Lyn #14 - Solid-body Acoustic

[Simon Barden]

Brasso is very good on polishing nitro and acrylic finishes, I'd imagine it would be good on poly as well, as it is just mainly a cutting compound. Silvo is a slightly coarser polishing liquid than Brasso, so if you have any lying around, you could always try that first followed by Brasso.

However, you don't want to leave a puddle of it on the finish, as it can dissolve the finish and leave a rough patch. I discovered this the hard way after unknowingly leaving an acrylic finished guitar sitting on a small puddle of Brasso. But applying it via a cloth and then rubbing away and cleaning off is fine.

[ILRGuitars]

Brasso? Well, you learn something new everyday. Great tip and a great finish. A beautiful looking job so far. Can't wait for the finished article.

[dingobass]

Ahhhhhhh, Great to see Robin the Luthier back!
As per usual, a beautiful job Robin.

[Ghaynas]

Thank you Robin and Simon. I'm learning a lot here at this forum, I'll remember the brasso and how to use it, I'll gives it a try with a wood before using in the guitar, but of course later I'll remove as Simon said to avoid it damages the poly. Thank you for the advice.

[dingobass]

Ummmmmmmm.....
Never use brasso on nitro!
The solvents will end up destroying the finish.. been there, done that.
Wet and dry paper with a small amount of water (make sure you don't slop it around too much and get it into rout outs etc) to flatten the finish then a good quality polishing compound that does not contain silicone to buff up to a gloss.

[Ghaynas]

Good point Dingo, I will remember it. My idea is using poly with my next guitar and the idea of brasso seems interesting, it's a very good finish.

[andrewdosborne]

Great job Rob looks awesome!

Sent from Android N

[Simon Barden]

Ummmmmmmm.....
Never use brasso on nitro!
The solvents will end up destroying the finish.. been there, done that.

It does depend on how much you apply at a time and I've had some very good results using it. But as you say, it is best to use proper polishing compounds to avoid problems with excess application. I've now bought some, so I won't be using Brasso again.

[robin]

@Simon
Thanks for your usual insight Simon, always good to learn something new.

@ILRGuitars and AndrewO
Thanks guys.

@DB
Thanks Phil, it’s always a nice feeling to get praise from the “Master”

rob

[robin]

Time to install the bridge.

So much more pressure to get this right. First time for me with a non-adjustable bridge so it has to be just right.

You know the old adage of “measure twice cut once”, well multiply that by a factor of about 10 and you are getting close to how I approached this job. My google research gave me more than one “correct” measurement for placement of the bridge/saddle. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing I decided to go with the measurements on the StewMac web site.

In brief I taped off the general area of where the bridge will sit and then measured the scale length and added 1.6mm to treble side and 4.0mm to bass side to the inside edge of where the saddle should sit. I procrastinated long and hard but finally made the decision and cut out the space for the bridge and applied a few more pieces of tap to give me a better defined border.

I then had to scrape away the TO finish so that I had bare wood to glue to the bridge. With that done I glued the bridge in place. I will know in a few days if I got it right, when I try for tuning and intonation.


Rob

Taped off with low tack painters tape.


The process of endless measuring and checking.


Scraping away the Naughty Oil.


Ready for gluing.


For better or worse, the bridge glued in position.