Official Luthiers Forum!

While checking out the Arm-R-Seal finish from General (that Ken Franklin mentioned in another thead) I noticed General offers a Urethane Varnish called Enduro-Var. I'm curious if wnyone has tried this on a guitar and what results you had. The website says it can be sprayed or brushed and has a slight amber tint. They claim it it looks more like an oil varnish than a water coating. Nice that it's available in a pint container.

Thoughts?

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I've not long sprayed and buffed a guitar with Enduro-Var gloss.
Z-Poxy pore fill (except soundboard),coat of shellac, then Endoro-Var.
FWIW, as a newbie, it seems good to spray with my Fujiand I thinned 5-10% as my shop was running 70/75+ degrees.
Sanded trough and got very obvious witness lines but they buffed out.
Not yet dared to take a fingernail to it.
I posted a couple of not very good pics here http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=39878&start=25
2nd pic, of top, taken indoors, so appears a bit deeper amber/yellow than it actually is.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Colin, is this the guitar you finished with the EV-Urethane (see below)? This guitar looks great! If so, how hard is the finish? And what did you use for pore fill and sealer?

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Sorry Darryl, we were both typing at the same time - see edits.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

OK, FWIW, I just took a firm fingernail across the finish.
On the top, and after about 5/6 weeks drying, at about 3 -3.5 thou thickness over Englemann, it is noticeably softer than 12 coats of nitro (over Sitka). The Englemann will dent, the sitka will also dent, but less.
A similar fingernail on the sides, at maybe 5-6 thou(?) thickness (plus Z-Poxy of course), it is still a little softer than the nitro over EIR.
The nitro guitar is 5 years old.
Hope that helps.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

That does help, thanks.

No problems with the finish sticking to shellac? If you've got to the point where you remove the finish for the bridge I'm guessing youhave a good idea how well it adheres to shellac. I wonder if it would adhere directly to epoxy?

_________________
Formerly known as Adaboy.......

Sorry, I'm at the stage where I should be ready to remove the finish to fit the bridge, but have other things distracting me at the moment (sanded through the edges of the headstock, so re-finishing that, and I am working on a finishing shop)
I don't know that it would adhere well to epoxy, can't say for sure.
I used the shellac (just wiped on a couple of thin coats) because I understand pretty much anything will stick to it (as well as it giving depth to the finish), and used it successfully before under a different water based (acrylic)
I have noticed that the E-V seems harder than the earlier water based gloss, and it does buff very easily (merenza medium and fine - 16 and 6)

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.