Mark's (Queequeg) L-09 Art Finish

[Peter Cree]

This thread is the document the process of changing the UV Poly top finish of his L-09 quilted Sapele guitar.   Some of you know my work....a portion can be seen http://creestudios.com/gallery_artinstruments3.htmlhere....

Anyway the process is long and tedious but highly rewarding in improvement in sound plus a very cool image.   Mark and I will be going for a Celtic, Book of Kells  theme.   FYI, my finishes are now in shellac and come in at around 2 mils in thickness.   This is not paint but a very thin pigment in finish, sanded and polished to 2 mils.

Initial pics.........






Notice the amount of poly........I begin with scraping and hand sand for final prep.





Finally, in the "white" and ready for drawing....




Now, I understand some here will be outraged by this and others intrigued.   I'll answer questions plus will post pics of this process, almost daily.

Cheers,

Peter Cree

[JOYCEfromNS]

Very interesting indeed!!! Luv to know if a noticeable difference in tone results. Looking forward to next update

[Peter Cree]

I've done around 10 Larrivees and the tonal difference isn't subtle at all.  Rather , a dynamic improvement in top movement.   Huge "opening"......

After 75 of these on different makers, I know what each brand does after completion.  

[cbarclay]

Wow, thanks for posting up this process!  It looks like you are only doing the top, is this right?
I'm curious why you wouldn't remove the bridge to get it out of the way?
I'm looking forward to more!

[bbb]

Intriguing indeed. I'd also say, at least for me, scary, but understandable. I'm curious. How are you going make sure you're really the improvement afterwards? Thanks, Bruno. wow, just read the last post. Impressive!!!

[Peter Cree]

I don't remove bridge or neck.  I easily work around these issues.  

Ready to research images.........the prep is the worst part.   The fun is about to begin.

[Peter Cree]

Here is forum member, Justin Bowles OM-03mt.........he'll pipe in and can tell of the tonal improvement on his guitar.   Anytime you thin a finish load on the top, there is an improvement in the ability for the top to vibrate.

[JOYCEfromNS]

Wonder if Larrivee considered offering this ( thinning the top) as an option in a Custom Build

Wow Justin Bowles OM-03mt  

[Peter Cree]

Way too time consuming for a factory.   The Poly Larrivee uses must be a certain thickness to harden and polish.    The stuff is pretty bullet proof , but has a trade off.   Martin just began to offer a thinner nitro finish as a custom option.

[Denis]

I can't comment on the difference in the sound as the guitar I sent Peter was pretty near unplayable but it looks a lot cooler now!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150628271937247.444150.619822246&type=3

[Danny]

I can't comment on the difference in the sound as the guitar I sent Peter was pretty near unplayable but it looks a lot cooler now!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150628271937247.444150.619822246&type=3

Denis the link doesn't work for me.

     Peter, I have an Old Timer little finger knife just like the one you are using to strip the poly with. I would never have used a "boner" knife for stripping finish, but now I gotta give it a try, on an old pawn shop git first of course.
      Thanks for the thread.

[Mr_LV19E]

I love these threads, thanks for sharing your work Peter.

[Denis]

  Denis the link doesn't work for me.

Try it now Danny

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150628271937247.444150.619822246&type=3

[Peter Cree]

thanks Denis and all...........Denis's guitar was a sketch/drawing and not meant as a finish.

To remove the bulk of the finish.....notice all the white dust........I use very sharp knives in various shapes or Cabinet scrapers.   After that i sand with small wooden block and regular sand paper.  Its the hardest part of the work.   Takes about a week.

[webberink]

Did the finish scrape thing to an old Fender Palomino acoustic whose thick poly type finish was just a mess.  I used a piece of glass to scrape off the finish.  It worked slick and provided a long planing surface to work with.  Guitar looks great now.  Sound was improved too but only so much you can do for the sound of an old Fender Palomino. 
Dave

[Denis]

Cree art on my old Harmony archtop.  As Peter mentioned, mine is a sketch he did with graphite without colours or as much finishing as he usually does.  Still, that makes it a bit different from all the other art he's done.  I like that.  Thanks again buddy.

[Strings4Him]

Look forward to following this thread 

[Tuba Mike]

Look forward to following this thread 

Me too!  I'm hooked at just the 3 pictures of Queequeg's L thus far. I can't to follow it through all the various stages.

[dermot]

I can testify to the sound of a guitar with the finish reduced by Peter!

He reduced the finish on my Martin 12 fret D, no art work tho.. this time

Thanks Bro!!

d

[futboljim]

 


wow, interesting stuff, and great work Peter!  This would scare the crap out of me, if I tried to do something like this myself - and I am generally fine with any sort of DIY work!  Very cool.3