Acoustic Guitar Finish...are UV Cured finishes appropriate or even optimal for acoustic guitars?

[phavriluk]

I think beginning guitar builders need to exercise the 'KISS' principle and not go down speculative rabbit holes. It's tough enough to build up a good first instrument using common and tested techniques and materials.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Peter, spoken like a professional guitar builder

[phavriluk]

Peter, spoken like a professional guitar builder

Kevin, I'm grateful for the praise. Thanks, even if I don't deserve it!

[saltytri]

Not sure that CherryLine has good info about Solarez. Have you actually used it? I have a baritone uke that I have kept for myself that is finished with Solarez ICBINL. Several thin coats, wipe-on, wipe-off, yielded a beautiful and smooth satin finish. Curing in the sun requires cooperative weather so to avoid inconvenience, I built a UV cabinet at about the right wavelength. It's fully cured about 4 minutes or so. Very light sanding between coats with a very fine grit and a bit of wax at the end gives it a very nice, smooth satin finish. Several of my Solarez ukes have been with customers for around a couple of years, and no negative feedback. And, yes, I do finish the tops with it and have no concerns about any ill effect upon tone. If anything, it has the advantage of being light and thin and not unduly subject to mechanical damage. The Sitka top on my baritone remains in very good shape. And I do agree with the sentiment that was expressed about generally not taking a flyer but I'm long past the flyer stage with this.

[Darryl Young]

Not sure that CherryLink has good info about Solarez. Have you actually used it? I have a baritone uke that I have kept for myself that is finished with Solarez ICBINL. Several thin coats, wipe-on, wipe-off, yielded a beautiful and smooth satin finish. Curing in the sun requires cooperative weather so to avoid inconvenience, I built a UV cabinet at about the right wavelength. It's fully cured about 4 minutes or so. Very light sanding between coats with a very fine grit and a bit of wax at the end gives it a very nice, smooth satin finish. Several of my Solarez ukes have been with customers for around a couple of years, and no negative feedback. And, yes, I do finish the tops with it and have no concerns about any ill effect upon tone. If anything, it has the advantage of being light and thin and not unduly subject to mechanical damage. The Sitka top on my baritone remains in very good shape. And I do agree with the sentiment that was expressed about generally not taking a flyer but I'm long past the flyer stage with this.

Appreciate you sharing your experience saltytri, thank you.

From my reading (not experience) I’ll give everyone this warning: you need a good seal coat over any oily wood before applying Solarez; otherwise, it may not cure. And it’s not clear if SealCote is sufficient, so test beforehand.

Would you mind answering a few questions about Solarez ICBINL?

1) How much heat is generated when this finish cures in UV light? Is it enough to soften glue joints on acoustic builds? Was hoping/thinking it might be ok if only a thin layer is applied then cured.

2) If applying multiple layers of: “thin coat/curing/light sanding”, after doing the final level sand…do you see witness lines where you sand thru layers? If so, do they disappear while sanding?

3) Do you buff out this finish? If so, what do you use and what is your method for buffing out Solarez ICBINL?

Appreciate your thoughts. I would love to find a good, lung friendly finish for health reasons.

[tippie53]

finishes are protective , many finishes are not repairable so use that info on your decision

[Darryl Young]

Curious…

Any experience here with Clean Armor? It is another UV cured finish that some rave about.

[Darryl Young]

I ordered the Clean Armor Finish Sample Kit to do some testing. I ordered the kit with the:

- Classic Instrument 805HB Sealer
- Classic Instrument 830 Buffable Clearcoat

Should be interesting…

[saltytri]

Not sure that CherryLink has good info about Solarez. Have you actually used it? I have a baritone uke that I have kept for myself that is finished with Solarez ICBINL. Several thin coats, wipe-on, wipe-off, yielded a beautiful and smooth satin finish. Curing in the sun requires cooperative weather so to avoid inconvenience, I built a UV cabinet at about the right wavelength. It's fully cured about 4 minutes or so. Very light sanding between coats with a very fine grit and a bit of wax at the end gives it a very nice, smooth satin finish. Several of my Solarez ukes have been with customers for around a couple of years, and no negative feedback. And, yes, I do finish the tops with it and have no concerns about any ill effect upon tone. If anything, it has the advantage of being light and thin and not unduly subject to mechanical damage. The Sitka top on my baritone remains in very good shape. And I do agree with the sentiment that was expressed about generally not taking a flyer but I'm long past the flyer stage with this.

Appreciate you sharing your experience saltytri, thank you.

From my reading (not experience) I’ll give everyone this warning: you need a good seal coat over any oily wood before applying Solarez; otherwise, it may not cure. And it’s not clear if SealCote is sufficient, so test beforehand.

Would you mind answering a few questions about Solarez ICBINL?

1) How much heat is generated when this finish cures in UV light? Is it enough to soften glue joints on acoustic builds? Was hoping/thinking it might be ok if only a thin layer is applied then cured.

2) If applying multiple layers of: “thin coat/curing/light sanding”, after doing the final level sand…do you see witness lines where you sand thru layers? If so, do they disappear while sanding?

3) Do you buff out this finish? If so, what do you use and what is your method for buffing out Solarez ICBINL?

Appreciate your thoughts. I would love to find a good, lung friendly finish for health reasons.

I've got a few answers to your questions about Solarez. You might want to keep in mind that my point of view is based upon the particular kind of work that I do. I have never built a guitar but have built something over 130 ukuleles. See onoukes.com. I have finished many of these with traditional guitar finishing techniques, including nitro and water-based lacquers that have been wet sanded and buffed to the kind of finish that is prized on guitars. While many ukuleles are finished in this way, I have concluded that a high gloss finish is not consistent with the traditions and nature of the instrument. Anyone want to buy some nice spray guns?

Here are answers to your questions:

I) I just put a Honduras mahogany neck billet into my “UV cabinet” for six minutes, after which my Fluke IR thermometer read 72 degrees. This is half again more time than I usually use per application, so I'm not too worried about temperature. I have to admit that my "UV cabinet" is a large steel garbage can, which ought to radiate heat rather than holding it in. I also have a small muffin fan that switches on with the UV lights and blows air out of the cabinet. Although I cannot quantify the effect, I am inclined to believe that the garbage can, which has a shiny metallic surface, helps to reflect the infrared light within the cabinet, thus evening out the amount of light that reaches the instrument across its surface.

2) I do use multiple layers. However, these are "wipe on wipe off”. After each coat is hardened, I smooth and scuff it very slightly with Mirka Mirlon 2500 pads. This provides enough "key" for adhesion of the subsequent layer. Level sanding isn't in the picture at all. As with other minimally thick finishes, such as Tru-Oil, the wood needs to be sanded fair, and any surface flaws that need to be filled are taken care of before the finishing process The wood is sanded up the grits before the application of the finish. The grit depends on the wood and what you want it to look like but P800 or finer seems to work out well. The process can be quite fast. I recently did multiple coats taking two bodies from raw wood to final finish before lunch. And I had a late breakfast!

3) If you are concerned with adhesion to a an oily wood, you can use the Solarez vinyl ester sanding sealer as a base coat. Of course, preliminary wiping with a suitable solvent is usually a good idea.

4) My goal is a satin finish, which I feel is consistent with the history and nature of the instrument. A couple of layers of paste furniture wax are applied and hand buffed with a soft cloth.

5) My necks are finished with SystemThree SilverTip, which I find to be very durable and resistant to degradation by hand oils. Hand applied, wipe on wipe off. I recommend the fast hardener unless your shop is quite warm. I haven't yet tried Solarez on a neck.

[Darryl Young]

Thank you saltytri. Good information.