I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?

David Dugas wrote:

I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?

Formby's oil, for a guitar? I don't THINK so.

Think PSL or other finishes detailed in this link I found for you:

http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/FinishOverview.htm

Dave

"David Dugas" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite?

I think lacquer is a normal finish for musical instruments. It can be
brushed on and polished to a glossy finish. You can get it at woodworking
stores or even Lowes carries it I believe.

i'm not stupid either.

Then you have no business being part of this newsgroup

haha thanks for catching me off guard with a reminder about humanity.
i meant that i'm not incapable. haha thanks again for pointing out
that we're all lacking in almost everything!

David Dugas wrote:
I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?


Are you talking about an acoustic guitar or a solid-body electric guitar?

I use nitrocellulose lacquer or KTM9 water-borne acrylic lacquer on my
acoustics.

On the solid-body basses and guitars, I use Nitrocellulose lacquer,
General Finishes oil/polyurethane wipe-on products, or Minwax spray
polyurethane finishes.

Some guys use tung oil on solid body basses--particularly on the neck,
because it yields a silky-smooth feel and they feel they can play
faster. But that's a finish you have to take care of, because it
doesn't really harden like lacquer or polyurethane finishes.

--Steve

Steve wrote:
David Dugas wrote:

I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?


Are you talking about an acoustic guitar or a solid-body electric guitar?

I use nitrocellulose lacquer or KTM9 water-borne acrylic lacquer on my
acoustics.

On the solid-body basses and guitars, I use Nitrocellulose lacquer,
General Finishes oil/polyurethane wipe-on products, or Minwax spray
polyurethane finishes.

Some guys use tung oil on solid body basses--particularly on the neck,
because it yields a silky-smooth feel and they feel they can play
faster. But that's a finish you have to take care of, because it
doesn't really harden like lacquer or polyurethane finishes.

--Steve

And take a look at this web site too (called Guitar Reranch):

http://home.flash.net/~guitars/index.html

Guitar Reranch also hosts a forum on guitar finishing:

http://reranch.august.net/phpBB-2.0.4/phpBB2/index.php

They sell mostly nitrocellulose-related products, but there are articles
on guitar finishing too.

And Stewart-MacDonald has a book called "Guitar Finishing Step By Step"

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Books,_p...p-By-Step.html

Good luck!

--Steve

it's an electric guitar. well the tru-oil is a polymerized oil... and
is considered by most luthier sites "varnish."
i looked that up. hope you could tell.

i'm wanting to have shine, but i don't really have tons of equipment,
like ventilators and crazy buffing machines for nitro.

waterbased lacquer or poly, is as crazy as i get.

i have been to all of those sites before, they're awesome!

thanks for suggesting them! i know i would've if i were you!

um, so i guess no one has actually really used formby's or tru-oil?

man. im wondering if it ambers the wood any as well... either of them.

oh also! what do you guys use to color your natural guitars? stain or
dye?

so how long did it take you to finish your lacquer job? i would have
to use a drill to polish at any speeds higher than an arm can move.

so is everyone pretty set on the lacquers and nitro?

no one has used any of the oil varnishes like tru-oil or formby's high
gloss tung oil?

also, what have you guys used to color your wood? stain or dye?

David Dugas wrote:
so how long did it take you to finish your lacquer job? i would have
to use a drill to polish at any speeds higher than an arm can move.

so is everyone pretty set on the lacquers and nitro?

no one has used any of the oil varnishes like tru-oil or formby's high
gloss tung oil?

also, what have you guys used to color your wood? stain or dye?


I used Woodburst Stain on one bass body I built--I didn't like the
result--you tend to lose the lustre of the wood grain with a stain.
Most guitar finishers put dye in one or more coats of lacquer when they
want a transparent finish with some color to it. You can get the dyes
from www.lmii.com or www.stewmac.com.

Myself, I have religious convictions against hiding naturally beautiful
wood grain under paints, stains, and dyes. :-) Seriously, what could
be more beautiful than natural wood with a nice gloss or satin finish on it?

That's just my opinion--I could be wrong!

And I have used a tung oil/polyurethane product wipe-on product, made by
a company called "General Finishes" It works quite well on necks and
bodies. But even the gloss product does not yield a true high-gloss
finish--more like semi-gloss. I've used it on bodies and necks--I
actually like this finish better on necks than lacquer.

--Steve

David Dugas wrote:
I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?


This might be a good place to ask this question:

http://www.mimf.com/

JES

In article .com,
says...

I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?


None of the products you have suggested are suitable for a musical instrument.
Grizzly has a nice section in their catalog for luthier supplies, and here is a
page that summarizes the steps needed for a very high quality finish, they will
send you a free catalog::

http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2006/Main/345

Dennis

Hi David -

I have never heard of using Formby's but Tru Oil is actually fairly
commonly used for instument finishes. I have talked to several
luthiers who like it and I am experimenting with some in the shop now.
It takes several coats to build up to a gloss finish. So far what I am
getting is more of a satin finish. Dyes are the way to go to get color
if you have some cool grain you want to show through. A lot of colored
electrics are just painted. As mentioned in other posts, the key is
the buffing/polishing.

Phil Morris


David Dugas wrote:
I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?

David Dugas wrote:
i have been to all of those sites before, they're awesome!

thanks for suggesting them! i know i would've if i were you!

um, so i guess no one has actually really used formby's or tru-oil?

man. im wondering if it ambers the wood any as well... either of them.

oh also! what do you guys use to color your natural guitars? stain or
dye?

That LMI link given above talks about using Formby's True Oil... they
recommend both an initial coat of shellac on the wood (maybe to keep the
oil out of the wood?), and then use of a True Oil Sealer (plugs the
pores) to build up the finish. You also probably won't get the gloss
you would with a shellac or lacquer finish.

er
--
email not valid

no way. this guitar is being made from walnut and high grade quilted
maple. i want it to look GOOD.

could i just add stain to the poly or the lacquer? i have been to
several luthier sites that suggested that...

"David Dugas" wrote in message
oups.com...
could i just add stain to the poly or the lacquer? i have been to
several luthier sites that suggested that...

That is called toning. Unfortunately garden variety (lowes) stain has
pigment in it (like paint) and it will obscure the dye.

In my breif experience messing around with toning, I discovered the
obvious... thicker finish = more color. What's not so obvious is that
achiving an even-thickness finish on anything but a simpleflat surface is
not easy *unless* you are spraying.
-Steve


--
http://NewsGuy.com/overview.htm 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

wrote:


Would an electric guitar made from MDF or particle board
sound good?

Some actually are.

Others have been made from lexan or aluminum.

some are even made of clear acrylic. crazy what people use nowadays.

If you look at Les Pauls first experiment it wasn't anything more than a
large board. As a matter of fact he called it a railroad tie. It's the
pickup and the amplifier controls that gives the sound on a solid body
guitar. As a result you could make it out of anything.

Snookie


"B A R R Y" wrote in message
m...
wrote:


Would an electric guitar made from MDF or particle board
sound good?

Some actually are.

Others have been made from lexan or aluminum.

JES wrote:
David Dugas wrote:
I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?


This might be a good place to ask this question:

http://www.mimf.com/


Or take your pick from among these newsgroups:

http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?sel=33610730&hl=en

--

FF

you guys rock! just bein all helpful with your suggestions!
anyways... has anyone used winwax wipe on poly? or the polycrylic, or
water based polyurethanes? i'm debating even getting the poly for
floors. also general finishes makes a gel poly that is supposedly one
of the hardest curing and clearest finishes on the market... any
thoughts?

David Dugas wrote:
you guys rock! just bein all helpful with your suggestions!
anyways... has anyone used winwax wipe on poly? or the polycrylic, or
water based polyurethanes? i'm debating even getting the poly for
floors. also general finishes makes a gel poly that is supposedly one
of the hardest curing and clearest finishes on the market... any
thoughts?


I used the Minwax high-gloss wipe-on Poly on a Tele that I built last
year. Got impatient with it, and finished the job with the Minwax
high-gloss poly that comes in a spray can. The result was very
good--the gloss is so shiny it almost looks wet. No buffing or
polishing was required. But I level-sanded with 320, 400, and 600
before I put on the last two coats. You have to be very careful to
avoid runs, though. I did two thin coats about 2 hours apart, IIRC.

--Steve

As a guitar player I know enough to say (DON'T TRY IT YOURSELF)
without a LOT of research

Ask this same question in RMMGA

rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic PLEASE a lot of luthiers are on
that list (as am I)


Jerry

On 16 Mar 2006 08:39:17 -0800, "David Dugas"
wrote:

I'm finishing a guitar and i want a really glossy finish. I have heard
good things about formby's oil and tru-oil. anyone care to defend or
suggest a favorite? im looking for something not too difficult because
i am pretty new to wood finishing, although i'm not stupid either.
comments?

I finished my guitar over about a week. 4 days of spraying on lacquer
in very fine coats, and letting dry then coming back and scuffing it
every 3rd coat or so. By the end I had about 14 layers built up.

Then I started sanding up in to the VERY High grit sandpapers up to
1000 if I recall correctly. I really only needed to get up to about
800 before I could start buffing.

Then I shifted to the buffing compound and the sponge apllicator. I
cheated a bit in that I have a wood lathe. I chucked the applicator
applied the compound to the sponge and rubbed it around on the guitar
to do the initial application. I didn't want it being flung everywhere
if I tried to apply it with the lathe running. Once it was spread
around I turned the lathe on low and buffed it in. Using the lathe
let me stand up and use both hands to steady the guitar as I buffed
out the finish.

I wiped it down and strung it up. I wasn't happy with my stringing of
the guitar. Since I knew I was out of my depth. I took my guitar to
the local Guitar Center that had a guitar repair shop in it and let
them do the final adjustments on string height and the bridges.

It plays very well and has a very mello sound.


On 16 Mar 2006 17:31:03 -0800, "David Dugas"
wrote:

so how long did it take you to finish your lacquer job? i would have
to use a drill to polish at any speeds higher than an arm can move.

so is everyone pretty set on the lacquers and nitro?

no one has used any of the oil varnishes like tru-oil or formby's high
gloss tung oil?

also, what have you guys used to color your wood? stain or dye?

From the research I did, yes, it does. But it's a real dice roll to
get the number of layers right. Too few layers of finish and the
guitar will sound very muted and will not ring. Toon many layers and
the wood will harden up and the guitar will hum.

If I remember right you need about 14 layers when you finish. But you
may find it different. Remember though when you buff you're taking
layers off.




The preferred finish by most high end Luthiers is nitrocellulose lacquer.
They will swear it adds to the tone of the wood.

My guitar you saw in the pictures is rosewood back and sides with a
Spruce top and mahogny neck with an ebony fingerboard.

On 17 Mar 2006 08:41:29 -0800, "David Dugas"
wrote:

no way. this guitar is being made from walnut and high grade quilted
maple. i want it to look GOOD.