Buff glossing a satin furch

[fregly]

I have glossed a couple Larrivee satin finishes and it worked out well using fine grit sanding cloth, spraying water with a little washing fluid in. I have a Furch Gsw with a satin finish and would like to do the same. However the Furch finish is much thinner than the Larrivee, 2.7mls or so compared to probably 6. Also the Furch has no pore filler, if this complicates.

[charles Tauber]

It depends, in part, on what result you expect.

An un-filled, open pore wood, when its finish is buffed will simply give you a shiny, pitted surface, a long way away from a "mirror" or "piano" finish. If your object is to change the texture of the finish because you don't like the feel of the satin, it might work. Otherwise, I'd suggest you investigate what a shiny, pitted surface looks like and whether or not you want to put in the effort - and risk of sanding through - to achieve it.

[fregly]

The Larrivees turned out well, not mirror, just reflective enough the depth and color came out in the wood, and yes getting rid of arm hiss is nice. I have not come across a non pore filled gloss finish before, though can't imagine it being a negative visually, well, for me

[John Arnold]

Charles gives sound advice, as usual. IMHO, shiny lacquer on unfilled pores always looks amateurish. The satin finish is often used intentionally to hide a pitted surface.

[cobalt60]

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Charles gives sound advice, as usual. IMHO, shiny lacquer on unfilled pores always looks amateurish. The satin finish is often used intentionally to hide a pitted surface.

Can't say I agree. Some of the nicest and certainly most expensive classicals and steel-strings have shown some degree of finish sinking into pores, especially over time. This is typical of ultra-thin finishes associated with highly responsive instruments.


Agreed that a prepared satin finish will not buff to a gloss. The exception I can think of is that some people "scuff" a gloss finish to make it appear matte, but that's actually just a micro-scratched finish, not an actual matte process.

[Quickstep192]

One thing to think about.

When you sand and polish, the open pores will fill with the swarf from sanding and the compound from polishing and you’ll need to get it out.

I don’t think I’ve seen an open pore gloss finish. In my experience on furniture, satin is used to simulate a hand rubbed oil finish, so not much gloss.

[fregly]

I seem to recall some Seagull guitars had open pore gloss. Can't think of seeing any others. I didn't look at the Seagulls closely enough to register an opinion on the look. The Furch is Black Walnut and the pores are rather small, not exactly pock marked or anything. I think the main issue will be caution about the thin Furch finish.

[mercy]

Martin satins buff out nicely. I like the look better than gloss or satin.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by cobalt60

Can't say I agree. Some of the nicest and certainly most expensive classicals and steel-strings have shown some degree of finish sinking into pores, especially over time. This is typical of ultra-thin finishes associated with highly responsive instruments.

I agree. But unfilled wood looks quite different than finish and grain filler that has shrunk back over the years.

[John Arnold]

Some of the nicest and certainly most expensive classicals and steel-strings have shown some degree of finish sinking into pores, especially over time.

Actually, I agree. But finish sinking is different from being unfilled. With finish sinking, the dimples are shallow. One disadvantage with an unfilled surface is that the deeper pores are likely to accumulate polish or fine sanding residue during the glossing process.

[cobalt60]

Right on - totally agreed that sinkage is different from fully open, good call.

[fregly]

Originally Posted by mercy

Martin satins buff out nicely. I like the look better than gloss or satin.

Yes I really like that in between look.

[Earl49]

I'm not a finish expert, but a 2.7 mil finish is quite thin. You are very likely to burn through it down to raw wood. Danger, Will Robinson!

[fregly]

Thought I would resurrect this. I finally got around to buffing out the satin the other day, looking for something to do. It turned out great. The guitar is nicely reflective, showing depth of color and contrast -- and no more arm hiss. I also think the guitar sounds better. I suspect I am imagining that...who knows. I have no way of measuring and do not know how close to the bone the work got. Likely down to .002 I suspect. I used super fine polishing cloths and water with a little soap, wiping dry in stages.

[redir]

It's not at all uncommon for people to 'hear' with their eyes. SO if you think it looks better then it probably sounds better too