animalfarm Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Was looking around at the "My Les Paul" forum, came across a Tutorial on how to "dull" a Poly finish. One of the comments was that a "Shiny" guitar looked like a "Toy". The gentleman did this to the ENTIRE Guitar - Front, Back, Neck, Headstock... For my own MAIN Epis, I have one of each. A TOY???? Nahhhhh..... If the prevailing choice is Satin/Dull, I'll add the link to the "DIY" thread. Aw, H*ll, may just add it anyway... Link to "How to Dull Poly Finish": http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/17007-dulling-poly-finished-guitars-pic-heavy.html Before and after pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Satin just feels good to me, smooth neck and body. glossy always feels sticky ect. I have a gibson les paul bfg and i even rubbed of the satin laquer (By accident) and i feels great. Was cleaning it as it was filthy and was using baby wipes, Well thats what i thought they were actually make up wipes and the took of the laquer and some of the finish. now it looks even more reliced than it did before! good thing is cos i was scrubbing were the dirt was, like were my arm sits and round the control knobs it looks pretty natural! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Glossy looks a billion times better. However, I just got a Lennon Casino with some type of dull satin finish and I find this guitar is less stressful to play. I don't have to worry at all about unsightly fingerprints or nasty scratches on the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bynapkinart Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It really depends for me. I like it when workhorse guitars are satin (Les Paul Faded DC, Fender Teles) but I love a great glossy finish on a great guitar like certain Casinos and ES 335s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Depends on the finish. I wouldn't have my trans-black quilt LP anything but glossy, but I simply adore the matte-black finish on my Explorer. It's too big a surface to be glossy I think. looks kinda silly. Plus, matte finishes more readily show use (by shining up) so you can tell a real working guitar. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 just checking in to see results... crud, already on second page as I write this. Thanks for the EIGHT votes anyway!!!! :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Depends on the finish for me as well. Definitely a satin or raw finish for any natural wood body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSDx Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I have no preference ..... hence, why I could not vote !!!:- I don't find glossy to be sticky, as some put it, even if sweating profusely, and I don't find satin to be anything to write home about either.... it's a guitar, a tool to make music, it's gonna get dinged and grimy and smudged.....finish is a non-issue for THIS foole, anyway, as long as it plays and feels the way I want it to :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vomer Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I love the look of a faded, aged nitro finish, but that isn't quite what you get by sanding a poly finish. I vote gloss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoop Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I was thinking about this just yesterday. I decided to have a go at dulling the poly finish on my LP Jr, using the method above. Having done so, it now feels cheap to me. Dulling a poly finish does not get you the same kind of feel and character of a nitro finish. I was contemplating dulling the finish on my LP Standard, but I don't think I will now. I don't really find the finishes on any of my guitars to be excessively gaudy looking. But more importantly, I wouldn't want them to feel cheap like the Jr now does, because then I wouldn't enjoy playing them so much. So, on the shiny versus dulled poly debate, I say leave them shiny. But overall I love the look of a nitro finish. Not excessively shiny and, of course, you get that wonderful character that comes with age and use. Checking in the finish, that sort of thing. I'm not into relic-ing at all, but I find there's something pleasing about a guitar that has some subtle wear and signs of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyscaglyc Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 New & Shiny. Old & Shiny. and if it's not, that's only from "play wear" and not "road worn". I vote Gloss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Voted satin because I like older, honest player-wear guitars. But shiny looks good on a number of guitars I have. Could go either way depending on other factors. But satin looks better on that LP in the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midiman56 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 I voted for glossy, but in reality I prefer more of a hybrid of the two: I like the top of the guitar to be glass-like, but I love the feel of a satin neck finish on the back of the neck, al la the Ultra series, the Prophecy series and what Gibson has done with the LP Traditionals. Really the best of both worlds. Bottom line for me: mojo should come from years of playing ... not from a piece of sandpaper! Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KX36 Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I voted for glossy' date=' but in reality I prefer more of a hybrid of the two: I like the top of the guitar to be glass-like, but I love the feel of a satin neck finish on the back of the neck, al la the Ultra series, the Prophecy series and what Gibson has done with the LP Traditionals. Really the best of both worlds. [/quote'] +1 for shiny top, smooth matt neck, I don't really like the poly finish on the back of the neck, it impedes my movement. Before I knew anything about guitars I wanted a glossy looking burst of some kind but not a teardrop burst or equally not one that is basically a thin black strip around a large area of wood, I wanted a gentler gradient; and I feel that what I wanted before I knew anything about guitars is the most honest thing about what guitar would make me happy in terms of looks. Isn't glossy vs matt usually = poly vs nitro. There's more difference in them than just the look though. Poly's a thick plastic coat that protects the guitar well, shines but some say it mutes the guitar's natural vibration and sustain. Nitro's a thinner laquer that's hard to take care of and shows age with playing and cracks (whether or not you like that) and apparently allows the guitar to vibrate more naturally. It's not really JUST a cosmetic thing which is why I think trying to dull poly's a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwe82 Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Glossy gets my vote :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted July 9, 2010 Author Share Posted July 9, 2010 Ok, those of you who prefer Glossy guitars, send all your satin gits to me. If you prefer Satin guitars, send all you Glossy gits to me. I WILL give them a good home... :) [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrycat Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Satin. You CANNOT tell me the satin LP above doesn't look like a high-end instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Satin. You CANNOT tell me the satin LP above doesn't look like a high-end instrument. I think that has more to do with the flame maple cap than the satin finish...IMO, anyway. It looks high quality in both glossy and satin from my perspective. However, satin seems to look really good on FMT and QMT guitars. On the flip-side, I think the satin finish on the Dot Studios cheapens the look. I know...I said satin looks good on natural finish guitars, but I really dont like it on the Dot Studios for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrycat Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 And for what it's worth, the instructions in the mylespaul thread work as stated, I dulled my Explorer successfully. I'd post a picture, but it wouldn't do any good, seeing as I'm notorious for having the worst pictures around.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Gloss body/Headstock.........Satin neck ! after buying my Mexican Tele with the factory satin neck, I gave SEVERAL of my poly necks some "lovin' " with 0000 grade (ultra fine) steel wool. now, instead of sticky, they're "slicker than owl yahoo".......... but I DO like the look of what the MLP poster did to the flametop......gotta do some reading up on that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dearlpitts Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 glassy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markwell Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Satin. Wouldn't worry about leaving scratches and fingerprints on it nearly as much. Also, atleast with most standard Epiphones, the poly-gloss finish is way overdone, and ends up making the guitar look very toy-like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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