Dulling High Gloss Poly Guitars PIC HEAVY!!

[RMC1]

I`ve seen quite a few threads about this,which got me curious as to how to achieve a less shiny finish to our Epi`s.As much as i love my Epi`s,i have always been frustrated by how our industrious little friends in Asia seem to go nuts with the Poly Gun.Sanding is an option,but that then creates a lot of work trying to eliminate scratches to the Poly which are sometimes too deep to remove without heavy sanding.That then in turn leads to uneven finishing of the surface,and that can lead to frustration,and occasionally,a ruined Guitar.This is by no means a definative Guide,it is also not an attempt to make a Poly covered Guitar look like a Nitro finished Guitar.It is what it is,a way to reduce the shine on an Epiphone Poly coated Guitar.Some people will think that this Guide sucks,others may like it.If you have no patience,i should mention that this method is most likely not for you.I figured i`d post it anyway

All in all,about 9 hours work.

So,lets get started.

We`re all aware of just how shiny that Finish is,to me it really does make the Guitar look like a Toy.A typical example of that below,



After experimenting with several methods,below is the Weapon of choice.Hang on!! you`re thinking i`m nuts and that the Sander will wreck the top as soon as it touches it.Bear with me,it really does work.



And this is what we`re using on the Sander.



Basically it is the same Material that is used on those Foam Pan Scrubbers,just bigger.Because it has no particles attached,like Sandpaper and other abrasive Sheets,this does not create the scratches in the surface which,if too deep,can be a pain to remove.instead,it gently wears away the Poly.The secret is not to apply excessive pressure,let the Machine do the work,that`s it`s job.It takes a while,but if you are patient,you should eventually get the surface finished as in the Pic below



A close up reveals that unlike abrasive Sheets,there are in fact,virtually no harsh sanding marks to worry about,



Ok,now you`ve got that far,how do we get a satisfactory finish ?.Something that will produce a nice mellow shine,that will also be able to have Fingermarks ect wiped from it.Matt finishes are,as you know,a pain to get marks off.I tried all kinds of Polish.I finaly found the one that filled all the requirements.Picture below,

.

Apply a thin layer of the Polish,and let it dry to a Haze,



The next step could be missed and you can go straight to hand polishing,but i used this surface attachment for the Sander,it is very very slightly abrasive,and starts to bring the Poly back to a subtle shine,



Which brings us to here,





Exactly the same method for the back,

Poly knocked back,



Then brought back to a finish,



The same idea with the Neck,but leaving it un polished,which has made it much much more playable,



Back to the Front.I applied another layer of Polish twice,but did not use the Sander,these 2 final stages are best done by hand.These Pictures are the finished results in the post below.I`ve included too many in one post

I hope this is of use to some of you.I have learned a lot,and made some great friends in the short time i`ve been here.I thought it would be good to give a little something back.

Rich

[RMC1]

[alligatorbling]

[RMC1]

[TnT~55]

That looks so much better, nice work

[BluesZep]

Nice!! I like it.

[boomer5790]

WOW ! ! !
Just amazing.It looks much better.Nice Axe.

[krokodyl]

Mmm... I like Matt finishes

[xsouldriverx]

wow, miles better than before. good work

[AbuseArt]

good work! now it looks really cool. i hate higloss too.

[maicolp]

go and buy yourself a faded...
there are guys out there that aches to achieve a shiny look on their faded...
not meant to be offensive! it's just envy coz your guitar looks really good

[06VM]

Reminds me of the finish on the highway One strats... all matte. Pretty cool.
The after pictures looks really flat. almost like the flame is a decal with no depth.... I dunno.
It may just be the pics. I wonder what it would look like on a plain top?