Distressing an Eastman?

**mcgroup53** · Sep-12-2008, 8:33pm

I have a new Eastman 605 and was thinking of taking the shine off it - I hate gloss finishes. If I use a deglosser like Klean Strip Sander Deglosser, would that remove the shine without completely stripping the finish? Also, is there a way to achieve a more antiqued nickel-plated look to the tailpiece - it's currently a blindingly glossy look.

I know I should just leave it alone, but ...

**mcgroup53** · Sep-12-2008, 8:40pm

Sorry, should have looked further down at the gloss finish thread. Still, does the deglosser take off too much? Would it be appropriate for the back of the neck?

**Chris Biorkman** · Sep-12-2008, 8:54pm

I would leave it alone. The odds that it would look good sound pretty low to me.

**mandolooter** · Sep-12-2008, 9:32pm

play it every day for 3-4 hours for a few years and it'll look wonderful!

**mandolinplucker** · Sep-12-2008, 9:36pm

Play the heck out of it, sweat on it, bump it into mics, wait for jerks with guitars and banjos to swing around and hit your mando with their instruments, let the case lid slam down on it while you are putting it up, ect. It will distress enough without you even trying.

**TomTyrrell** · Sep-13-2008, 7:15am

I have to believe that "Do not use on freshly finished surfaces, rubber or asphalt tile, synthetics, plastic, fiberglass or other solvent-sensitive surfaces." means the Klean Strip product might not be too friendly with the binding.

**mcgroup53** · Sep-13-2008, 7:30am

>> the Klean Strip product might not be too friendly with the binding.

Great point! Thanks to all who responded. Now back to "playing it into distressed condition" mode ...

**matt1898** · Sep-13-2008, 10:49pm

Please don't distress that poor Eastman

**Stephen Perry** · Sep-14-2008, 10:20am

Rub out with olive oil & rottenstone. Lightly.

**Oliver R** · Sep-14-2008, 10:54am

My Eastman is about 18mths old now.
It's pretty easy to get them dinged up and the finish mats down quickly if you play it 'out'.
IE: Sessions in bars, festival tents in the middle of fields, gigs etc.
I would just 'have at it' the finish is so thin that it will soon rough up.
Whats 'rottenstone' by the way?

**Stephen Perry** · Sep-14-2008, 6:37pm

Rottenstone - certain grit of fine abrasive powder. Pumice (various grades), rottenstone, tripoli, then I move into the automotive rubbing & polishing compounds.

**crncob** · Sep-15-2008, 1:45pm

Off insect repellant on hands and arms before playing is distressing to my Kentucky.

**buddyellis** · Sep-15-2008, 9:31pm

An alternative to the rotten stone method would be to buy a sheet each of 3600, 4000, 6000 grit micromesh and lightly wetsand out the top to achieve a matte finish. Start with the 6000 and work down in the grits till you get the effect you want.

For the neck, if you're wanting to get down to wood, a fresh razor blade will get most of the finish off, then go to 220 grit sandpaper to even it up, and finish up with a light coat of tung oil wet sanded in with `2000 grit wet/dry paper. What I typically do to all my necks is apply one 'heavish' coat of tung oil, let it soak in a few minutes, reapplying to keep the surface 'wet' and then, sand with additional tung oil on the paper till you get a nice slick finish, then wipe off any additional oil. You can also use a scotch brite pad or something similar in the 'wet sanding' step, but I prefer a high grade wet/dry 3M paper or something similar. With this method you can still get a quite 'shiny' neck finish but it isn't sticky as with lacquer or varnish, as it is essentially burnished wood with a very tiny amount of oil. Allow the neck to sit out in filtered sunlight for a day or so to cure.

**mrbook** · Sep-15-2008, 10:11pm

Play it, take care of it, but don't polish it every other day, and let nature take its course. I think I am always careful with my instruments, yet when I look closely after a couple years I find they are distressed in all the subtle ways that people do artifically.

**Eddie Sheehy** · Sep-15-2008, 11:25pm

Try it on yourself first. If you don't look or sound better, chances are the Eastman won't either. You'll both distress soon enough....

**Stephen Perry** · Sep-16-2008, 7:00am

I like the Ellis approach. Will try that.

**Timbofood** · Sep-16-2008, 8:08am

I would use the "skip polishing" approach, seems like the most benign to me. Bug spray just scares me, I would rather be eaten alive! If that goo does that to finishes, just how healthy can it be for skin? I like the genuine distressing techinque...seems more "honest"

**Santiago** · Sep-17-2008, 1:10pm

You degloss an Eastman the same way you get to Carnegy Hall.... Practice, Practice!

**allenhopkins** · Sep-17-2008, 4:20pm

I "distressed" the heck out of my Eastman 615 mandola within a few weeks of buying it. Eastmans have been known to have fairly soft finishes; I took the 615 to a jam/birthday party outdoors in a park, played it out in the direct sunlight for quite a while, and found that where I (bad form!) anchor my right hand ring finger and pinky while playing, I'd worn right through the finish to bare wood.

I've left it that way, since I as well as mcgroup like the look of "played in" instruments. But I never thought I'd "play it in" quite that fast...