but you'll have 90% of the can left over. Poly & lacquer both come in matte & gloss. Poly is gloss by default but is matte when buffed out with steel wool. Shellac is great...but alcohol will destroy it in a heartbeat. Sure it would. But... why would you be dousing your guitar in alcohol? That seems like an extremely avoidable thing. There's always the possibility of someone in a bar spilling their beer on your ax, but even THAT is unlikely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dudz Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Oh...and yes you can buy just spray or wipe on poly and get the same easy finish on your guitar(especially wipe on poly) which will hold up better than oil...it still will not be nearly as protective as a catalyzed finish...but it will be very good...and I know the minwax wipe on cans of poly are available in gloss or satin.. Shellac is great...but alcohol will destroy it in a heartbeat...I think Drak said he covered his shellac in Cat Laquer Yeah the wipe on minwax is actually very durable. Many things around my house are finished with it including things that get quite abused and the finish shows no sign off wearing away or scratching so If you need a wipe on finish that won't wear away then I would recomend it. They also dry quite quickly and they do come in alot of colors. Addin dyes to them works well too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Sure it would. But... why would you be dousing your guitar in alcohol? That seems like an extremely avoidable thing. There's always the possibility of someone in a bar spilling their beer on your ax, but even THAT is unlikely. Not the places I used to play...I'm looking at an indelible stain right now on my extension speaker box grill...maybe audiences are better these days, it's been a while! A brushed on finish can work really well...the key to any finish is of course the preparation. Each guitar project is going to require a different level of skills and experience to do well, knowing your limitations is important...and some things cry out for a nice oiled like finish, while other projects will look best with a solid colour finish even if the wood has a nice grain...as woodworkers, guitar makers often want to show of the handy work and everything, but in a lot of cases to the eye at any distance a lot of guitars just look 'brown'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Sure it would. But... why would you be dousing your guitar in alcohol? That seems like an extremely avoidable thing. So you are trying to say you have never drank too much liqour and puked on your guitar? But seriously...around my house there are alot of alcohol soaked rags flying around time to time...not to mention I often clean wood with denatured alcohol,then go straight to playing my guitar....as a guitar builder,I would think you would be more likely to destroy a susceptible finish,not less... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Sure it would. But... why would you be dousing your guitar in alcohol? That seems like an extremely avoidable thing. So you are trying to say you have never drank too much liqour and puked on your guitar? If you yacked on your guitar, I doubt it'd matter what it's finished with. Stomach acids and digestive juices are pretty dang corrosive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Just went in my paint room and popped a piece of minwax gloss poly off the floor which has been there for a few months. This was from a rattle can (damn thing started leaking right under the spray button, so I got all these drips on the floor from that). This little sample is a little more flexible than I'd like. I like my hard finishes to be more on the brittle side for better tone, but I'm probably far from being in the majority on that issue. I wanted to buy it in the regular can and run through a gun, but could never find any trustworthy advice on what exactly to thin it with. I still think my favorite finish is probably medium super-glue thinly wiped on and then sanded to a satin finish, but I've only done a small sample of that, but it is sure a great feeling hard thin finish to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 If you yacked on your guitar, I doubt it'd matter what it's finished with. Stomach acids and digestive juices are pretty dang corrosive. Auto poly does not care...Nether does catylyzed varnish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 I still think my favorite finish is probably medium super-glue thinly wiped on and then sanded to a satin finish, but I've only done a small sample of that, but it is sure a great feeling hard thin finish to me. it does seem tempting doesnt it.... hard to get right on a full body though... and the fumes are horrible so do it outside with a fan blowing if you must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 and the fumes are horrible Are they?Or is it that the fumes are SO awesome as to only seem horrible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 Funniest finishing experiment I ever did, was wiping down a scrap fret-board with CA accelerator, letting it dry a few minutes (to weaken it's strength a little), then *spraying* water-thin CA on that board with an airbrush. You should have seen that son of a bitch smoke ! LOL Gun quickly got a spray through with acetone, then a break-down, with all affected parts thrown into a acetone jar. But talk about a hard finish done fast. Only thing is there are unpredictable problems with white clouding when CA finishing. More problems, the thicker it is. And with accelerator, you increase the chance of clouding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 well to be honest i am not ever sure how harmful the stuff actually is.. some say it contains cyanide but i think that is a myth??, i do know its damn irritating to the eyes and can be quite harmful to the lungs if precautions are not taken. Its the bits in CSI when you see the fumes hardening off around fingerprints that worries me enough to take a few simple precautions but if you think they are awesome wes then thats just fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 They used to say cyanide was in the final product, then there was a StewMac article where a guy from the CA company said cyanide is used in the making of it, but isn't there in the bottles you buy. Yes, it's certainly an irritant for the eyes and nose. I suppose when they used to use CA to mend wounds in battle (which apparently is what it was invented for) they might have had a version that was made more specifically for medical use and maybe less irritating. I was using a respirator, but no goggles ! (got the hell out of there as soon as I could, which was probably under a minute) It might be extravagant for using it as a finish, but with me, I find if I buy a bottle of medium CA, and don't use that bottle up within a few weeks, I'm left with a bottle partly full of rock hard CA. So, if using 1/2 or 3/4 of that bottle to finish something can keep it from being wasted later anyway, I guess it's not THAT expensive of a finish. Well, that is if you had to buy that bottle of CA for other uses anyway, like I often do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 Cyanide is C-N (carbon bonded to a nitrogen) and cyanoacrylate (CA) is a an organic molecule with a CN attached and also an alcohol group (methyl mostly for commonly available CA). In contact with air, the CA molecules suck up moisture and form long polymerized chains that do the bonding. What you smell when using CA are the un-polymerized individual CA molecules - once they hit anything with moisture (mouth, eyes, throat, lungs) they will bond and stay bonded until that layer of cells is removed. The cyanide group on the CA molecule is never broken off separately when curing - maybe if you burn it, but not under normal use. I like Tru Oil on all necks, and on bass bodies - other bodies it depends. In general I don't puke - unless I'm using CA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 what do you guys think about automotive poly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 They used to say cyanide was in the final product, then there was a StewMac article where a guy from the CA company said cyanide is used in the making of it, but isn't there in the bottles you buy. Yes, it's certainly an irritant for the eyes and nose. I suppose when they used to use CA to mend wounds in battle (which apparently is what it was invented for) they might have had a version that was made more specifically for medical use and maybe less irritating. I was using a respirator, but no goggles ! (got the hell out of there as soon as I could, which was probably under a minute) It might be extravagant for using it as a finish, but with me, I find if I buy a bottle of medium CA, and don't use that bottle up within a few weeks, I'm left with a bottle partly full of rock hard CA. So, if using 1/2 or 3/4 of that bottle to finish something can keep it from being wasted later anyway, I guess it's not THAT expensive of a finish. Well, that is if you had to buy that bottle of CA for other uses anyway, like I often do. maybe they were talking about the skin shield liquid bandage :-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ae3 Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Anything, as long as it's pink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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