Alembic in Oil or Satin Finish??

[tbrannon]

If in doubt,  leave it to the crew at Alembic to decide which finish would work best.   They've seen thousands of instruments and always seem to get it right. 

[jazzyvee]

Yes you are right it is finished in satin and for a plain non dramatic wood I think it works well. I doubt my series II with quilted maple would look as impressive with a matt finish.

[keith_h]

A gloss finish will give a lot more depth to the wood than a satin one will. I can see a big difference in the walnut tops of my Brown Bass and 5-string Orion. Both have their appeal but the wood definitely has a more 3D look on the Orion with a gloss finish. My personal feeling is you will lose some of that 3D wood pop with a satin finish on the birds-eye maple.   

[edwardofhuncote]

Thanks for the solid advice fellas.

I'll be having a conversation with Mica sometime this week anyway, since we're down to the last few details before the finish process begins. Of course (like Toby says) they do this all the time, and instinctively know what works best. I, on the other hand, probably won't be doing this again, at least not anytime soon. (notice how I left that one hanging?) 

Seriously, it's a tough call. I keep looking at the picture trying to imagine it either way. Updates to follow, and possibly photographic support. 

[edwardofhuncote]

Without giving too much away, here's the palette we're dealing with:

[tomhug]

I like satin too, but for those woods, gloss. All the way.

[growlypants]

Gloss for sure, big guy!

[David Houck]

Obviously, the best thing is to do it in gloss, and then do a second one in satin. 

[edwardofhuncote]

Had a few minutes to talk with Mica about it yesterday evening, and finally made a decision. The neck will have the satin feel, as per standard/default, but the body will get rubbed out to a little more lustre. Less than the full mirror-like gloss, but still shiny... let's call it semi-gloss. This was somewhat of a compromise not mentioned here, so you guys will be as surprised as I will be with the outcome.

I'm told it's almost ready for the finishing process. So naturally, I didn't sleep a wink last night. Tonight isn't looking good either. 

[sonicus]

Gregory , I like that decision ! I think that would be my preference as well .

 Wolf

[lbpesq]

Semi-gloss for bird's-eye maple sounds good to me.  Some woods need the gloss to bring out the grain, especially flamed wood, like maple or koa.  Others looks great with a satin, matte, or oil finish.  Bird's-eye works well with the satin.  My first Alembic was an Electrum with a bird's-eye top in a satin finish.  Very handsome instrument.  The nice thing about a satin poly finish is that you can always buff it to a high gloss any time you want.

Bill, tgo

[adriaan]

It will be just gorgeous.

[edwardofhuncote]

@Wolf - when it grows up, I hope it takes on that amazing amber color of your old #32. Yours may be why I went with birdseye maple in the first place.

@Bill - between your Electrum, and Jazzyvee's Series I shorty, that maple under satin sold me.

@Adriaan, I think you and Toby both called it a few posts back, but finally I just put my trust in the folks out there... after hearing the pros/cons between oil or poly finish, I only asked Mica if they could just split the difference between satin and glossy. It'll be awesome however it turns out.

I gotta' find some way to tune back out again. All this is terribly exciting. Thanks Again fellas, and ladies.

[adriaan]

Hm, if you want amber, my guess is you should ask for a tint, as the new finish won't yellow as the old finish did.

[edwardofhuncote]

Almost did... one of the things Mica said was that the oil finish tends to darken immediately, but conversely the poly finishes they use actually resist darkening. Nah, I'm good with whatever shade it takes on naturally. (but I've always had a thing for that wood on Wolf's old bass... it's just amazing.)