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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 13, 2013 19:41:46 GMT -6
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Post by scumbum on Oct 13, 2013 20:49:31 GMT -6
your beloved Taylor guitar you've owned for 20 years, in seconds!! I've been pining for years about it, i finally just said "screw it" it's time to take a chance to see if i can get that extra 10-20% i always believed was hidden under the poly jacket. It already sounds quite different(thankfully in a way I expected) when you tap a fingernail on the clear spot, I'm excited about that...i think  Once i have her quite stripped, my new luthier(Andy's out  ), he'll dis assemble, give me the parts to finish up the stripping and clean up, then reassemble, thin french rub, set up=beauty? That looks like Toxic Sludge !! Would not wanna breathe the fumes...... So the guitar will resonate more without the poly jacket ? |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 13, 2013 21:15:21 GMT -6
thats the idea, i've done this a dozen times to guitars i could give a shit less for, it always made every one of them sound better and improved dynamics, but this is my baby, so i'm just a little freaked out by it! it has a really sweet smoothness to her, i call it my sleepy guitar because after about 5 minutes of noodling, it lulls you into yawning. I'm convinced the jacket removal will open her up a bit, and bring out just the right amount of mid jangle, which will make this a dream guitar sound wise? If not, i can just multi coat some nitro on it, and bring it back to where it was a minute ago.
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 19, 2013 23:11:41 GMT -6
Here is the progress i've made on my taylor, i am pretty amazed the difference in the qualities of the guitar from stripping. First and foremost, the dynamic range has seemed to double! I can finger pick super softly and she sings away, when i hit it hard it explodes, it's a dramatic difference, it really is like i took a jacket off of it. Secondly, the mid range jangle i was looking to open up really did exactly that, i cant believe it, but it's doing exactly what i hoped and then some, i'm as happy as i can be right now, and the guitar looks like total shit lol! Now my big worry, is what is a new finish going to do to this sound i'm loving? I was thinking a very very thin shellac, french rub style...except i've never done a serious french rub finish(just inside my drums, with no real regard for a great finish). I may just spray some thin nitro on it?? i'm not sure, i definitely have some research and thinking to do.... What i've experienced in the past with stripping finishes, was very much solidified here, from a sound and dynamics perspective, no finish is the best finish! probably not great for durability, but i'm starting to think who cares! I'm old, and i'm not going to remember any of this when i'm dead     |
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 19, 2013 23:16:13 GMT -6
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Post by henge on Oct 20, 2013 18:39:00 GMT -6
Holy crap! That takes balls man. Excellent that it's working out for you.LOL
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Post by jazznoise on Oct 22, 2013 3:56:53 GMT -6
Wow, I've done a lot of weird things - including taking a power drill to a 12 string (it survived) - but I couldn't imagine watching the finish on a guitar dissolve.
One of these things where even though you know it's fine in your rational mind, part of your brain is screaming "It's broken! It's broken! What are you doing!? Try and stop it!!!"
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 22, 2013 9:22:58 GMT -6
Wow, I've done a lot of weird things - including taking a power drill to a 12 string (it survived) - but I couldn't imagine watching the finish on a guitar dissolve. One of these things where even though you know it's fine in your rational mind, part of your brain is screaming "It's broken! It's broken! What are you doing!? Try and stop it!!!" thats funny, because it's totally true I've been thinking about doing this for about 7-8 years!! At the moment, I seriously was pacing back n forth, talking out loud to my self, then i just said F-it, put the stripper on that rear quadrant(first pic), and grimaced while it bubbled, saying to myself, "you're such an idiot, why did you do this to your nice guitar?". I am really glad i did it though, the improvements in the dynamic range alone were totally worth it, not even mentioning the improvement in overall tone. Now i'm saying to myself, "you're such an idiot, you should have done this a long time ago" 8/ |
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Post by Ward on Oct 23, 2013 7:05:49 GMT -6
Once, you're done this, don't forget to "wash" it down with mineral spirits too... to get all the chemicals OUT of the wood grains... Then you need to protect the wood, which is the reason for the finish in the first place. You can use a simple "alkyd wood sanding sealer" to achieve this, but it IS also chemical, to some degree. There's the simple "oil" based finish method but you need to apply it over and over again, and then there's shellac. the natural varnish used for centuries before that allows the wood to breath as if it had no finish but will protect it from the elements. Element like dirt and body oil off your hands.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Oct 23, 2013 8:45:59 GMT -6
Yikes.
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Post by tonycamphd on Oct 23, 2013 9:13:25 GMT -6
Once, you're done this, don't forget to "wash" it down with mineral spirits too... to get all the chemicals OUT of the wood grains... Then you need to protect the wood, which is the reason for the finish in the first place. You can use a simple "alkyd wood sanding sealer" to achieve this, but it IS also chemical, to some degree. There's the simple "oil" based finish method but you need to apply it over and over again, and then there's shellac. the natural varnish used for centuries before that allows the wood to breath as if it had no finish but will protect it from the elements. Element like dirt and body oil off your hands. Yes thanx Ward, I have wiped down the guitar with mineral spirits after every stripping session, it's totally important to completely rid the surface of any stripper residue, otherwise the new finish will bubble up and peel when you apply it! My plan is to have my luth pull the neck and saddle, then i'll take the pieces and finish strip, and final sand them, i'm going to go for a french rub shellac finish pumice style. I'm doing it my self, i'm pretty experienced in wood working and have sprayed and buffed out many nitro cellulose finishes, so i'm confident i can do a reasonable job on her. Honestly, i'm not really concerned about show room finish too much, I'm very happy with the sound, it's quite incredible...yaay Thanx T |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 11, 2015 22:46:56 GMT -6
well, a year + later, and i'm finally giving my girl the makeover i promised her 8) My buddy Ray is an up and coming luth, he's gonna let me use his shop/some of his tools, and do some things for me that are over my head. My plan is to put abalone purfling and maple bindings around the body top, and maple binding on the back, i'm thinking about some fancy inlays on the neck, but i'm not sure...(Ray wants to do it more than I do 8), I'm probably going to re plate the headstock as well, and the whole thing will be topped off with a true pumice based french rub finish. I'm doing this because i'm broke as F right now, it's free, and Rays cool enough to hook a brother up, i'll post more picks as i go....     |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 11, 2015 22:47:43 GMT -6
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Mar 12, 2015 5:43:14 GMT -6
Very cool. Look forward to herring it when its done. I'm all about having "player guitars". I've got a stripped 65 J 45 as well. It's a brute.
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Post by joelhamilton on Mar 12, 2015 7:44:25 GMT -6
I would have done the same thing. Can't wait to hear the before and after. You did record a before, right?? Lol
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Post by Johnkenn on Mar 12, 2015 8:09:28 GMT -6
Take the neck off and cook the body in your oven...seems to be all the latest rage  |
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Post by sll on Mar 12, 2015 8:29:11 GMT -6
Take the neck off and cook the body in your oven...seems to be all the latest rage You also have to sprinkle it with carcinogenic chemicals before baking. |
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Post by sll on Mar 12, 2015 8:31:07 GMT -6
Tony, that looks like something I would do. You are as crazy as I am. It will no doubt sound better getting all that vibration choking thick poly off the soundboard. I'm surprised Taylor used poly finish?
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,107 
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Post by ericn on Mar 12, 2015 8:40:07 GMT -6
That is friggin nuts Tony! I have done some insane
;things but this beats them all
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 12, 2015 10:09:51 GMT -6
Tony, that looks like something I would do. You are as crazy as I am. It will no doubt sound better getting all that vibration choking thick poly off the soundboard. I'm surprised Taylor used poly finish? haha yeah SL loco for sure 8) it definitely does sound better, it's still mellow mids and pretty sounding but more alive, not an in your face honky tonk guitar by any stretch(i used it on the winecamp mic shootout). I'm not sure it's poly, its a 1993 taylor 710, but whatever they used, they used a LOT of it 8) hopefully a thin french rub will sound as beauty as they usually look?.?. |
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Post by sll on Mar 12, 2015 10:33:41 GMT -6
It looked thick in the pictures of you stripping it off.
I just built myself a D-18 style with French polished shellac for a finish. I usually do that on my mandolins. This was the first guitar done that way. It's a lot of elbow grease to apply it, but it's very thin. Turned out really nice. The only downfall is it's a lot more fragile than a nitro finish. I also can't spill my moonshine on it while playing since that's what dissolves the shellac in the first place.
Will you be taking the bridge off to apply the finish? It would be tricky to work around otherwise.
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 12, 2015 12:26:09 GMT -6
It looked thick in the pictures of you stripping it off. I just built myself a D-18 style with French polished shellac for a finish. I usually do that on my mandolins. This was the first guitar done that way. It's a lot of elbow grease to apply it, but it's very thin. Turned out really nice. The only downfall is it's a lot more fragile than a nitro finish. I also can't spill my moonshine on it while playing since that's what dissolves the shellac in the first place. Will you be taking the bridge off to apply the finish? It would be tricky to work around otherwise. Nope, i decided to leave it together and deal with it, i'm probably going to nitro the back and sides, and just FR the top, then if when it get sweat on it and tweaks out, i'll be able to freshen it up if i desire?(i'll probably just let it grizzle like my own body over the years and call it character 8) |
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Post by Ward on Mar 12, 2015 13:54:48 GMT -6
or you can call it dry rot.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Mar 12, 2015 16:35:40 GMT -6
I've never had a French rub, but know of a few salons that do Asian rubs.
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Post by Ward on Mar 12, 2015 17:09:41 GMT -6
I've never had a French rub, but know of a few salons that do Asian rubs. Rub and tug? |
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Once i have her quite stripped, my new luthier(Andy's out 
), he'll dis assemble, give me the parts to finish up the stripping and clean up, then reassemble, thin french rub, set up=beauty?
