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Old 05-12-2008, 12:07 PM
nehemiah nehemiah is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Fairfield, Washington
Posts: 317
Default alternative instrument finishes

Hi Joel;

I am by no means an authority on finish applications, but having spent several years as a custom cabinet builder and luthier I would not suggest using any "wipe-on" finish for guitars.
The nitrocellulose lacquer used on wood instruments is designed to "flex" with the woods movement. The best (and only way to apply correctly)
is with a good spraying outfit.
I have had times in cabinet building where I had to resort to a brush or lambs wool application to do touch ups or match finishes, but you can always tell where the sprayer stopped and the brush started.
If you are thinking of re-finishing a guitar with a wipe-on finish, you will no doubt run in to problem areas around the bridge, fret board and neck joint.
The polyurethanes such as Min-wax, olympic and others are designed for use on fixed substrates, not delicate, handled instruments. In my opinion, you would not be happy with the final result. If you want to apply a finish to an instrument, try one of the aerosol cans such as Behlens nitro or Watco's
instrument finish. Just my 2 cents worth.------nic
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