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Inspired by this thread, I sent the following message to Minwax:

I'm considering Minwax Wipe-On Poly as a finish for acoustic guitars that I build. The back, sides, and neck are usually constructed using wood species with significant pores. To get a good finish, I need to pore fill. I usually pore fill with a slurry of very fine sawdust in a 1# cut of dewaxed shellac. Will Minwax Wipe-On Poly work well over this base? Do you have any other suggestions for pore fill?

Today I received a reply:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Minwax. We appreciate your interest in our products.
No, it will not. We do not have any products that will work on shellac surfaces.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the subject?

I used lmi filler and vinyl sealer
I think you can use sanding sealer but a filler is needed

_________________
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com

That sounds like a CYA response from MinWax. Paint companies tend to shy away from recommending options that don't exclusively use their own, fully tested products. You might want to test it yourself.

I have kept a squeeze bottle of shellac on my bench for 15 years, and I tend to wipe a wash coat on anything I am working on once I am close to finish sanding (unless I will be using an oil finish - Watco is my favorite). Toys, furniture, guitars, etc. I have put everything imaginable over the shellac and have never had an issue of any kind. One of my favorite finishes is General Finishes Wipe-on Poly available on line or at Woodcraft. I have also used several different water based products, several kinds of natural and alkyd varnishes including spar varnishes, True-Oil, and just more shellac.

The guy who taught me to use it said, after showing me how it sticks to glass and to a freshly waxed surface - "shellac sticks to everything, and everything sticks to shellac".

However, YMMV (a little CYA on my part)

Ed

Hey John,

This thread is perfect and exactly what I was needing to find. As I've been building my first guitar, I've also been getting into other woodworking as well. For my first projected that I completed a few weeks ago I decided to do a wipe-on poly and loved the way it turned out and how easy it was to apply. Found out my friend who has build many electrics often uses it as well. So I was wondering if anyone had done an acoustic with it. After seeing this thread I think I'm definitely going with this approach.

Clarification:
How many coats total did you wind up doing total?
Also, did you use the same finish and same amount of coats on the neck as you did the body?

1988

I have used Tru-Oil on 2 with success, but thought I would try MinWax Wipe-on Poly after John Hall did one. Here are some shot of doing it - click right and left, text below:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/44775397282/in/album-72157688488198220/

Here are a couple more shots of it:

flickr DOT COM /photos/ruby1638/31782074818/in/album-72157688488198220/

And here is the finished instrument:

flickr DOT COM /photos/ruby1638/30816154577/in/album-72157688488198220/

This silly site won't let me put in more than one URL, so either piece together the second two or just continue looking in the first one

Note I used the gloss version. I have always used the satin version of General Finishes wipe-on, and just finished a furniture piece with Watco satin - both work great.

Ed

I am in the process of another experiment with minwax rattle cans and LMI fillers
so far I am very impressed with the end result
will post pics later

_________________
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com

Ed, your Yellow Cedar guitar is gorgeous - well done. And a fascinating look at alternatives in tonewoods and finishes.

Bruce

I saw that thread as well. I'm trying to avoid spraying if possible though. Don't have a good place to spray here.

This is one of the reasons the wipe-on poly approach was enticing to me.

Back to the question though (and actually an added question).

Did you finish the body and neck the same?
Do you remember how many coats?
What sealer and filler did you use under the poly?