Poll: Front or Back?

[Markshan]

Which do you finish first?

I've been watching lots of finishing videos. Now I know these people are content creators and that at least part of the reason they do what they do is for the audience, but one thing I've noticed is that everyone starts on the front of the guitar. Even furniture makers start with the top of the table. This makes no sense to me at all. It strikes me that every piece of wood acts at least a little bit differently. As such, I find it to be a great idea to work on the back first so if there's any disaster, it's not where it's going to be so obvious. So my question for all the luthiers here is, do you work on the front or the back first? I'm genuinely curious, thank you for your participation.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Which do you finish first?

I've been watching lots of finishing videos. Now I know these people are content creators and that at least part of the reason they do what they do is for the audience, but one thing I've noticed is that everyone starts on the front of the guitar. Even furniture makers start with the top of the table. This makes no sense to me at all. It strikes me that every piece of wood acts at least a little bit differently. As such, I find it to be a great idea to work on the back first so if there's any disaster, it's not where it's going to be so obvious. So my question for all the luthiers here is, do you work on the front or the back first? I'm genuinely curious, thank you for your participation.

That's kind of a curious question? In almost all cases, we finish the whole body at the same time, top, back and perimeter. If you mess up somewhere, you back up and rework that area. Why would you want to complete the finish on one before the other?

If you are painting a complex two-tone body with, for example, a transparent sunburst on the front and a different solid color on the back, you would generally do the transparent finish first, while doing all the filling and smoothing on the back at the same time. Then, mask off the front and spray the solid color on the back.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Yep , all at once. It’s really hard to avoid “witness” lines on the edges otherwise, though probably less noticeable than they would be on the body faces. If the body has a binding edge on the front, you could mask to that binding line. Les Paul guitars with painted tops and stained and varnished backs are done like that, but the clearcoat goes on all in one go. I’ve actually gotten away with applying extra layers of finish on a body front with a fairly sharp bevel between front and sides using hand applied wipe-on poly, but it was dicey, and I don’t know how you’d pull it off with a sprayed finish.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I’ve been spraying finishes so I do it all at once but I generally start spraying on the sides then hit the top and back. When hand applying an oil finish or when I brushed on the Varathane Ultimate on the walnut body in my thread I use(d) the same support I use when spraying so I can do the whole body at once.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Agree with all the other comments here: both at the same time if you can do it.

However, if you do need to set a body down between faces then I almost always start on the front. The reason: there are a lot of places you can support the front of a body (pickup cavities, neck pocket, where the bridge will go etc.) but far less places to support the back.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Which do you finish first?

I've been watching lots of finishing videos. Now I know these people are content creators and that at least part of the reason they do what they do is for the audience, but one thing I've noticed is that everyone starts on the front of the guitar. Even furniture makers start with the top of the table. This makes no sense to me at all. It strikes me that every piece of wood acts at least a little bit differently. As such, I find it to be a great idea to work on the back first so if there's any disaster, it's not where it's going to be so obvious. So my question for all the luthiers here is, do you work on the front or the back first? I'm genuinely curious, thank you for your participation.

Jeff brings up a good point: If your concern is about setting the body down while letting parts of the finish dry, then you should be making some kind of a holding stick or hanging hook. Some way to hold and hang the body without touching any of the wet painted surfaces.

Here's a long thread about holding fixtures for Luthiers, with a bunch of it about various rigs for holding necks and bodies while painting:

Specialized Holding Fixtures for Luthier Work

 

[Markshan]

It's a really good point you both bring up about hanging a guitar to dry. The problem for me is that to hang anything in my house is to invite it to be covered with cat fur and claw marks. He even tries to grab the ceiling fan as it spins.

So I am having pretty good luck with these triangles. When laid flat they have the non slide "hockey puck" thing going on but when you stand them up they come to a fine point. The one at the neck end is in a bolt hole, so there are really only two tiny points of contact with the drying wood.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

It's a really good point you both bring up about hanging a guitar to dry. The problem for me is that to hang anything in my house is to invite it to be covered with cat fur and claw marks. He even tries to grab the ceiling fan as it spins.

So I am having pretty good luck with these triangles. When laid flat they have the non slide "hockey puck" thing going on but when you stand them up they come to a fine point. The one at the neck end is in a bolt hole, so there are really only two tiny points of contact with the drying wood.

View attachment 5182639

Another paint prep tip:

You should drill all the screw holes in the body before painting. Bridge, pickup, pickguard, and strap button screws. You can use those holes for temporary mounting points while drying. And put your triangle stands in them. Those are clever devices. Handy for cabinet makers finishing flat panels.