OK, no doubt many of you are wondering what it is I actually have against high gloss, plastic/ acrylic finishes on musical instruments...

Its not just about tone.. Its much more than that.

Firstly, aesthetics.
Look at an old Steinway Piano or a beautifully French polished piece of furniture.
You will notice that it has a warm and natural look about it... It oozes class!
You can see every nuance in the grain and figure because the low sheen natural finish allows light to pick up every detail.
A chunk of tree covered with a high gloss finish reflects more light and effectively "kills" a lot of the grain and figure..
You need some light to actually penetrate and not bounce off the finish to get the most out of a beautiful piece of timber.

Secondly, Timber naturally does not take on a mirror like glassy finish.
Even the hardest Ebony, whilst it will get a shine you can still see the natural warmth of the timber..
As soon as you apply a high gloss plastic coating to timber it becomes un natural and synthetic.
So why take natures beauty and smother it in a layer of synthetic finish?

Finally, the environment..
The manufacture of synthetic finishes creates a lot of environmental toxins and by products....
Then when you use them the gassing off during curing releases more toxins into your environment, many of them can and will cause major health issues.. Ever wondered why a lot of spray painters die younger than the average age?......
When you sand and buff these products, the dust gets into everything, your cloths, hair it even penetrates your skin and enters the blood stream.. That cant be good for you.
And, if you are a parent, why on earth would you want to expose your children to these potential dangers?

This is just a brief overview as to why i dislike synthetic finishes.