Removing Nitrocellulose

[Nathan Wilson]

First I must thank everyone for the wealth of information I've gathered by watching this website for the past few months... It truly is a great community.

Now for my question(s)... I have a Kentucky KM-161. It's black with the nitrocellulose gloss and a suprisingly nice cream colored binding.

1. Is it possible to remove the gloss and just leave the finish like that?
2. Is there any way I can make it a satin appearance?
3. What would I have to do to accomplish this and what precautions do I need to take as far as the nitro dust?
4. If I cannot accomplish this or if the consensus is that it's a bad idea, can I at least make the back of the neck more smooth and natural feeling without messing the mandolin up?

Any and all advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

-nathan

www.downhomeguitars.com

[MikeEdgerton]

Here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/search.php?query=remove+finish&exactname=0&starteronly=0&forumchoice%5B%5D=&prefixchoice%5B%5D=&childforums=1&titleonly=1&searchdate=0&beforeafter=after&do=process) are three threads that discuss removing the finish from the back of the neck. There are more.

[sunburst]

Do you know, or are you assuming that the finish is nitrocellulose?
You can't make a truly satin or otherwise "flattened" finish from a high gloss finish. A flattening agent needs to be added during finish application to do that. If you scuff up the finish to dull the gloss it will wear back to a gloss wherever it is rubbed during playing.

[fishtownmike]

0000 steel wool or ultra fine 3m pads can take the gloss off. A lot of people do this with guitar necks. Makes it smoother and your fingers stick less especially in the summer.

[Nathan Wilson]

Thank you for your replies...

mikeedgerton - Thank you for those threads.

sunburst - I can't be sure its nitro, but it's marketed as being such. Thank you for the information about satin finishes. I'm looking to build a kit soon and I'm sure I'll have more questions about how to attain the desired finish.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's up in the wee small hours...

[Ben Milne]

don't use a rasp.

[Tavy]

If you want to go finer than OOOO wire wool, then try toothpaste on a soft cloth, takes the shine off all sorts of things very nicely!