Mandolin finish

[Will Kimble]

Hi Shayne,

There are a lot of incredible things that Mike Kemnitzer does that I have no idea how he does it, and this is one of those things. #But I am familiar with the finish that you are talking about - it is absolutely beautiful - and I would guess based on how it looks and how even it is that it is sprayed on and left as is. #I have no idea what materials are used, though. #

Will Kimble

[Russ Jordan]

are the Nuggets lacquer or varnish?

[Bill Snyder]

John Hamlett did an A style for someone recently that has a Nugget. His goal was to match the finish on the Nugget. Take a look here (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=37107;hl=nugget) for pictures and information on it.
If this is similar to what you want contact John.
EDIT: Now that I read through the posts on John's mandolin I see that you had posted in that thread so you are already familiar with it.

[Chris Biorkman]

Do mandolins with this finish get a shiny spot where the arm comes in contact with the instrument? I had a Martin guitar with a satin finish and the shiny spot drove me nuts.

[Chris Biorkman]

I really like the way that finish looks. Adam Steffey's mandolin on Sim Daley's website appears to have a similar finish as well.

[sunburst]

Shayne, on the mandolin that I made, I was trying to match the look and sheen of the Nugget finish, but I don't know how Mike Kemnitzer does it. Furthermore, I didn't really try to find out how he does it. I have heard that it is an oil varnish finish, so I went from there and just experimented til I got a very similar look.

Biorkman, there is more than one way to get a 'satin' finish. Some will wear shiney and some won't.

[trevor]

mandopluker,
QUOTE "...man where are all the builders that frequent this forum? Is there an unwritten code that they don't talk about things of other builders such as this?"

You might find them in the builders/repair section...