Finishing supplies

[Bent]

On my last project I chose to use instrument lacquer. As it turned out I had a hard time initially finding a supplier in Canada. That is because this type of lacquer is available in the US mostly. I finally found a supplier - Richlieu Products in Mississauga Ont imports the Mohawk finishes.
The instrument lacquer is the flexible stuff..great for acoustic guitars but also great for steel since it puts a super shine on, if applied correctly.
Me being a novice at spray finishing got a not bad result. Not 100% but great for a beginner.
I also want to tell our freinds in the US that Mohawk turned out to be very customer oriented. What happened to me was this: The day of spraying, I looked on the net and found a customer service department in SC. There I got in touch with a Philip Pritchard, a finishing expert. He not only got me going on my finsishing, he also made himself available to me that whole day! He literally took me by the hand and talked me through every step. I bet I talked to him on the phone 6 times that day. How's that for customer service?

My main reason for the finish not turning out the full 100%, was my own doing...I was unsure and too cautious about applying a "wet" coat every time. It's a fine line between a proper wet coat and getting runs all over the place. Next time I will know a little more.
There is a remedy for bringing the shine up if it turns out dull like it did for me: buffing with a foam pad on your drill, or an auto polisher with some very fine auto swirl remover. This is done 3 weeks after spraying.
Applied correctly there should be no need for buffing according to Philip.
With this finish, you apply 2 coats of vinyl sealer and 6 wet coats of lacquer, one hour between coats.

[Allan]

Good story there Bent. I have never quite understood what was meant by a 'wet coat' - I assume it means 'as much as you can get on there without runs or curtaining'...

I have just completed spraying color coat on my current project and it is hanging around waiting for the paint to cure so that I can do the rub down and polish before final assembly. This is the worst part of a build - I want to know how this thing will sound. It is a lap steel with my own concept bridge on it. I like the look of the new bridge and I am just keeping fingers crossed that it will sound as good as it looks.

That is a good story as regards customer service. Does it relate to the guitar that you took to the UK? The pictures of that one show a very good standard of finish so it all worked out in the end.

Regards, Allan.....

[Bent]

Allan, yes, the UK guitar is one of the two I built this year. It has some astonishing birdseye maple. I am so proud of the fact that Dave Seddon loves this steel and calls it his Singing Maple. You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmvVMUj7dzc
and see it, and "Red" on my photobucket link below.