Finish issues on new mando

[Grimm]

This week I purchased a mandolin online and received it today. I'm not going to mention the make or seller at this time. I spent 3k and this is my first mando.
There is a square spot under the fingerboard extension that is unfinished as well as a pinprick of a dent on the top of the mando under the strings, between the bridge and the tailpiece.
I'm wondering if this is normal for instruments in this price range, and what if anything I should do about it. Thanks!

[Grimm]

Here's a photo of the unfinished section.
https://i.imgur.com/GTVOROl.jpg

[dhergert]

I've seen that same thing on some big-name factory built mandolins in that general price range. Including one that I own.

I think if this kind of flaw bothers you, yes, you should bring it up with the seller. But keep in mind that until you get deeply into the boutique mandolin price range, you'll probably always find something wrong at least with the finish.

In my case, my mandolin sounds great and I'm not too worried about the flaws. But that's just me. Plus, I've put a number of other honest playing wear related flaws into my mandolin, as did the previous owner.

Good luck with this!

[George R. Lane]

That is one area that most builders have trouble getting a high quality finish. I agree if it bothers you that much, return it. It wouldn't bother me, but that is me.

[Grimm]

Thanks Don. That is what I figured. It does sound great and that is what is important to me though I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me slightly as I am a superficial and weak man

[dhergert]

... I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me slightly as I am a superficial and weak man

Mmm, don't feel guilty. $3K is a good sum of money and money like that can be hard to come by. If I had just spent the same amount on a new mandolin and didn't realize that this kind of practice in finish work isn't that unusual, I'm sure I'd be at least a bit concerned too.

But, I can attest that with mine, through the years it's been a wonderful playing mandolin for two owners; with it currently setup the way I like it, I am not at all anxious to part with it. I suspect the same would be the case for you, but it just takes time with an instrument to see that.

Whatever you decide about it, we're rooting for you!

[Mark Wilson]

I don't know how common lack of finish under FB is, but yours looks a little better than same spot on my lacquered A5. IMO not a defect.

The ding in the top will be one of several in 2 years if you play a lot but probably should have been disclosed before shipping

[MikeEdgerton]

That looks a little better than my Gibson did from the factory. There are apparently two ways to look at instruments. Either it's a tool or a museum piece. Try to find someplace in the middle.

[Grimm]

Thanks for all the helpful comments. I feel a lot better about it and am very happy with how everything turned out in this purchase!

[Charles E.]

Huh, after reading your post, I looked under the finger board extension on my mandolin and discovered the same thing. Never noticed it before. Here is the thing, when a builder is finishing a mandolin they are most likely spraying whatever finish they choose. Using this method, the extension blocks the area underneath. The maker has so much more to worry about in the finishing of the instrument to make it perfect then to worry about this small area that most people will not notice. I would not worry about it and play on.

[MikeEdgerton]

Keep this in mind. The mandolin shown below is worth more than any other mandolin ever made. It is by no means pristine.

[dhergert]

Btw, it isn't that there is no finish under the fingerboard. The finish is there, but it's very rough. In other words, the wood is sealed.

It is extremely difficult to smoothly and evenly spray lacquer into a corner because of opposing air pressure combined with the drying speed of the lacquer; as a result it comes out rough like overspray. And with many factory made mandolins, rubbing that rough area out is more time consuming than it is worth.

If you want to get into boutique mandolins somewhere north of twice the price of the mandolin in question, you'll start seeing the area under the fingerboard looking nicely finished, matching the rest of the instrument's finish. Part of that may be that the finish with some finer mandolins is hand brushed varnish; this problem doesn't occur with non-spray finishes. Or if the finish is sprayed lacquer, it may just be that the boutique builder takes the time to make that area look right.

[Ivan Kelsall]

The finish under the fingerboard extensions on both my Weber & Lebeda, aren't 'perfect',but are pretty close to it. A lot of effort was made to finish them as well as could be done. IMHO,if it can be done,it should be done - but at least the OP's mandolin is 'sealed'. In the pic.,the first impression is that it's bare wood as it looks very light in colour,
Ivan

[Astro]

Looking at the photo are you guys sure there is finish in that spot? I dont know much about this type thing but the roughness looks like raw wood. But then again, I guess its rough finish because surely they would have sanded the wood smoother than that before putting on the neck. But I would be sure there is some kind of finish there-rough or not- if its a new instrument just to keep moisture out when you spill that first beer all over the top.

[Mark Gunter]

Looking at the photo are you guys sure there is finish in that spot? I dont know much about this type thing but the roughness looks like raw wood. But then again, I guess its rough finish because surely they would have sanded the wood smoother than that before putting on the neck. But I would be sure there is some kind of finish there-rough or not- if its a new instrument just to keep moisture out when you spill that first beer all over the top.

The other posts from people who've looked under their own boards, and by people who are experienced finishers, are spot on. This is going to be "par for the course" on a lot of instruments, it's a matter of physics and economics. Only boutique scale and lower quantities builders, with a finisher who is a perfectionist, will do a better job in that area. It is not possible to buff that area or to spray that area in the same manner as you can the rest of the top. Buffing and smoothing that area on a sprayed finish would be a meticulous task that is unlikely to yield great results. The name of the builder and brand in this case has been withheld. If this is a high volume builder, good luck on finding one that's not rough in that area.
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Edit: Like Ivan's Weber & Lebeda, when I look at my Collings in that area, it is obvious that the finisher has gone in and buffed it down by hand so that I have some shine down there. Not perfect by a long shot, but someone has put in extra personal effort to work the finish there.

[Mike Scott]

This thread made me curious, so I just looked under the short extensions on my two hand made mandolins. One is as close to perfect as can be. The other not so much. Based on previous comments (not on this thread) it will be surprising to some that the SA is the near perfect one. Spray vs brush; varnish vs nitro? Dunno but interesting none the less.....

[colorado_al]

This thread made me curious, so I just looked under the short extensions on my two hand made mandolins. One is as close to perfect as can be. The other not so much. Based on previous comments (not on this thread) it will be surprising to some that the SA is the near perfect one. Spray vs brush; varnish vs nitro? Dunno but interesting none the less.....

Varnish finish is normally hand applied, not sprayed, and will often have more attention to detail in all areas. Luckily, you're likely the only person to ever see it under there.

[fscotte]

Wow, you know I try really hard to minimize the finish errors under the fretboard extension, but they are still there. That is the result of not being able to wet sand the finish to a mirror shine like the rest of the mando. So with each additional layer of finish, the tiny little mountains get higher and little specks of finish get laid down on top, more prominent with sprayed finishes.

[mandroid]

If you have a suggestion on how to buff out the finish, in a hard to access location ,
with a power buffing tool that makes it fast,

efficiently done rapidly at minimal additional cost,

that the factory may like to know about, do Share it with them.

[dhergert]

... Spray vs brush; varnish vs nitro? Dunno but interesting none the less.....

Ironically, of my two active mandolins, the finish of my $199 MK is pretty close to perfect under the full scooped florida fretboard extension, while my F9's extremely truncated extension hides a small squarish rough finish area shadow like we've been talking about.

My MK has a poly finish. Unlike with lacquer or varnish or other traditional finishes, I have no experience to explain how poly finishes are applied in the MK PacRim factory settings. I don't prefer poly finishes as a general rule, but this one is satin and as such it appears to be near perfect all around; I'd almost guess that it has been dipped like some car bodies are, except that it has very uniform thickness and there are no runs or drips around the edges or anywhere else on any of the outer finished surfaces... And there is no finish inside the instrument.

An easy conclusion is that whatever method was being used to apply the poly finish on the MK didn't leave the flaw under the fingerboard extension. This instrument does have other obvious flaws that talk about the degree of attention that was paid to the general fit and finish, so I wouldn't expect that extra human effort was specifically made to manually perfect the fingerboard extension shadow.

Instrument factory settings are generally about efficiency, and commonly that also means determining acceptable compromises. In contrast, boutique instrument makers tend to work on an instrument until it meets the expectations of their customers, who in general are willing to pay for a product that is as near to perfection as possible.

[colorado_al]

but this one is satin and as such it appears to be near perfect all around

A satin finish is used to keep the price down because no polishing is necessary. So as long as the finish was applied evenly, there should be little to no difference under the fretboard extension because none of the instrument is buffed.

[dhergert]

A satin finish is used to keep the price down because no polishing is necessary. So as long as the finish was applied evenly, there should be little to no difference under the fretboard extension because none of the instrument is buffed.

I agree. However if the finish was sprayed, there would be the roughness of overspray under the extension. I'm not seeing any finish attribute under the florida that would indicate it was treated any differently than the rest of the instrument.

Maybe someone here knows how the MK factory applies their poly finishes?

This is a very fascinating discussion.

[pops1]

The method of application can make a difference on how rough and what it looks like under the fingerboard extension. High pressure (80lbs.) was commonly used for most and it has a lot of overspray, the lumps you see are the overspray. HVLP ( high volume low pressure) which is 5lbs. will seriously limit the overspray and send less into the environment. Hand applied varnish will usually be the best, depending on the whether it is important to the finisher. While I quit spraying years ago, I was using HVLP and liked it a lot.

[Bill Kammerzell]

Keep this in mind. The mandolin shown below is worth more than any other mandolin ever made. It is by no means pristine.

I wouldn't give you any more than 1.3 million for that. Not a penny more, either.

[Bill Kammerzell]

Just looked at three mandolins I own. The Weber looks normal at that spot, though the Japanese Kentucky and the Eastman MD615 have that same blemish. Can't look at the other two I sort of own. The Summit is packed to ship to some lucky person and the Silverangel is still floating around somewhere in the USPS stratosphere (24 days and counting). I may never see that one again, but I do have a missing mail and lost mail claim in.