Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

[Power Stack \m/]

Hey guys,

I got really excited when I heard Charvel was bringing out the slime green satchel model and my heart sank when I saw it was satin finished. What is with Charvel's obsession with satin finishes ? No guitar in the 80s was satin finished and a tiger striped slimed green graphic would never have been satin (Lynch's ESPs are all gloss).

Anyway, I was wondering - if I did buy it - how easy/expensive it would be to make it a gloss. Can I just get some nitro lacquer and spray it on?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I really want a gloss tiger guitar (since the lynch tiger is only at the mega affordable or mega bucks levels between the 200 and the USA models).

[GuitarStv]

Re: Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

I have a poly finished satin guitar that has turned gloss on the back where it rests against my body, where I rest my forearm, where I pick, and around where my fingers turn the knobs after about ten years of playing. I figure you could probably get the same effect with some intensive buffing.

[Mincer]

Re: Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

Satin will get some gloss over time due to just using it. I think the only way to get the gloss you are talking about will be to bring it to the painter right after you buy it.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

Is the existing satin finish nitro or poly?
Polishing will get either to a near gloss, but to get a high gloss you will have to recoat it with gloss lacquer then polish it (if it's already nitro). Or, sand thoroughly, several coats of poly, and sand and polish to a high gloss (if it's poly).

[devastone]

Re: Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

Is the existing satin finish nitro or poly?
Polishing will get either to a near gloss, but to get a high gloss you will have to recoat it with gloss lacquer then polish it (if it's already nitro). Or, sand thoroughly, several coats of poly, and sand and polish to a high gloss (if it's poly).

Lacquer is an old art, reserved for very high end guitars, Charvels will be poly, as will all but the high end custom shop Fenders, pretty much every import (again, there may be some higher end ones that use some lacquer). Hate to break it to you Doc, but we're old.

But, the good news for the OP is that the poly is probably pretty thick and can take a lot of polishing. So, if you really want it glossy, I would take it apart and hit it with a buffer and some polishing compound or take it to a painter and see if they can buff it for you. It might not get to a glass like surface, but it will probably get glossy. If you want he glassy look, probably needs a refinish, the satin formula for the clear coat is probably different from the gloss one.

Having been in my teens and 20s in the 80s, I am fine if I never see another neon pink guitar.

[ItsaBass]

Re: Making a satin finish guitar a gloss?

Wet sand, buff and polish...and try not to go through the finish.

Nitro on top is possible, but not ideal. You'd have to give the stock finish some tooth, and that might look bad in this case, as it's clear over a graphic finish. Adding gloss poly is a better idea...but still not great.

What I would do would be to just buff it then polish it, and see how it goes. It might give you enough. If that isn't good enough, then wet sand, and repeat the buff/polish sequence.

Note: by wet sand, I mean very fine grit sandpaper soaked in naphtha or mineral spirits overnight, not soaked in water. Water will get into your screw holes, swell the wood, and jack up the stock finish.

Matte and glossy finishes are actually different in terms of formulation, so you can't get a matte up to the same level of gloss as a glossy material would have had. But you can get it fairly glossy with some work. Never a factory fresh, super high gloss, though.