Matte, Satin and Shellac Finished Guitars

Matte, Satin and Shellac Finished Guitars

For shellac French Polished guitars we’ve yet to find a perfect solution as there are quite a few variables to consider. Some luthiers fill the wood grain pockets before polishing and this creates a reasonable surface the sucker cups to take to, considerably slowing the passage of air through the wood. If this process has not been done, then the surface is unlikely to support cups for longer periods and therefore we cannot recommend this idea.

For matte, satin and shellac finishes it is possible to use self adhesive plastic sheets i.e. 'Sticky Back Plastic' or heavier flamenco golpeador tap plates. These provide a good, scratch free and shiny adhesive surface for the sucker cups to hold. N.B. the downside if needing to remove either is having to clean off the glue residue. 'Sticky Stuff Remover' is very useful for this. 

Lacquered guitar finishes (nitrocellulose) We have on going tests with nitrocellulose lacquer finishes with the quality Adams sucker cups we use with our products. over a 5 year period we have had no chemical reaction and ring marking with the our tests. We are aware that there are many variables in the application of lacquered finishes including hard and soft curing times between coats, age of finish amongst others. With this in mind, despite our successfull testing to date, we cannot guarantee that our sucker cups won’t react chemically with all lacquered finishes, and must say that using our products on these finishes is at the owners risk.