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You are here: Home / Building A Monarch / Building a Monarch: Spraying Lacquer

Building a Monarch: Spraying Lacquer

Most guitar players want instruments with a high gloss finish. Nitrocellulose lacquer is the traditional finish for the best guitars. It is durable and unlike some other finishes, it can be repaired later. Oil, poly, and water-based finishes are also used, but the ‘king of finishes’ is solvent-based nitro lacquer. Using lacquer carries with it the responsibility of safety and environmental consideration. All Dogwood guitars have a sprayed on, high gloss nitro finish using a special instrument lacquer that is less brittle than standard lacquers. Spraying is very much a learned art, and getting flawless gloss finishes takes a lot of preparation and patience. See a Monarch go through the finish process in the gallery below.

dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_61_finish dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_62_finish dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_63_finish dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_64_finish dogwoodguitars_blog_mahogany_65_finish quilt shell_purfling shell_rosette
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Fine Handmade Guitars

  Hi, and welcome to Dogwood Guitars of Kansas City, MO. My goal is to provide you with the best sounding and playing guitar possible. Whether this means settingĀ up your current guitars to play their best, or working with you to build your … [Read More...]

1975 Gibson Hummingbird Restoration

While meeting with a customer and his daughter about designing a guitar for her, he showed me his Gibson Hummingbird that his daughter had been playing. Using the serial number and other identifying characteristics, I was able to date the guitar … [Read More...]

Customer Testimonials: Taylor 12 string setup

I had a well known luthier in Columbus do a setup on my custom Taylor 12 string including having a bone saddle and nut made. The work seemed good but a while later while using the guitar for recording I noticed a strange light buzzing sound in the B … [Read More...]

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

Why do old guitars sound better?

Why do some old guitars sound so good? Even inexpensive guitars can age into really good sounding instruments, and some old guitars attain legendary tone. Why is this? The answer can be found in one of three factors and the best … [Read More...]

FAQ’s

Answers to some of the most common questions I get about my guitars, ordering, etc. What is the current turn around time for orders? My build schedule is determined by my current repair load and teaching schedule, as well as orders already in … [Read More...]

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Technical Articles

Why do old guitars sound better?

Why do some old guitars sound so good? Even inexpensive guitars can age into really good sounding instruments, and some old guitars attain legendary tone. Why is this? The answer can be found in one of three factors and the best … [Read More...]

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Viewpoint Articles

Exploring Common Guitar Myths

I am going to divide this article into two sections: Myths and misunderstandings about playability and care; and myths about tone. We will take these two topics in order. Playability and Care So, your guitar is a little hard to play, the … [Read More...]

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