Re finishing a guitar
- Thread starter DI_IORIO
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Guest
Guest
Re: Re finishing a guitar
Yes, finishes affect tone... to some extent.
There are mainly two differnent types of laquer/finishes on guitars, Polyurethane and Nitrocellulose.
A thin finish will not restrict the wood to vibrate as much as a thick finish.You could refinish a guitar because of this, it has a too thick finish (often the case with cheaper guitars).
- Nitro is a more tone friendly finish, it's often a feature of more expensive guitars and is applied thin. It isn't too durable!
- Cheap guitars often sports a poly variant that creates a "shell-like" protection coat around the wood. It's often thick and not tone friendly. Bulletproof!
- Some guitars have a variant of poly that isn't "shell-like", is often applied thin and looks alot better than the thick poly finishes. Somewhere in the middle!
Nitro: Almost always (read always) applied thin, harder to work with and not so environmentally friendly, it isn't that durable and ages by shrinking "into the wood", hardens, cracks by temperature and pressure changes... but that's the beauty of it. It looks very good and is imo THE finish for vintage style guitars. As it also was what was used from the beginning.
Polyurethane: There are two different types of "poly", one that makes a really hard "shell" on the body, like a thich transparent cover on top of the wood itself. It is also said to prevent vibrations in the guitar body, which isn't good. The other variant of "poly" isn't as shell like and doesn't prevent the guitar body from vibrating in the same manner as the first variant. (Not sure if the above is completely true and I don't remeber the names of the two variants but I read this not long ago on some of the guitar forums). The other variant of "poly " isn't such a bad a finish, it can be applied very thin...just like nitro finishes. But it's more durable, won't crack, won't age as beautifully as nitro does. For example PRS uses to some extent thin poly finishes on their guitars, my Tokai Love Rock LS-80 had poly finish that is very thin as well apart from that neck that are finished in "poly" uses this variant as well.
Kinda messy written! Sorry... I need to go to sleep now. 1 pm :sad: G'night!
Yes, finishes affect tone... to some extent.
There are mainly two differnent types of laquer/finishes on guitars, Polyurethane and Nitrocellulose.
A thin finish will not restrict the wood to vibrate as much as a thick finish.You could refinish a guitar because of this, it has a too thick finish (often the case with cheaper guitars).
- Nitro is a more tone friendly finish, it's often a feature of more expensive guitars and is applied thin. It isn't too durable!
- Cheap guitars often sports a poly variant that creates a "shell-like" protection coat around the wood. It's often thick and not tone friendly. Bulletproof!
- Some guitars have a variant of poly that isn't "shell-like", is often applied thin and looks alot better than the thick poly finishes. Somewhere in the middle!
Nitro: Almost always (read always) applied thin, harder to work with and not so environmentally friendly, it isn't that durable and ages by shrinking "into the wood", hardens, cracks by temperature and pressure changes... but that's the beauty of it. It looks very good and is imo THE finish for vintage style guitars. As it also was what was used from the beginning.
Polyurethane: There are two different types of "poly", one that makes a really hard "shell" on the body, like a thich transparent cover on top of the wood itself. It is also said to prevent vibrations in the guitar body, which isn't good. The other variant of "poly" isn't as shell like and doesn't prevent the guitar body from vibrating in the same manner as the first variant. (Not sure if the above is completely true and I don't remeber the names of the two variants but I read this not long ago on some of the guitar forums). The other variant of "poly " isn't such a bad a finish, it can be applied very thin...just like nitro finishes. But it's more durable, won't crack, won't age as beautifully as nitro does. For example PRS uses to some extent thin poly finishes on their guitars, my Tokai Love Rock LS-80 had poly finish that is very thin as well apart from that neck that are finished in "poly" uses this variant as well.
Kinda messy written! Sorry... I need to go to sleep now. 1 pm :sad: G'night!
!
DI_IORIO
New member
Re: Re finishing a guitar
Just one more question about this. How about natural finish guitars? It loses some tone when refinished? Is this easier or more difficult to be done? (it's not my case, because I would never refinish a guitar by myself, it would be a total disaster), but just to know
Just one more question about this. How about natural finish guitars? It loses some tone when refinished? Is this easier or more difficult to be done? (it's not my case, because I would never refinish a guitar by myself, it would be a total disaster), but just to know
T
theodie
Guest
Re: Re finishing a guitar
Poly is just fine. The reason it gets a bad rap is becasue guitar companies cake that stuff on there! Thin is the way to go for any finish so the guitar will sound good and ring!!!! I would MUCH rather have a guitar with a thin poly finish over a nitro finish ANYDAY! Nitro is not durable at all and while some people that like old beat to crap look (relic LOL!), I dont, I want it to stay looking good!
One rule of thumb when finishing, its not what you put on, its how much you leave on!
Poly is just fine. The reason it gets a bad rap is becasue guitar companies cake that stuff on there! Thin is the way to go for any finish so the guitar will sound good and ring!!!! I would MUCH rather have a guitar with a thin poly finish over a nitro finish ANYDAY! Nitro is not durable at all and while some people that like old beat to crap look (relic LOL!), I dont, I want it to stay looking good!
One rule of thumb when finishing, its not what you put on, its how much you leave on!
Captain Tightpants
New member
Re: Re finishing a guitar
The key with any kind of finish is to not get it too thick. The Les Paul in my avatar is a '77 Deluxe that had a Nitro finish that ,I kid you not, was at least 1/16'' thick. Made a world of difference when I refinished it with a MUCH thinner coat of nitro. Really opened the tone up dramatically. Same thing with my Epi SG. Stripped the Thick poly off and just oiled it, same results. Mind you, they both have not-so durable finishes now, but I don't get too rough with them either, so it's no big deal for me.
The key with any kind of finish is to not get it too thick. The Les Paul in my avatar is a '77 Deluxe that had a Nitro finish that ,I kid you not, was at least 1/16'' thick. Made a world of difference when I refinished it with a MUCH thinner coat of nitro. Really opened the tone up dramatically. Same thing with my Epi SG. Stripped the Thick poly off and just oiled it, same results. Mind you, they both have not-so durable finishes now, but I don't get too rough with them either, so it's no big deal for me.