Quick Solarez Poly Finish

[Gordon Bellerose]

The attached video contains some information about finishing guitars in a poly finish.
One of the large drawbacks of using poly finishes has always been the curing method.
Either you use a Chemical Cure, or a UV cure. Both are expensive and or use dangerous chemicals.

This video may offend the purists who use one of the classic finishing methods, but for new people who have not spent the money for fancy spray systems, or for those who are tired of long spraying sessions, this may change the way things are done

I know I plan to try it, at least on electric guitars. It may work well on acoustics also.

https://youtu.be/xgSYSdou7Eo

[David King]

Unfortunately "poly" isn't specific enough. Isn't this a polyester resin? You must realize just how bad that stuff smells.
Getting a complete cure with sunlight isn't obvious and any of the material that soaks into the wood pores won't get cured and will remain liquid where it will cause the finish to delaminate eventually. You will need to fill and seal the wood with something else first and make sure that the resin is compatible with what's underneath. I don't think this resin will spray well if at all so you'll be rolling it or brushing it and waiting for it to self-level in a totally dust-free environment.

[Gordon Bellerose]

Unfortunately "poly" isn't specific enough. Isn't this a polyester resin? You must realize just how bad that stuff smells.
Getting a complete cure with sunlight isn't obvious and any of the material that soaks into the wood pores won't get cured and will remain liquid where it will cause the finish to delaminate eventually. You will need to fill and seal the wood with something else first and make sure that the resin is compatible with what's underneath. I don't think this resin will spray well if at all so you'll be rolling it or brushing it and waiting for it to self-level in a totally dust-free environment.

David,

First, let me say that I have not used it myself, so I am going by what the guys at one of our local water sport stores is saying, and the info in the video. You could be correct on all counts, but the guy at the store who has used it, says it works very well.

1. It is, according to the video, a polyester resin. He does say that the fumes are not good. Proper precautions would have to be taken.

2. Apparently this resin cures completely in the sun. As I said, I have been talking with a guy who works in one of the local water sport shops, and he has been using it to repair and re-coat surf boards water skis. He said that all he does is take it out in the sun, and within a few minutes it is dry.

3. The guy in the video does fill the grain and seal the body with their grain filler / sealer. He said 4 coats.

4. He is working in his garage. It can't be any more dust free than mine.

That is all I know David. I think I may give it a try, and I will definitely let everyone know how it goes.
Other comments are certainly welcome.

[Dan Smith]

Kinda cool.
If you are doing a mirror finish, it should be flat, unlike the finished guitar in the video.

[Peter Wilcox]

If you are doing a mirror finish, it should be flat, unlike the finished guitar in the video.

Agree- that really struck me as a poorly flattened finish. I think he said in the video that he started flattening with 220, since it was so difficult to sand. Apparently it is so hard that he didn't sand long enough in that or subsequent steps to get it flat; also that was a pretty small sanding block he was using. A lot of the irregularity seemed to me to be unleveled brush strokes. I myself would rather spend more time spraying a softer finish, and less time sanding.

To moderators: this is a screen shot from the video - if it violates copyright laws or is against forum policy, please delete.

[Dave Weir]

It tried this a while ago. I certainly wanted it to work. I didn't like the smell. I'm o.k. with Varnish or Shellac or Linseed oil.
(I don't like lacquer either.) Anyway, it didn't seem to dry for me all that fast. And I don't think I would have ever described it as "bone dry". I felt like I needed to wait a long time before sanding, and even still, it was hard to level. Rounded over corners could be expecially difficult
Something I never figured out, and the video din't help, was while it was "flowing out", what was going on on the sides and back. It seems like it would get big blobs around the bottom edges.
I think like a lot of things, it would take some time and practice to get the hang of. I'm mostly back to gun stock finishes, and French Polish or straight alkyd varnish for the occasional more formal finishes.

[David King]

You can't flatten a finish over a large area with a small, soft eraser. This guy is a total hack when it comes to professional level finishing.
All polyesters are very hard and require a heavy duty buffer, a harder compound and higher buffing speed.

Solarez was designed to patch surfboards in Hawaii which is close to the equator the sun is a LOT brighter there than it is in the rest of North America. Don't expect it to work after mid-September or before mid-April north of the 40th parallel.
Curing with uv activator takes exponentially longer as the light gets weaker. A cure that would take 5 seconds with a UV wand at 100 watts per cm^2 will take 50 seconds at 50 watts and 500 seconds at 25w. At 5w it's just not going to happen.

I certainly wouldn't try to coat and cure more than one side or face at a time just to avoid the sagging issue.

[Michael Lewis]

The quickest way to a great finish is the long way, to learn how the stuff works and get experience with it. It really doesn't matter a lot what type of finish you choose, it will take a while to learn how to use it effectively. And here is the real secret: SURFACE PREPARATION. Once you have sealed, filled, and leveled, your finish film won't have to be very thick at all to be a show stopper, but the surface that isn't well sealed, filled, and leveled will require a lot of finish film because that is where all the leveling and filling has to take place. The problems inherent in this latter 'method' are the uneven thickness of the film, and consequent drying rates. Thin finish dries much quicker than thick finish.

[David King]

Michael,
All of that is true except that in this case the material is over 90% solids and cures from the bottom up so thickness shouldn't have too much of an effect. That said I have no experience with this particular product.
There are other UV or near UV light cured products that have little or no smell and can be used indoors. I haven't had much luck with the ones I've tried so far. I would recommend that anyone who wants to use this on a guitar do a dual cure with trad cobalt and MEKP to ensure a complete cure, at least on the filler stage.

[Gordon Bellerose]

All good comments guys.
A fellow builder friend of mine has decided to give this stuff a try. I have asked him if I could come over and witness the procedure, and he agreed.
So, I will follow his progress, and report back to this forum.