What's your preferred finish? Gloss, Semi-gloss, Satin?

[Picking Moose]

Any day now my trusted luther will finish my newly commissioned acoustic. He is applying laquer/resin (not sure what is called) by hand/brush.. told me if I had chosen satin it would've been ready 2 weeks ago.
Gloss shows even the smallest imperfections in wood surface so needs many more layers and attention when applying, he said.
But it's sooo darn more beautiful, I think.

[Rudy4]

Gloss... I'm not that fond of the fingerprinted and smudged look.

Semi-Gloss... Why go half-way and let people know I can't make up my own mind?

Satin... Bliss-like finish nirvana.

Gloss finishes do have the advantage of being less of a target for theft, especially if the headstock logo is sanded off. Would-be thieves can be easily tricked into thinking it's just another plastic finished import.

[SingingSparrow]

The thinner and less shiny the finish the better

[jaymarsch]

I voted gloss since all of my guitars are nitro finish and I like the look of all of them. I had one all satin guitar and really didn't care for it. Too much noise and I also had a French polish guitar which I love but it takes a lot more care to keep nice.
Best,
Jayne

[Jeremy]

Satin. Particularly Taylor's silent satin finish used on their Builder's Editions.

[Tom_B]

Gloss for acoustic and French polish for classical guitar.

[KevinH]

I don't have a strong preference, so I voted in the middle for semi-gloss. One thing I like about satin is that it just looks more like natural wood, and it doesn't smudge up like gloss.

[drew b]

The “French polish” - type of semi gloss common on Irish guitars is my favorite. Both Lowden and Avalon do it extremely well. It doesn’t seem as durable as a gloss finish, but it feels and looks great.

Drew

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by ewalling

On a predominantly American forum, the benchmark will probably be whatever Martin or Gibson does.

I'm technically an American and don't care for glossy finishes. I'm Team Satin

[Kyle215]

Gloss for the top… I’m a minimalist and actually prefer satin neck, back and sides. But since generally you don’t find many nicer guitars made that way, I only have one of those.

I wish satin b/s was more widely offered, besides the appearance, my understanding is that it cuts a decent amount of cost from production.

[Birchtop]

Gloss nitrocellulose if given the choice.

[beegar]

I'm a fan of the full gloss with satin neck, which sheens up nicely after a few years of playing.

[DCCougar]

Nitrocellulose, hands down.

[Dru Edwards]

Gloss - I think they look great. I also like the played in look with lots of dings and marks of the satin guitar I have.

[stephenT]

Have them all and I have no preference BUT my gloss guitars are the more expensive "adult" guitars.