C. Vega -> RE: Types of guitar finish (Apr. 28 2013 19:17:38)
|
Any finish can be applied thinly or too thick, including shellac. Note that I didn't say "French polish". French polishing is a technique for applying a finish (usually shellac), not the finish itself. Many makers who use shellac as a finish, whether its sprayed or brushed and leveled/rubbed/buffed out or applied in the traditional way with a pad and spirited off to a high gloss tend to say, often incorrectly, that their instruments are French polished. The American guitar manufacturer Taylor uses a very thinly applied polyester finish that is cured by UV light. The ultra-high intensity UV tubes used to cure it are frightfully expensive (thousands of dollars each) and the finishers must dress in what essentially looks like a space suit when applying it. The finish cures in about 60 seconds. Most Spanish factory guitars, including flamenco models and numerous instruments from high-end makers like Ramirez as well, are finished with a two-part catalyzed polyurethane that cures by chemical reaction. Asian guitar factories have used polyester finishes for many years. "Lacquer" has become a generic catch-all term for most guitar finishes other than shellac but when most professional wood finishers use the term "lacquer" they're referring to nitrocellulose lacquer which was once quite common but has fallen from favor in recent years. It is still used in the U.S. by manufacturers like Martin and Gibson but not on all of their instruments. A number of individual steel string makers in the U.S. also use it. There are also oil finishes, varnishes, etc. based both on natural and synthetic ingredients too numerous to get into in a format like this. There are many good books devoted to the subject. There's also a lot of bad information doled out by amateur "wood finishing experts" and others on the web. Marine and other oil-based varnishes will cure just fine on ebony, rosewood and other exotics when applied over a good shellac washcoat. Manuel Velazquez and Robert Ruck are two makers who have used and continue to use this type of finish.
|
|
|
|