Satin finishes, do you like them?

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I love how they look with certain colors and finishes. I prefer the look in many cases.

Only negatives for me are the matte varnished instruments I own now have shiny spots where things like hands and sleeves rub against the finish.

And with the oil-finished ones that i have , the wood isn’t very well protected.

But looks-wise and feel-wise I prefer them.

 

[CoffeeLove]

Not a fan of satin on the body, but fine on the headstock and neck.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Thee are my satin/mattes

 

[Lesfunk]

Yes, but had the question been “do you like gloss finishes?” my answer would also have been “yes”
Shiny is good
Satin is good

 

[tb-player]

I'm half & half (if you count my Kala uke bass, not pictured). I'm fine with that, as long as the shiny ones have some sort of texture or grain showing through, to avoid seeing fingerprints. I don't care for excessive fingerprints on an instrument.

 

[bobalu]

We can see more and more satin finishes in recent years, probably because they cost less to produce. But the question is: do you like them?

Nope, never did, never will. To me, a satin finish is cheap and cheesy. An easy out for an instrument maker to cut production costs but still charge more for a guitar. My personal experience over the (many) years is that budget oriented instruments always had a dull/flat/satin finish. I equate it to primer paint. In fact, I suspect that manufacturers know this all too well which is why they have started to market their "flat primer' finish instruments as "aged", LOL! I've seen Epiphone (they are not alone in this though) guitars marketed as "aged" black or "vintage" black - or whatever dulled colour you want - which look like nothing more than a flat primer/satin. Not knocking it for those who like it, but manufacturers should just call it what it is. Primer. Peace.

(edited to clarify that I do in fact like the choices of gloss/satin/matte clear coat over any beautiful wood grain instrument or on a neck back for ease of playing. It's the paint thing I don't care for. )

 

[franklindayala]

Pat Wilkins does incredible satín finish on a bass guitar.

 

[mellowgerman]

No complaints on this 37 year old satin finish. Even throws a bit of shine around in natural sun light.

 

[jamro217]

I prefer gloss. The shine of an instrument being played outdoors is truly something to behold. I do have a fantastic Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro in a satin blue burst finish that is a great guitar with coil splitting, weight reduced body and nice stock pickups. The finish is the usual dull satin look, but the blue burst is a unique enough color scheme to pull it off. Something in a common color like black or cherry just looks boring and cheap IMHO. The shine is what an instrument look classy. Even a vintage relic still has patches of the original shine on it. Still, the instrument itself is what is important, and the finish shouldn't deter you from enjoying a good one.

 

[Baloo Pasquariello]

I voted yes, because while I generally dislike satin finishes, I have one satin LPB P-bass that looks muy excellent.

 

[Eric Swaim]

They look cheap to me, and I am not a fan of oil finish either. But thats just my humble opinion.

 

[superheavyfunk]

The only things that I want shiny are my car and my jewelry.

 

[biggredd]

For those of you with satin finishes having issues with shiny spots, I did all the prep work on my bass had it painted at an autobody shop using a 2 stage process with a black basecoat and satin clearcoat. I use a product called Ratwax to clean it (Cleans and Protects Matte Finishes) that they use on hotrods and flat black harleys. Cleans all fingerprints and smudges without creating shiny spots.

 

[Lownote38]

I said no. I like glossy, shiny things.

 

[J Wilson]

I will once I can find a good satin guitar polish that restores the flat finish where I touched it after ribs or fried chicken.

 

[BassinCT]

I like them both, but prefer how a satin finish feels in my hands… and as the instrument ages and gets an inevitable battle scar, it is not as glaring on satin.

I prefer some colors with gloss topcoats- a deep red is amazing with gloss + anything with sparkle or pearlescent additive.

this one is several coats of both tinted shellac and TruOil topcoats, buffed out to satin with 3M polishing papers. It is laborious- not cheap or easy.

Link Removed

 

[Jim Kernan]

I have a glossy one and a satin one, like them both. Yes the satin one is getting shiny where my arm rests.

 

[Jesuguru]

I'm fine with satin finishes on basses I use in the studio for recording (since they're treated more gently and played with more nuanced technique), but prefer gloss on basses I use live, because I throw my all into live performances and depending on my energy level, venue, and everything else, my bass will be subjected to sweat, grime, and even dings. Gloss offers superior protection to satin.

Agreed - my main reason for preferring gloss over satin or oil isn't appearance, which is secondary. Any finish type can look good or bad, and a microfiber cloth makes pretty short work of those dreaded fingerprints so many stress about lol.

The issue is protection. I have an oil (varnish) finished Ken Smith, and a gloss Roscoe, both are exquisite instruments in every way. But I'm always a bit inhibited playing the Smith for fear of scratches or nicks, so I more often pick up the Roscoe. So for me from now on, it's either gloss, or at least a pickguard for peace-of-mind.

 

[DaveParker39]

I would prefer satin over a Fender Nitro glossy neck.
I like a glossy Poly neck. I don't usually mind a glossy non-Fender nitro neck.
So yeah, I like satin. But I like a thick poly too.

Generally if it sounds good, feels good, and plays good I like it.

 

[Nikwood]

I produce custom-made furniture in Italy. Now the fashion is a 5 gloss finish ... for both lacquered and clear. Very beautiful, soft but very delicate. The varnish is naturally shiny and hard but is enervated with matting pastes to give a matte effect. In addition, over time, cleaning the surface tends to return the paint shiny. In my opinion, a glossy finish is better than if it gets scratched you can always fix with abrasive paste