One of the areas in which José Ramírez III did a lot of research was that of varnishes. So, today we show you the varieties he studied for the construction of his guitars.
The use of varnishes by José Ramírez III
Years ago, shellac was used, but José Ramírez III was not at all in favour of this varnish, because he considered it a poor varnish, he said that it did not even protect the wood sufficiently.
He did not achieve the projection, volume and harmonics he dreamed of. With this he did not want to interfere with the personal tastes of some guitarists whom he always respected, in fact, he followed and currently we continue to varnish French polish, but his taste and his search went in other ways.
Furthermore, the crystallisation was very small, i.e. the crystals were very small. What he was looking for was a varnish that crystallised in large crystals, and that is how he came up with urea formaldehyde varnish.
This varnish had to be discontinued because it was banned in the European Union, and he started to use a very flexible polyurethane varnish specifically for guitars.
Which varnish to use depending on the desired result
We recommend shellac for those who are looking for a more natural sound, more woody, sweeter, being very suitable for early music.
However, for those who are looking for more projection or more volume, we recommend synthetic varnish. For example, flamenco guitarists are looking for more brightness in their sound, and for this reason, they look for polyurethane varnish or synthetic varnish in general, which has not only more projection but also more brightness.
Moreover, music from the 20th century onwards usually calls for these varnishes.
