Wipe on poly guitar finish. My buddy trevin recently finished a guitar body using wipe on poly and had great results so i figured with a redwood top itd be better protection. The best choice for a clear coating is often a specialized finish like pre catalyzed lacquerbut that assumes you have a spray booth outfitted with high end equipment. There were streaks running the whole length of the guitar where stain had been wicked out of the wood and the black outside of the guitar had been sturned into this weird streaky mess. Wipe on poly 1 can mineral spirits.
Ive always wanted a lacquer like depth and shine so heres how i achieve a similar result with wipe on poly. Applying an oil finish on a guitar neck. Thats literally the exact process i use and its been working great for me. Here are a few tips that may help along the way.
First things first. Surface prep is. Thats my guide for how to apply wipe on poly. This builds a finish quickly on something flat like a floor or tabletop but gets belligerent when met with the curves and contours of a guitar body.
How to apply a perfectly smooth poly finish by hand brad angove. Before finishing my furniture i always sand up to 220 grit. With wipe on poly you also get. For most of us polyurethane provides a combination of cost and durability thats hard to beat.
In part 1 of my 2 part series i show you how to prep sand and seal the wood for applying this super simple finish. After i finished applying it to the whole guitar i looked over my work and saw that the wipe on poly had cut through the stain and redistributed it all over the guitar. Yes you can use wipe on polyurethane on a guitar.