One of the most important elements in the construction of guitars is the finish. Therefore, today we explain which ones we use in our workshop to end Ramírez guitars.
Natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic varnishes.
In Ramírez Guitars we have used different types of varnishes with natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic resins.
The natural one would be shellac or French polish, which comes from an insect from Southeast Asia and you can buy it diluted or in flakes to dilute it in alcohol. There are several types.
The semi-synthetic one would be nitrocellulose and, although we have used it on some guitars, it is not the varnish we use the most in our workshop.
With regard to synthetic varnishes, we would start with urea formaldehyde, which was the first synthetic varnish we used in the workshop. We are no longer using this varnish because of its high toxicity and because it is forbidden.
There are other synthetic varnishes, such as polyurethane, which replaced the previous one and is composed of a resin and a hardener (two components).
We also found epoxy, which we used on only one guitar and we were not very convinced by it because it is very hard, the top has little flexibility, and we found that it did not allow the sound to flow in the way we are used to on our instruments. Therefore, it is a varnish that we have discarded for the moment, although we will continue to investigate.
Other types of varnish
There are other alternatives, such as water-based varnish, which is an acrylic varnish that we haven’t used yet. It is true that we have seen it on some guitars in shops and the finish is not bad, but we have not yet used it on the guitars in our workshop. In this type of finish, you have to be very careful when they are matte because any scratch is difficult to polish and remove, in addition to being easily marked.
We don’t currently have a department for varnishing, because it would require a booth and a series of elements so that it is not a toxic environment for the person applying the spray varnish. What we do in the workshop is shellac varnishing, because by using the die, it doesn’t require so many installations.
All the guitar makers learn how to use the stencil, except for the spray gun, which is done by a varnisher who worked with us in the past and who now works externally.
