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I hate polyurethane!

B

bigblondeafro87

Jun 24, 2006
637
10
Philadelphia Area
#1
Am I the only one who has come to hate this finish?

- My bass is made of wood, not plastic, despite what this finish makes you think.

-I think any other finish but this is much better because I seriously doubt the wood can 'breath', so to speak, through the finish, which I would guess affects the tone.

- The finish is so shiny that any little scratch shows and makes it look bad, so people protect their instruments like a little child. And it reflects light like a mirror, which is very annoying under bright lights and look terrible if there is any grease on it at all

- On oil and nitrocellulose finishes, I don't find my sweaty arm sticking to the finish either.

- It doesn't age! After some time other finish start to show some nice yellowing, checking, and just general wear that gives an instrument character. Polyurethane just stays exactly like it was put on, but gets nasty little scratches every

Can anyone tell me why the industry has instituted this finish in the last few decades as a standard?
 
#2
Durability. Plain and simple..

Most people do not want there instruments to check, age, or yellow..

Also Laquer is very very very sensitive put one in a cheap stand and see what happens the rubber on the stand will eat right thru the paint.

As for oil I dont know Im not fluent enough in oil finishes to comment.

Overall Poly like it or not is very tough.. And does what its suppose to keep the instrument looking new for 90% of the users.
 
#3
It may not feel as convenient as nitro or oil, BUT....you can't get it all.

Nitro finishes crack very easily when going from hot to cold environments. It also tends to yellow with age.

Oil finishes may let the wood breath better.....BUT it allows the wood to breath in the changes in humidity, making the neck more prone to flipping out when the humidity changes. It also gets dirty, and you'll need to spend time to sand and re-oil the dang things. Depending on the pH of your sweat, you can really make the neck get funky, and I'm not talking Bootsy Collins!

Polyester finishes offer the best protection against the elements and can be fairly tolerant of changes in heat. Yes, it can feel sticky. You can either order it as a satin finish or be sure to clean/wax it more often.
 
#5
hmm... Well I guess I'm not most people then :D . Protection from the elements was one thing i didn't think of, but thats only an issue if you are changing enviroments a lot, which isn't typically my thing, as I hardly move more than 30 miles from my home more than a few times a year.

But I am also a man who likes instruments that have been played (i.e. funky instruments, instruments that DON'T look brand new) and I'm sure there are others out there who have this same taste, so why aren't other finished more widely available?
 
#10
The reason that fender switched to poly was labor. Nitro needs to be applied in very thin coats with a fair amount of sanding throughout the process and drying time between each. A typical finish is something like 10-12 coats. The poly gets sprayed in 2 coats typically, so it involves much less work. Nitro is also pretty unfriendly for spraying. I think guitars fit into kind of a gray zone. I believe it has been illegal for car finishing since the mid 90s, but still leagle for furniture.

I happen to like nitro and the way it ages, but a good poly finish is fine too. I'm not sure what fender is using now. The finishes they used up through at least the mid 90s were disgustingly thick (I've seen chipped strats from the mid 90s, and the finish was probably an 1/8 inch thick. OTOH, I've got a warmoth that I chipped (own fault, heat those string ferrules kids...), and I'm pretty sure the finish is no thicker than a typcial poly.
 
#12
i HATE polyurethane!!! i own a fender victor bailey bass and use it quite a bit on gigs and rehearsals and even small dings creates this pocket effect on it. Because its a clear finish the colour becomes foggy where i hit it an about 1/2 a centemeter around it. Right now im actually repairing some of the finish on my bass and its taking foooooreever! Im thinking when i get back home from school i might refinish it in Oil. I like how it feels and i like that its relatively easy to maintain.
 
#14
A polyurethane finish is my favorite for feel and durability. IMO polyester is very good as well.

I've had limited experiences with oil finishes. As a matter of fact, I've only had oil finishes on a few necks. IMO a tung oil finished neck feels great. And MusicMan's Birchwood Casey's neck finish also has a nice feel. I've noticed the only drawback to an oil finished neck is slight discoloration from hand oils.

I dig the looks of a nitro finish, especially how it ages and cracks over time. But to me a neck with a nitro finish feels sticky.

I personally don't hear a huge tonal difference between a nitro or a poly finished body.
 
#15
No matter what the bass is finished with, it sounds good when you turn the amp up all the way and let fly with an open B or E string.....THUMP!:D

(Made a lady near about jump out of her seat at a sound check once doing that........:D )

Anyway, I am fairly impartial when it comes to what the bass is finished with. I don't mind the more durable finishes, nor do I mind the nitro....

Now, the 50 dollar question, has anyone tried automotive paint on a bass body?
 
#16
ProfGumby said:
Now, the 50 dollar question, has anyone tried automotive paint on a bass body?
Click to expand...

I have. My '70 Jazz bass was a $200.00 pawn shop special given to me in parts in a box for a birthday present. I had a local repairman paint it in a Honda auto metallic teal basecoat. He then sprayed it with an auto paint clear coat. It turned out really well IMO. I then bought a Warmoth swamp ash P-style body and had him spray it in a Ford truck Imperial white basecoat with an auto clearcoat. It turned out really nice as well. I've since sold the Warmoth, but I still have my Jazz. It sounds great IMHO.

IMO you've hit a really good point: When a bass is cranked up live, I agree. Can many people really tell what type of finish an instrument has? I personally can't.
 
#17
I didn't read all the posts so I apologize if I restate something...

The wood will age under a poly finish. This has to do with UV light which darkens (and in the case of maple the darkening makes it appear more yellow) the wood. I don't think breathability affects tone of a solid body instrument enough to discern. It also brings out the figure of some exotic woods much better than oil or even satin urethane finishes do.
 
#19
I have basses with poly finishes and mine don't show wear, satin or gloss finish. I guess if I wanted yellowing, checking or chips I have the wrong finish;). Instead I have instruments that look like the day I received them. None of them are sticky. Different strokes I guess.

I have a Warmoth with a nitro finish and it's fragile. I have poly finishes that I've had for 5 or 6 years since new without a single ding... and they cost more than a grand;)

As far as sound, mine all sound great to me.
 
#20
yeah poly does grease up easily (esp black) but i dont really care, as long as the body doesnt chip at the slightest ding im fine.

as for necks those CIJ coated necks are sweet i LOVE the finish on my jaguar and paisley RI (more so the paisley as its on the board too) yet i like the satin finish on my yamaha's too.

and yeah at volume nobody can tell what finish it has, oh and the B and E string thing i tend to have women smiling when i do it, all my lady friends tell me off for it (the B has a unique effect on women, kinda like the brown sound but not hehe)
 

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