French polish -French Polishing, a method of hand finishing, is often regarded as the finest finish for classical and flamenco guitars. The practice is quite labor intensive as the process builds and blends hundreds of microscopically thin shellac layers, each applied by hand using a muslin covered ball of wool. The result is a beautiful, incredibly thin finish with an organic, glossy sheen and a slight amber glow giving great depth and clarity to the wood. However this finish, that takes so long to apply, is also the most fragile and requires the most care to keep pristine. The finish protects the guitar from general dirt, dust, oils and sweat of being handled, but provides next to no protection for dings and scratches. This is mostly an issue that affects the soft tone-wood soundboard of the guitar, where contact with a stray fingernail will undoubtedly leave an impression. NEVER EVER tap the top of a French polished guitar, or any guitar for that matter. (exception: tap plates are okay, beater guitars are okay too).

Lacquer -Nitrocellulose lacquer has been the most common method of guitar finishing for well over 80 years now, it’s crystal clarity and hardness gives the underlying surface a tremendous sense of depth and detail while providing a great deal of protection. Like all finish work, lacquer is an art as well as a science.  Particularly when used on a musical instrument, there must be care in how the finish is applied. The mix of thinner, retarder, and humidity all come in to play to create an ideal finish.  The most crucial aspect is to keep the finish as thin as possible to preserve the instrument’s tone. The lacquer finish I apply to my guitars is much thinner than any factory produced guitar. It is much easier to level and buff out a thick layer of lacquer than a thin one, but the tone of my guitars takes priority over any simpler method.