My Franklin Jumbo is finished!
Except for the finish…
To recap the situation, Nick is planning for the first time to apply a varnish finish instead of nitrocellulose lacquer to a guitar (my guitar!), but has to postpone that step until he has set up the proper workspace for varnishing. He had offered to apply nitro if I wanted the guitar sooner but I elected to wait for the varnish finish, so the guitar has stayed with Nick for now.
To compensate for not having the guitar in my possession Nick mailed me a one foot square piece of spruce on which he’d tested the varnish. It is stunning! The color looks like the naturallly yellowed spruce on a vintage instrument without the slightly artificial look of an “aging toner”, and the varnish brings out a stunning “chatoyance” effect that gives an unbelievable depth to the wood grain. The varnish seems to have a slightly silkier feel than laquer, and a nice, mild resin-y odor!
Otherwise, a sealer coat has been applied to the guitar, the frets ends are filed and shaped, the frets are dressed, the guitar is strung and the action has been set up.
Jeanne sent me a photo of the guitar resting in their home. It obviously doesn’t have the shine yet of a high gloss finish, nor the amber tint of the varnish, but it looks really good.
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