Polishing a 414CE so it's now glossy rather than matte (and other stuff)

[MexicoMike]

They are white polished bone pins w/Ebony dot that I had laying around - probably got them from Colosi or LMI a few years ago.  The were larger than Taylor-size at the top of the taper but it takes maybe 20 seconds per pin to chuck them in a drill and using a small file, adjust them to fit.

[jerrytubes]

Mike:  I didn't think of chucking them in a drill.  Stewart-MacDonald had some pins a little larger than the Taylor pins, and they told me to buy a bridge hole reamer and ream out the holes in the guitar so their pins would fit.  I'm NOT about to do that to a nearly-new guitar.  So, I decided to get a set of ebony pins from Taylor and spray-paint the crowns white with a premium spray paint that I found.  If the spray paint job looks tacky, I'll try your method.

[MexicoMike]

Yeah - I would NEVER modify a guitar to accept some other part - modify the part to fit the guitar!  I'm actually very surprised that a company like stew mac would suggest such a thing when it's so easy to adjust the pin size.  Sure, you could enlarge the sting holes in literally seconds per hole with a hand reamer but it's just not the appropriate thing to do IMO...you don't modify the BIG thing to allow the little thing to fit.

[lmacmil]

But it is quite easy to put a gloss "finish" on  a matte/satin surface.  I have done it on several guitars, most recently a Martin D16.  Takes maybe 30 minutes using some 3M Finesse-it II, available at most any auto parts store. 

There is 3M Finesse-it  "glaze" and "polish."  Which one did you use?

[jerrytubes]

Mike:  I hate to beat the polishing thing to death, but the stuff you used, was it Finesse-It II Finishing Material, or something else?

[sstaylor58]

Would this technique work on a GS Mini?  I think they have a varnish finish?

[MexicoMike]

" I hate to beat the polishing thing to death, but the stuff you used, was it Finesse-It II Finishing Material, or something else?"

Yes, Finesse-It II!

The technique will work on any finish, regardless of type.  The only difference will be the time it takes to get the gloss based on the hardness of the finish type. 

[fmbstrummer]

The bottle I purchased states "machine polish".  Purchased through Amazon.  I did the buffing by hand with a very soft cotton cloth. 

FMB

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Wow Mike, that sure came out nice!  I have a mandolin that has a satin finish i may try this on, I too prefer the glossy finish.  Thanks for the tutorial!!

[lafromla1]

I did this in about 5 minutes with Finesse-it II. 

I used to use Finesse-It II on bowling balls to give them not only an extra shine, but a rock hard coating that took a beating.  It would definitely protect a guitar and give it a luster that would shine like a diamond.

[GSMAN]

I know this is an old thread but it response to OP, yes, the 414ce is incredibly versatile and it is my favorite Taylor out of the 300-400 series. In the past year I have played dozens of Taylor's from the 300-400 series and the latter sounded sweeter to my ears almost every time. I like all shapes and sizes but I think that if you are going to get a Taylor a GA or GS is the way to go IMO. Ironically, I preferred the 414ce against the 416ce for my style.

The new 414ce Fall LTD 2013 will have Rosewood back and sides with Ceder or Spruce top. I'm still unsure if I should get a LTD or the standard 414ce.

[MexicoMike]

Any opportunity to play them both? If the guitar is going to be for serious playing, play them and then decide.  If it's more for guitar art, pick whichever wood you think is "prettiest."

I think Ovankol looks very nice if glossy finished.  However, there is no appearance comparison if, for example, the rosewood is glossy and the Ovankol is matte finished.  If the LTD rosewood is glossy, it will look far better (IMO).  OTOH, glossy Ovankol can look as nice or nicer than rosewood, depending on the specific pieces of wood involved.

For example, I have two Brazilian rosewood nylon-string guitars, one is very attractive, the other is very bland and nothing special to look at.  So it all depends on the specific pieces of wood, not the type of wood.

[Louis]

Well Mike I've read on this topics before and was too chicken to try it on my 314 but the way you explained it I think I'm gonna give it a go . The posts that I was reading they used fine steel wool .What do you think Taylor girl Jerry should we give it a go ?

[Louis]

Well every one said it's expensive but no one said HOW expensive for a quart! My brother runs a Mazda shop and talked to his 3M rep and she was gonna give me a deal for the quart which makes no sense just to do a 314 Taylor then it's gonna sit on the shelve for ever . They me there has got to be some thing else out there to the job besides FIness it 11.

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[MexicoMike]

Can't your brother just give you a small container of it? 

Yes, it's expensive.  The last quart I bought (last year) was from an auto parts store - list price is higher but nobody charges that as far as I know.  I use the stuff quite a bit so I have no issue with buying a quart as needed.  Most boat stores like West Marine stock it and have smaller bottles though WMs prices are usually absurd for everything so they might charge as much for a pint as the auto store does for a quart.

As far as using something else..well, maybe.  One would think that one of the fine rubbing/polishing compounds would do the job and they may.  But Finesse-it II is pretty much an industry standard product for polishing a finished surface to a mirror gloss and it seems reasonable to use it for that purpose.  If you tried a very fine rubbing compound, it would probably work ok, maybe needing some wax afterward to get the gloss.  Finesse-It needs no waxing  or further treatment to get the gloss.

Just a reminder - the Taylor catalyzed finished is much tougher than a lacquer finish so it takes a lot longer to polish.  I completely polished the back/sides of my Martin D16GT (lacquer) in maybe 20 minutes.  It took at least an hour on my Taylor 414ce.  OTOH, there is no rush.  Heck, you can do one side today, the other tomorrow, the back next week,...whatever.

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