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Private member DiscussionAcoustic Repair

Taylor crack repair - Finish touch up guidance please!

Hi there looths, Hoping you guys can help me identify what uv resin or other compatible finish can be used to finish this crack? I'm comfortable true-ing up the material and gluing, however I've only really done nitro or polyurethane finish touch up. Thanks, Aleks

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Private member
On the recommendation of Dave Staudte I use Mohawk M102-0720 (Matte 19-23 Sheen). It works really well for blending into the orignal finish.
Private member DiscussionFinish New Builds

Finishing Zircote

Hi Everyone. I am planning to finish my latest electric build which has a Zircote top. I am going to spray Nitro Lacquer. Is there anything I need to watch out for in spraying over such an oily wood? Thanks!

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Private member
Hi Robert: Nothing special to do with Ziricote. You should wipe it down with mineral spirits or naptha and then a light coat of thinned finish or sanding sealer is all that is needed before you start…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

How to remove incompatible overspray

I'm still working on this 1958 Country Gent and I am getting closer to getting past the structural stuff and on to the finish work. The entire body appears to have been resprayed with what I'm guessing is some sort of poly a long time ago. It's very yellowed, has multiple big drips across the entire body and flakes right off in big pieces. My plan is to remove it all, clean it up a bit and then respray with nitro. Anyone have great advi…

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Ian Davlin
If it is really failing, you might be able to do it with compressed air. 120 psi with a tight nozzle. If not compressed air, definitely throw a heat gun into the equation. It doesn't take much heat to…
Private member DiscussionGeneral

Guitar Polish Recommendations - Silicone Free?

I'd like to start a discussion about guitar polishes. We have always been careful to use only non-silicone products on nitro finishes. We previously used Stewmac Preservation polish for years, but they don't offer that product anymore. We recently had maybe what was a bad batch of Stewmac "Clean and Shine" that was softening nitro finishes so we trashed it and haven't purchased anymore. The first bottle we got worked great, but the s…

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Private member
I miss the old Gibson polish in the aerosol cans. That stuff worked really well to clean and shine old nitro finishes. I don't like their pump bottle polish they replaced it with. I'm currently usi…
Private member DiscussionSELL! SELL! SELL!

Nitro Lacquer - FREE!!

I’ve moved away from nitro lately and have a number of cans left that I no longer have use for. They’re free to anyone who wants them - if they can be of any use to someone I’d rather that than dispose of them. All new & still factory sealed. 3x Seagrave Gloss L3651 1x Seagrave Guitar Sealer R-1140 I’m in the SF Bay Area so if there’s anyone local that would be awesome, maybe meet up and grab a drink. Otherwise, I would be willing to ship i…

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Private member
What direction have you moved to?
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Making oil based pore filler

Folks, I’m trying to make some homemade oil based pore filler to go underneath a 50s style nitro finish. I know pumice is one ingredient but don’t recall the rest of this recipe. Does anyone here have experience with this? Thanks!

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Ian Davlin
The recipe I used for Ding Kings was Tru Oil and 4F pumice. A dear friend of mine told me that perhaps whiting powder might give a more similar result in consistency to the store bought stuff.
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Shellac on maple fingerboard?

I’m serious here, maybe crazy or funny, but please forgive me should it be obvious, because I don’t know shellac good enough to really know by experience if that’s doable or not would it be stupid to use some recipe on shellac for an electric Bass fingerboard finish? Would it be a good “filler” or way of giving some body in preparation for a finish like nitro or poly? Would it scratch like hell sooner than later? Could it be easily rebuilt…

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Private member
Thanks for the info Jacob. I’ve used oils on some maple fingerboards yet and I like it, but it’s not for everyone’s taste, now I’d like to try with shellac for glossy finish for those who think that’s…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Finish Damage from Proper's Workstation

Hey everyone, I just had a Tele clone built by a small builder in my Proper's Guitar Workstation for a new nut and a fret level. It was clamped down in the workstation for less than a day. I just noticed that the rear hold down clamp left its footprint in the finish. No, I don't know what type of finish the builder used, but I'm trying to find out. I'm thinking its not nitro or poly because I use my TVPGW everyday and this has never hap…

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Private member
Thanks Doug. I probably should have worded things differently. My goal wasn't to appear to throw shade unnecessarily at the workstation or question its efficacy. I was wondering if the urethane could…
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Nitro burn

Hi All, I have a J-15 in with some finish burn on the back of the neck. I'm wondering what you'd recommend as a repair? Lacquer, Fill N' Finish, something else?

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Private member
It's not easy to tell in person either. I suspect it's gone through most of the finish but not all of it. There might be spots of wood at the centre. I'll have another look when I'm back in the shed.
Private member DiscussionFinish New Builds

Looking to achieve this color

Good morning everyone. Looking for some help finding/achieving a color. I have a customer that wants an Olive Drab Translucent matte finish. I usually just do nitro matte finishes over natural or stained woods, or the occasional oil rubbed finish. Colors are not something I’ve messed with too much yet. I have found some nitro that is opaque OD, but am having a hard time sourcing something non-opaque that will still get dark enough. Ref…

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Private member
Sounds like a question for Jeff Jewitt?
Private member DiscussionFinish Repair

Recipe for vintage Junior sunburst

Hi all, I’ve done one successful rattle can refin in nitro and now assembling a spray set up. I’m totally new to spraying using a real spray setup and have never mixed colors. Does anyone have a recipe for a nice vintage 2-tone sunburst using, I assume, colortone or trans tint colors? I’ll try and attach a pic of what I’m going for. There is a little red appearance between the two top burst colors.

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Private member
Thanks, Ian. Pretty sure the top is all opaque but I’ve also heard the yellow center is tv yellow. I’ll pick up the stewmac finishing book. Maybe it has a recipe in there.
Beau Hannam - Beau Hannam Guitars DiscussionFinish Repair

Tannin bleed through

I repaired this double neck SG geetar with mahogany splints. Sealed the new hog with shellac, pore filled with ca, more shellac, then a thin layer of Stewmac white color tone in nitro, then a few coats of poly, then Mohawk ultra flo (cuz I can’t buff the neck) . I seem to be getting strange bleed through into the white (it wasn’t there before). Tannins??? Ideas? Thanks

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