Water base finish effecting top and back seams

[Bryan Bear]

Michael, I suppose I should revisit the varnish option at some point. Early on, I used true oil and while I liked the look my inexperience lead to problems with witness lines. That's when I discoved shellac, the burn in and ease of repair pulled me in.

I don't really turn out a lot of instruments. Sometimes it feels like by the time I get to finishing I have to relearn my technique. For some reason the varnishes have me intimidated. That and the reality that by the time I got to the next instrument, the previous can of varnish will have gone bad.

Do you thin the Epiphanes?

[Steven Smith]

I just finished a size 0 and the first two finish attempts were with PolyWhey (the gloss luthiers finish). I just could not get it to come out like I wanted it to. The finish seemed a bit plastic-ey when I was leveling. I scraped/sanded back to bare wood, redid the pore fill and shot nitro. It looks good now

Late last year I finished a dred with the PolyWhey gloss furniture product and that one came out pretty good.

With the waterbornes I've tried EM6000 and PolyWhey. I prefer the EM6000.

[David King]

Good to know.
The "hot new" WB finish is General Finishes Endurovar. I bought a gallon 6 months ago and have yet to crack it open.
My last gallon was EM9000 and I wasn't very impressed with that.

I keep going back to good old West systems 105/207 that is easy to brush or roll on, has no vapors and sands and buffs up just beautifully. The added benefit is it's acetone proof just like the "Real" guitar finishes.