Gloss finish on a Matt guitar

GregLewis

I have a Cigano GJ15, which has a Matt finish. I’d like to make it a gloss finish. Anyone have experience with this? I’ve seen some posts suggesting that you can just polish the finish with an automotive polishing product and a lot of work. Any thoughts? Thanks

crookedpinky

I once had a Dupont Busato which had a similar matt finish. I used T cut on a small part of it and it turned glossy. If you do want to try it I would suggest trying it on maybe the back of the guitar first and there's no guarantees of success.

pdg

This is all a lot of work, with no guarantee that it will look great, and considerable risk of degrading the sound. These tops are thin. Also, it will decrease the resale value. You'd have to think of it as an experiment whose result will be uncertain. It might be safer to sell this one and buy a used gloss finosh guitar.

Tru-oil doesn't look glossy until you've put on a lot of coats, and you have to wipe off the excess every time. If too much sinks in (unless you've left a barrier to the wood), it will dull the sound.

Bones

DON'T DO IT. Nothing personal, but if you have to ask you probably are not up to the task. May end up looking like crap and sounding the same.

jonpowl

If you want a gloss finish buy a used Gitane DG-255. Then you will want a matte finish guitar as the Gitane rings like a bell in an echo chamber. Don't make major changes to an inexpensive guitar, just add to your collection.

Bones

@jonpowl Haha yeah feed the addiction!

Buco

People asking how to strip away the high gloss from their inexpensive guitars is much more common. You just might be able to wait awhile and simply swap guitars with someone.