What's the BEST Hand Rubbed GUITAR FINISH? (Satin Sheen Shootout!)

Hey man,

I’ve been watching your videos for a while and I wanted to thank you. I rebuilt a 70’s Fender Stratocaster that had a replacement neck on it. I’ve had the neck and body kicking around for 30 years. Everything on it when it was given to me was totally rusted out. I stripped the body and sanded the neck as well and refinished both with the Zinsser Bullseye Shellac and I absolutely loved it! I wish I could share a picture of the before and after. I’m so proud of it. Thank you again for your videos. I learned so much.

great video. ive been using minwax wipe on poly for 15 years.. I use a latex glove and wipe on a thin layer every 30 min 3 or 4 layers. then sand with 3m pad… I use about 15 layers , that makes a almost laquer looking finish .. ultra smooth and poly needs no reapplication over time… it does have a ambering effect on maple.. my last build I used water based .. and same results , less coats.. but. that stuff is dry before you can wipe it on! my 2 cents

Shellac based finishes are alcohol-soluble, not a very practical choice for instruments, LOL. The Varathane water-based is not designed for wiping on, so may be a hit or miss deal. Another option I actually used on an old wood harmonica comb is Watco Butcher Block Oil finish. It is a penetrating oil, applied to soak in, wipe dry, repeat as desired, but alkyd-based, it cures far faster than other oils, and leaves a fair sheen which is non-toxic and quite durable and water-resistant.
Other cutting board finishes either just sit on the surface and eventually flake, or mineral oil which is basically inert and never going to dry, cure, or much aside from be greasy forever, unremovable, and repellent to any further finishing products.

Homer formby's antique workshop

Do you need to use grain filler on stained and oil finished bodies?

I use Tru-oil all the time! 🤘

You should try alkyd varnish, leaves a pretty hard, but thin coat while penetrating the wood, seems to be less common in the USA than here in Europe though

Excellent! What number steel wool do you use?

I shot a Strat with Rust-0leum 2X Aubergine with Satin finish. 2X is suppose to have a finish built into it but I think it need something over the top. What would you use Shellac or Varathane water base poly (also a rust-0leum product)?? finished with 4X steel wool? Or go with no finish??
Keep up the good work, I love you cater to the workman!!!

Truoil all the way. It’s beautiful for necks and if you want high gloss just wipe on a bunch of coats.

You are wrong on the Minwax tung oil finish. It does not need to be reapplied over time, and you don't have to flood the wood with it. I have used it on many guitars. Some guitars I used it on are now getting to be 20 years old, and they still look great!
What you have to say about it shows me you have not really used it. Or you really could not get it to work for you. I like it a lot better than most of the products you are showing. For one is the smell of the other products. Poly will gas out for a few weeks. As well as some other finishes. Whereas the Minwax once it dries it's done. I can get anywhere from a dull, to glassy shine out of the Minwax. But I do not use it like the can says. I put mine on in thin coats.
But you use what works for you, and I'll use and do what works for me.
But living in an RV, I would be careful about what to use. You can't always leave things outside to cure all the way. Unless you like the smell while other products gas out! LOL!

people have been finishing guitars with shellac for hundreds of years. and other furniture for that matter. and it can actually result in a high gloss finish if done right. its called a French polish. these days its usually reserved for classical guitars.

Tru oil makes the grain of the wood really come to life.

You do beautiful work . Those instrument designs are spectacular.

Shellac surprised me.

I finished my mahogany strat with wipe on tinted shellac more than ten years ago. I put on a lot of coats and it took almost a month to cure but in the end it polished up nicely and still looks great. Shellac is also good as a base coat for glossy finishes as almost everything sticks to it. I have always used spray on shellac for necks both the backs and the fingerboards of maple necks.

Loved the video, Dan! I subscribed a yr or so back and when I get the chance, I watch. Loved this particular video because I'm finishing my first ever burst in an oil of some kind. I'm torn between the Birchwood True-oil and the Shellac. I want what I call a LUSTER not a gloss or a semi. Like a creamy gloss look if that makes any sense. Do you have a recommendation (if you even have the time to reply). Thx and just love your videos and your attitude!🙂

Make your own "Tru-oil", instead of paying $10 for 3 ounces! Mix 60% pure Tung oil, 30% oil based polyurethane lacquer and 10% mineral spirit. Shake it all up, leave in a bottle with the top open for a day or so until the consistency is as thick as you like it to be. A fraction of the cost of Tru-oil!

I use the minwax hand rubbed polyurethane on all my drum builds. Try buffing it out with oooo steel wool and paste wax.

Can you shellac or nitro over an oil finish?

Water-based poly makes a very durable finish. It's basically plastic polymer bead suspension in water. When the water dries, the polymer coalesces into hard coating. The finished product is hard and quite resistant to everyday chemicals and body oils. It's definitely plastic-y.

Hello
If i had a blotchy finish and i‘d polish it: would it still look blotchy?
Thank you

Boiled linseed oil!

What do you recommend as far as finishes , I normally like thin finishes just because I like the way, I can feel the guitar resonate in my hands now I know this is not noticeable through amplification, but I like the way it feels in my hands when I’m playing. I don’t care if the finish wears off and care what it looks like I want to do the minimal amount to finish I can, so what would you recommend

Thanks for the info. I'm on my 2nd unfinished Warmoth body (chambered Strat with Spruce top) and was looking for advice. I think I'm gonna go with the shellac since I'll be applying it at work. Might even pour some of it on our snacks!

French Polish, that’s what I do. Buy shellac flakes and make your own. Shellac , or a proper French Polish technique , is meant to go on thin.

Is shellac still good for a guitar body that has a solid color (acrylic paint)? I understand it's not truly clear, but still a little yellowish, which certainly looks great on (stained) wood.

Musical instruments Violins Pianos etc used to always be finished with shellac (or wax). in the olden days. Stradivarius !

Shelac comes literally from the sh*t of a bug and it is the first lacqer that was invented.

Classic guitars, violins... They all have it. Its a nice traditional product but it got disadventages.

Its sensitive to sunlight and water. Water doesnt disolve it but creates white marks on it, so it stops to be transparent.

If you have old forniture have you ever seen circular white marks the size of a glass on em? Specially tables, thats from putting your glass of water on top of your shelac finished table. Thats cuz coasters were fashionable and now not so much, nobody finishes on shellac nowadays.

Good stuff, thanks for your video.

I use Arm-r-seal…it’s a wipe on and you don’t touch it until it dries …

Dan try gun oil

Your guitars are definitely works of art! Have you ever used Watco Teak Oil? It has elements in it to penetrate wood plus a drying agent

Love that Rickenbacker bass.

Which one would you recommend for an acoustic guitar?

I'm lazy, so shellac sounds amazing! And the guitar looks awesome! Thanks for this video!

Once I found out that shelac is all-natural, and even used to preserve candy shells, I started using it as a salad dressing.

This is a good review of the products. I will say that the issues you had with the water based varnish was likely due to different absorbtion. If you seal everything with a sanding sealer and flat it back a few times before finishing, it will make a big difference.

Question for a newbie, how does one get a stain to look like a solid color like what was done on the skyway in this video?

check out Royal Lac. Looks and feels like shellac. Wears like poly.

I’ve heard that you can use tru oil over shellac? Can anyone confirm this?

Thoughts on using the Shellac on a Sitka satin top acoustic? Light coat to give it some tint and smooth it out.
It’d be a Taylor 214ce. Found a brand new ‘used’ one locally that is a hidden gem, but looks too ‘white’. I’d like to give it a little personality. Open to any ideas…

Shellac is actually a quite common finish in the acoustic guitar world. More common with classical guitars perhaps, but over the years French polishing has had something of a resurgence. With electric guitars it’s mainly used in dewaxed form as a barrier coat for touch ups, or as a sealer coat underneath lacquer.

I run a little luthier workshop business in NJ, and I often use dewaxed shellac to repair satin polyurethane finishes when the original poly finish contains a colorant. You used it right out of the can here, but that bullseye stuff is actually a ridiculously heavy cut (like 3 ounces of shellac per 8 ounces of solvent), so I usually thin it down to a 1 lb cut before spraying. You can add tints and stains to shellac to add a little depth of color or use to color match and create transition areas for repairs. And the biggest bonus is that if you spray shellac in whisper thin coats with a double action airbrush, you automatically get a beautiful satin sheen that matches that of most commercial satin polyurethane formulas very nicely.

I really like tru-oil, but if you get your guitar near a backlight, the finish glows in a bad way. Just a notable experience. I came across this video while trying to find a close alternative. I usually put probably 11-15 coats on, that could also be the problem

I'm definitely curious as to how satin Shellac feels on the back of the neck. I love the feel of satin Poly and I don't like the feel of oil finishes on maple necks

Dan, I'm so glad I happened on your site. I have been "theming" my basses for the past couple of years and getting ooohs and ahhhhs from people in the audience (especially musicians), and finally decided to buy a kit and go from scratch. Every tutorial you give is like a life lesson. I'm currently working on my 1st ric kit and bought TruOil to get it done. Thank you for being there. One day I plan on buying one of your prototypes, they look like they'd be awesome on stage.

Hey Dan! Great video. I'm curious about how these hand rubbed finishes have held up over time, especially on the fingerboards. Bass strings seem like they'd be especially tough on finishes. Do some of these wear better than others?

What would a good product be for a plastic/paint guitar? I
am 3d printing a body

What grade(s) is steel oil do you when finishing with Truoil?