A Noob on Finishes...

[cjlane]

No this isn't a question on how to finish, I'm not a luthier (but damn I admire all your work!). I'm just really interested in a particular finish I've seen & felt before.

I've felt the Thunderbird Goth and Nikki Sixx T-Bird and they have this finish that isn't glossy or shiny, it's smooth but not sticky, I love that finish, it's amazing.

(Out of curiosity) How do you do a finish like that? (Try to simplify it, I don't know anything about this )

And also, why do people hardly use finishes like this? Most instruments I see have that glossy finish.

Thanks for the responses and I would just like to add I come to this forum alot and I really admire all your work! I'm just a teenager, but when I'm older it'd be cool to be a carpenter or something as a solid job and have this as the side project that relates to my main job, though I'm already 15 and don't know anything about woodworking, so I don't know how lucky I'll be!

Peace,
Casey

[Alcyon]

That would be a matte finish, which I think are totally awesome too. It looks super cool on cars as well as on the Fender Highway One basses, the Epiphone Les Paul Special bass and a bunch of ESPs. The problem with them is that they show wear and scrapes very easily, so they aren't used that often. As far as I know it's just a kind of paint like any other, it just dries flat instead of glossy.

[Fasoldt Basses]

Matte or Satin lacquer finishes usually have what's called "flatting agent" in them - it's just very small particles that are mixed with the lacquer and give it a slightly rougher surface, so that light reflects off the finish at different angles, rather than reflecting uniformly, which yields a glossy or mirror-like finish.