Laquer removal?

TenorClef · March 2007

Hah i also thought a sun tan machine would age it too but my wife did'nt see how it could possibly work. I think the guitar looks really cool now for the mat finish and the wax finish has gone quite hard now leaving a nice smooth feel to the wood, a number of people have made remarks about how nice it now looks without the shiney gloss finish. So any idea how long you would have to leave it under a sun lamp to get the desired effect. For example in this photo you can see my Gitane with its finished wax coatings which gives a nice sheen and also my Ferrari c1870's mandolin, note that the Ferrari has a lovely dark coloured aged spruce top, bare wood except for the occasional wax coating. How would i get the wood to look like that?

Elliot · March 2007

I suppose it would be a function of how strong the bulb is...those florescent tanning bed bulbs certainly won't cut it, that's for sure. Be careful, though. Tanning is bad for you.

You could figure out how many lumens per year one gets by Sun, multiply it by say 40, and gauge the bulb strength accordingly.

I won't ask if the Ferrari Mando plays fast, tee-hee.... :roll: Very pretty, btw.

TenorClef · March 2007

Thanks, i'm told that the mandolin was a one off model made by Fratelli Ferrari, you may be able to see what looks like a 2nd bridge behind the main one, thats actually where the strings where meant to be inserted inside the mandolin through brass ferules which are still their and then to a T-bar at the end of the mandolin, the luthier who did some work on it said the purpose of this design was to increase string pressure and hence volume but at some point in its history it has been reverted back to the traditional Vinaccia tailpiece.

As for the guitar, i think my best bet is just plenty of natural sun light and let nature take its course. Ideally i'd like to speed it the process if possible but without chemicals as many web sites suggest.

Wirralgitane · April 2007

Hi Tenorclef,
Do you have any clips of how the 250m sounds now?
I'm curious, probably a little too much with my 250m, people always look and go ooooh nice guitar, but i would prefere a natural satin/woody finish and if it makes it louder and look older well than alll the better, cheers.

TenorClef · April 2007

Sound clips, no sorry. I'm one of those dinosaur types still trying to figure out technology

I do think my guitar has developed a nice aged look and i defintely feel the laquer whilst quite thinly applied does have a dampning effect so it was obvious to me that the guitar opened up and vibrated more freely when i fully removed the laquer from the entire instrument.

TenorClef · April 2007

This antiqued finsihed guitar is quite impressive, would love to know the technique involved.

Wirralgitane · April 2007

thats fit!
I'd love my gitane to look like that, i think i'd need marty mcfly.
When i was younger i used tea to make paper look old... :idea:

TenorClef · April 2007

The brass fittings are easy enough, just pour boiling water over them, leave them stand a few minutes, that usually removes the laquer, then just allow a couple of weeks or so for the metal to oxidise. Will look really cool, i'm guessing their is some really cool ways to make the top spruce top look aged without to much trouble.

Elliot · April 2007

Maybe it is because I've been surrounded by oil paint for 30 years that this looks easy, but it seems like a simple faux finish job. The key is to use a transparent black like Ivory plus Yellow Ochre and a few drops of linseed oil rubbed unevenly into the bare wood, then after dry gone over again slightly with a transparent yellow mixed with the Ivory Black to imitate the faded lacquer effect. I like the UV lamp idea better, though - more honest.

Here's my current favorite, a little more skill involved to reproduce, but doable: