Hi guys,
Just as a bit of an update, a good current email for me, and hopefully longstanding, is
info@eshenbaughguitars.com. as far as the finish goes, i will say this- the poly-oil compund is extremely forgiving where scratch repair is concerned. Heres how it breaks down... a polyurethane or polyester finish makes it relatively difficult to damage tyhe wood beneath, because of the hardness and thickness of the finish. The downfall of the oil finish (and to a lesser extent, poly-oil) is that it is easier to ding and dent the wood beneath the finish. Here is the tradeoff. The oil or poly-oil finish is much much easier to repair and scrathes can be removed or in worst cases at least drastically reduced visibly without a major refinishing job. A polyurethane or polyester finish when dented retains the scar and subsequent attempts to repair the finish are almost always visible, save for a few repairs done by the most skilled of craftsmen, many of which charge a fee which would be tantamount to buying a new finish from a reputable repair shop. Hows that for a runon... That being said, I do use polyester, oil, and a mixture of the two for finishes, as I desire to serve the buyer. However, when someone asks my personal opinion as a player, I always opt for oil or poly-oil. It requires more attention, surely, but it has worked for me for over 15 years on my personal instruments. As for your 6er, Matthew, if I had the bass on me I would not hesitate to sand the scratch out with a fresh piece of 320 and spot-reapply the poly-oil, but since you are only a few hours away I would say hold off til I see you again.
