What Finishing Processes Does Haywire Use?

Haywire Custom Shop uses all kinds of finishing processes in our guitar necks and bodies. We use Linseed, French Polishes w/Shellac, Lacquers, Colored and toned Lacquers, Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil Finish, Danish finishing oils, Tung oils and Hard Poly finishes when buffing out real glossy finishes.

Note that in a variety of our guitars, necks and bodies are finished with either Hard Polys or Lacquer. Specifically in the guitar body below the finish is a black Satin Lacquer finish.

Birchwood Casey finishes the mineral spirits will increase its drying time when needed. It’s used preferably after a water base stain has been applied. Tru-Oil finish will not change the color; however, it does have an amber hue that will enhance the natural wood. It’s simply applied with a finger or lint free cloth. Finally, its dry to the touch in approximately 2-4 hours, depending on climate. We recommending allowing twelve hours between coats. It’s an overall fine finish although not lacquer compatible. Wait 30 days for Rotten stone polishing.

Danish oil is a wood finishing oil, often made of tung oil or polymerized linseed oil, although there is no defined formulation so its composition varies among manufacturers. Danish oil is a hard drying oil, meaning it can polymerize into a solid form when it reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere. It can provide a hard-wearing, often water-resistant satin finish, or serve as a primer on bare wood before applying paint or varnish. It is a “long oil” finish, a mixture of oil and varnish, typically around one-third varnish and the rest oil.

What Finishing Processes Does Haywire Use?

Tung oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (Vernicia fordii). Tung oil hardens with exposure to air (as in: polymerization), and the resulting coating is transparent. Tung oil has a deep, almost wet look. Used mostly for finishing and protecting wood. Similar drying oils include linseed, safflower, poppy, and soybean oils.

Lemon oil, baby oil, mineral oil, 3-In-One and boiled linseed oils are all great for fretboard use!

Linseed oil, also known as Flaxseed oil is a drying oil, meaning it can polymerize into a solid form. Its polymer-forming properties allows linseed oil to be used on its own or blended with combinations of other oils, resins or solvents. French polishing w/Shellac is a process using Boiled Linseed oil and Shellac together. Made from a substance secreted by the lac bug, a species native to Asia, shellac is used for any type of wood. On hardwoods with closed grains, such as maple, walnut, cherry, spruce, and cedar it’s easier to get the glossy, natural French polish finish.

Described by the Free Dictionary, Lacquer is any of various clear or colored synthetic coatings made by dissolving nitrocellulose or other cellulose derivatives together with plasticizers and  pigments in a mixture of volatile solvents and used to impart a high gloss to wood surfaces.

A Polyurethane or Poly finish is a high clarity protective coating for indoor wood objects, provides a crystal-clear finish and is very hard. It also retains the same clear finish as the day it was applied and will not yellow with time. When asked,” What Finishing Processes Does Haywire Use?” The answer is all of the above when circumstances dictate. It will ultimately depend on the future use for that instrument part.