What's good for a nice glossy finish?

axisus

All my guitar builds so far have had an aged look, which is generally my thing. A few nitro rattle cans and I'm done.

For my current guitar build I'm thinking of painting the body with acrylics and then trying to get a nice thick glossy, polished finish. My odd attempts at doing a glossy finish haven't fared well in the past, so I'm just wondering if I can get recommendations on what to use, and preferably any tips as well!

Stick with Nitro?
Some kind of poly?
Tru-oil?
Something else?

grinder

1K or 2K spray cans?

SteveRobinson

How about Envirotex?

Andyjr1515

You know I use good old fashioned Ronseal Hardglaze Polyurethane Varnish, @axisus ?

I brush it on with a cheapo artist's fan brush.  As with all these things, there are tips and tricks, but here's one done that way:

axisus

Andyjr1515 said:

You know I use good old fashioned Ronseal Hardglaze Polyurethane Varnish, @axisus ?

I brush it on with a cheapo artist's fan brush.  As with all these things, there are tips and tricks, but here's one done that way:

Looks good! Tips & tricks??? Care to share or it is a bit long winded?

Andyjr1515

axisus said:Looks good! Tips & tricks??? Care to share or it is a bit long winded?

Not too long winded...just the normal stuff about controlling dust, avoiding ripples and - for a polyurethane varnish - the necessity NOT to buff.

I've done a run-through recently - I'll see if I can find it

Andyjr1515

It's here, @axisus :  
 
https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/179431/how-i-apply-ronseal-hardglaze-an-update

Sarge

Rustins Plastic-Coating.
Brush on 2 part, gets a super high gloss finish and is much tougher than oil or nitro. 

axisus

Andyjr1515 said:

It's here, @axisus :  
 
https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/179431/how-i-apply-ronseal-hardglaze-an-update

Thanks!

axisus

Sarge said:

Rustins Plastic-Coating.
Brush on 2 part, gets a super high gloss finish and is much tougher than oil or nitro. 

Is brush on not going to give brush marks?

WezV

axisus said:

Sarge said:

Rustins Plastic-Coating.
Brush on 2 part, gets a super high gloss finish and is much tougher than oil or nitro. 

Is brush on not going to give brush marks?

yes, like spraying can leave orange peel.   Then you level it off and buff it out.

I used to use RPC a lot and it works great , but has some limitations to know about too.

Brushing on is fine with a decent flat lacquer brush to control the flow nicely.

I started by brushing on 5-6 coats, 2-3 hours apart.  Then I would  wait till the next day,level off the brush marks and do another 3-4 coats that day, spread evenly through the day.   Rinse and repeat for 4 days in a row

You need to be aware of time frames.   Anything applied within a 12 hour window will burn into the previous coat, like nitro does.   Anything applied after that might not burn in.  Its better to wait 24 hours for it to fully harden, or it can ripple the previous coat.  After that it creates layers of finish, if you sand through that layer you get witness lines in the finish

Basically, if you have a weekend free and can keep applying all weekend within those time frames, it works great.   If you have to walk away, leave it longer and build up a thicker coat on the next layer to avoid sanding through

Its gets super glossy just from hand buffing with T-cut

WezV

Couple of pics of brushed on RPC finishes

Sarge

Thanks @WezV ;

Rabs

How about Super Glue?      (no I havent tried it)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YNF0O7Zjvc