The luthier's insistence on an acrylic finish over poly was obviously a cost and ease-of-use consideration. What are the benefits/concerns with using one over the other?
Also his excitement/relief when I suggested a satin finish - anything I need to know there?
Less time spent polishing?Originally Posted by Andy123
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Mantra: No more pedals, must finish BlueyCaster...
Disclaimer: I haven't done woodwork since high school, and wasn't really paying attention at the time ...
I think it's worth distinguishing whether you are referring to a 1k polyurethane (like from the big green shed) or a 2k polyurethane (or polyester) like Fender would use.
If 1k, it could be a time issue as it doesn't set very quickly and takes multiple coats with cure time in between. 2k is quite carcinogenic and should be used in a proper spray booth with commercial level extraction and filtering. Also, 2k is pretty expensive and harder to buy in small quantities. (at least when I've looked into it)
Acrylic lacquer, whilst not recommended breathing the stuff in or spraying without a respirator, is less dangerous and a lot cheaper.
Both 2k poly and acrylic lacquer can be sprayed in one session. So again it's a lot quicker than 1k poly. Also need to consider with the time between every coat of 1k, the spray equipment needs to be thoroughly cleaned (= more time).
I would say time, effort and material costs may be the reasons for him steering you the way he did. (he may also have heaps of acrylic lacquer already on hand, so no further outlay)
Also as jugglindan suggested, with a satin finish, no time polishing (less time = mo' money).
You could just ask him "why not poly?". You're the customer, you have the right to understand his process IMO.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
He did explain that he wasn't set up for it and that it's nasty stuff to deal with. I was just wondering if the end result will be worse off for having gone with acrylic instead?
Maybe you could take a look at his previous work? It could be that it's a finish he knows how to to get a reliable result from that he likes.
I am not great at this, and have crazy, mostly humid, weather (Florida), I don't have spray equipment or a booth and I want to minimize VOCs/toxicity. So, I have been using the acrylic poly that Stew Mac recommends (although I don't buy it from them). It's a satin.
This finish is a sattin, but I can get a high gloss finish out of it (a) by using enough of it, and (b) by buffing and polishing. That's nice if you are doing the entire instrument with one clear coat. You can do a high polish on the body and on the headstock, but leave the back of the neck satin.* It sticks well to anything I put it over as long as the substrate is very well cured. It requires a bit more sanding an polishing than oil finishes to get it really flat, but my result has been reliable so far.
*I find that the neck feels faster with a satin finish, and a little sticky with a gloss finish. I have a bass where the neck has gloss finish. I can scuff it with some gray scotchbrite, or 800 grit sandpaper to get it to a satin finish. But after a few weeks of playing it goes back to being glossy. By contrast the neck stays saitn when finished with a satin finish, and has, so far, stayed glossy where I buffed it out.
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