Rustin's Plastic coating is the best wood finishing there is in my opinion. It's especially perfect for musical instruments. It enhances grain beautifully. I have found that the best way to apply coats is to do it all on one day, if possible. I have applied up to about ten coats in one day with maybe a wet and dry smoothing half way through. For final wet and dry smoothing and polishing, it's best to leave it a few weeks otherwise very slight rippling will appear which still looks fine. Time between coats is critical. You want to add more coats as quickly as possible otherwise you have to leave it for several days but that can depend on how you apply it and hence thickness. The best way is a small roller. Next to that, a very soft brush. With a roller you can recoat in an hour or when still slightly sticky. I have also mixed in opaque pigment powders. That works fine.
The best way to sand is a rubber sanding block but for small areas a nine volt battery is perfect due to it's rounded edges. Also, adding a litte soap into the water helps.
Thanks for your detailed feedback Ryan. It's good to hear from people who have had success with, and would recommend the method of applying multiple coatings in a short timeframe. 👍🏻😀
THis is an excellent video and a great intro to RPC. I've used it a lot over the years for instruments and I would add a few things. RPC is forgiving of inaccuracy in the ratio of resin to hardener. Like the presenter, I used digital scales, but when I first started using RPC I just used a medicine measuing cup and it was fine. RPC has a safety sheet a mile long, smells awful and can be irritant. I use a fume grade respirator and good ventilation. The minimum number of coats is 2, not 3. I have always used 3 and it's been fine, and buffs out to a mirror shine. You can get good pore filling using RPC and no other pore filler. I have a 45 year old guitar finished in this way and there is no more pore sink that you would get with a grain filled nitrocellulose Martin. You can use t cut or any other auto compound, but the buffing compound that comes in the kit works fine. It flats well, so you don't need expensive brushes, so it is worth using disposables, as it is very messy to clean up. It has no more acoustic effect on acoustic instruments than nitro.
This is a fantastic video for those dabbling with Rustins Plastic Coating. Can you comment on how the finish has held up? The product description says it does not craze on ageing, but the Internet seems to disagree, at least with respect to this application.
The body has not displayed any significant signs of crazing but the neck has. I recommend a traditional guitar finish such as nitrocellulose not Rustins Plastic Coating. Don't dabble with it. I avoided aerosol spray lacquers because the ambient humidity and temperature conditions are adverse in northern U.K. and I don't have anywhere to set up a suitable ventilated spraying zone. Using RPC seemed convenient, I didn't use it for slavish authenticity to Brian's original Red Special.
I perceive that some people delude themselves into desiring and pursuing 'exact' replicas of The Red Special without giving due consideration of what is quality luthiery and fit for purpose. For example, using Cascamite adhesive when many better modern wood glues formulations are available. I'm personally not sold on the laminboard argument either. Whether Brian used it or not, I don't consider laminboard to be a quality construction board to make a replica Red Special from.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with RPC and making this great video. I’m also using RPC for my instruments and I’m using a HVLP spray gun to apply it, which works ok. For the initial and final coat I thin it with Rustins thinner. Filling the grain with Rustins grain filler works fine for me and I’m using boiled linseed oil to enhance the contrast and colour of the grain before coating. I tried it with several different wood types (Mahogany, Walnut, Makassar Ebony) and I had no adhesion or drying problems. I gave it a week to cure before applying the first coat. I’m very interested in the black spirit powder dye you are using. Could you let me know which product you are using and where you would source it in the UK? Did anybody try the Rustins Plastic Floor coating? I’m not sure if it is a different product or just uses a different hardener. It’s available in larger canisters (4L) and costs significantly less, it’s also available in a Satin finish.
Thanks for the kind words and useful information. I sourced the black spirit powder dye from John Penny Restoration Ltd in the U.K. www.jpennyltd.co.uk
This video is superb ;) ..did Brian paint around his frets then? Carefully? I note that Rustin's is solvent resistant so applying the coating all over and then cleaning the frets back to reveal them wouldn't work .
Thanks. 🙏🏻 I'm pleased that you enjoyed the video. I don't know exactly what Brian did, possibly just cleaned out the fret slots after lacquering. Cutting the slots after lacquering would likely crack the lacquer. Another possibility is that he put some sort of soft wax in the slots then removed it after lacquering by scraping out and swabbing with white spirit.
Rustin's Plastic coating is the best wood finishing there is in my opinion. It's especially perfect for musical instruments. It enhances grain beautifully.
I have found that the best way to apply coats is to do it all on one day, if possible. I have applied up to about ten coats in one day with maybe a wet and dry smoothing half way through. For final wet and dry smoothing and polishing, it's best to leave it a few weeks otherwise very slight rippling will appear which still looks fine. Time between coats is critical. You want to add more coats as quickly as possible otherwise you have to leave it for several days but that can depend on how you apply it and hence thickness. The best way is a small roller. Next to that, a very soft brush. With a roller you can recoat in an hour or when still slightly sticky.
I have also mixed in opaque pigment powders. That works fine.
The best way to sand is a rubber sanding block but for small areas a nine volt battery is perfect due to it's rounded edges. Also, adding a litte soap into the water helps.
However, there is one downside of plastic coating and that is the horrendous fumes.
Thanks for your detailed feedback Ryan. It's good to hear from people who have had success with, and would recommend the method of applying multiple coatings in a short timeframe. 👍🏻😀
THis is an excellent video and a great intro to RPC. I've used it a lot over the years for instruments and I would add a few things. RPC is forgiving of inaccuracy in the ratio of resin to hardener. Like the presenter, I used digital scales, but when I first started using RPC I just used a medicine measuing cup and it was fine. RPC has a safety sheet a mile long, smells awful and can be irritant. I use a fume grade respirator and good ventilation. The minimum number of coats is 2, not 3. I have always used 3 and it's been fine, and buffs out to a mirror shine. You can get good pore filling using RPC and no other pore filler. I have a 45 year old guitar finished in this way and there is no more pore sink that you would get with a grain filled nitrocellulose Martin. You can use t cut or any other auto compound, but the buffing compound that comes in the kit works fine. It flats well, so you don't need expensive brushes, so it is worth using disposables, as it is very messy to clean up. It has no more acoustic effect on acoustic instruments than nitro.
Thanks for your detailed contribution Robert. It is useful for people who are considering using RPC for the first time to get informed opinion. 👍🏻😀
This is a fantastic video for those dabbling with Rustins Plastic Coating. Can you comment on how the finish has held up? The product description says it does not craze on ageing, but the Internet seems to disagree, at least with respect to this application.
The body has not displayed any significant signs of crazing but the neck has. I recommend a traditional guitar finish such as nitrocellulose not Rustins Plastic Coating. Don't dabble with it. I avoided aerosol spray lacquers because the ambient humidity and temperature conditions are adverse in northern U.K. and I don't have anywhere to set up a suitable ventilated spraying zone. Using RPC seemed convenient, I didn't use it for slavish authenticity to Brian's original Red Special.
@@dsgb Thanks! I've been using a high-gloss 2K finish, but some people seem to want Rustins 🤷♂
I perceive that some people delude themselves into desiring and pursuing 'exact' replicas of The Red Special without giving due consideration of what is quality luthiery and fit for purpose. For example, using Cascamite adhesive when many better modern wood glues formulations are available. I'm personally not sold on the laminboard argument either. Whether Brian used it or not, I don't consider laminboard to be a quality construction board to make a replica Red Special from.
@@dsgb I've found laminboard to be useable, as long as it's not glued together with cascamite 😉
Thanks for sharing your experiences with RPC and making this great video. I’m also using RPC for my instruments and I’m using a HVLP spray gun to apply it, which works ok. For the initial and final coat I thin it with Rustins thinner. Filling the grain with Rustins grain filler works fine for me and I’m using boiled linseed oil to enhance the contrast and colour of the grain before coating. I tried it with several different wood types (Mahogany, Walnut, Makassar Ebony) and I had no adhesion or drying problems. I gave it a week to cure before applying the first coat.
I’m very interested in the black spirit powder dye you are using. Could you let me know which product you are using and where you would source it in the UK?
Did anybody try the Rustins Plastic Floor coating? I’m not sure if it is a different product or just uses a different hardener. It’s available in larger canisters (4L) and costs significantly less, it’s also available in a Satin finish.
Thanks for the kind words and useful information. I sourced the black spirit powder dye from John Penny Restoration Ltd in the U.K.
www.jpennyltd.co.uk
This video is superb ;) ..did Brian paint around his frets then? Carefully? I note that Rustin's is solvent resistant so applying the coating all over and then cleaning the frets back to reveal them wouldn't work .
Thanks. 🙏🏻 I'm pleased that you enjoyed the video. I don't know exactly what Brian did, possibly just cleaned out the fret slots after lacquering. Cutting the slots after lacquering would likely crack the lacquer.
Another possibility is that he put some sort of soft wax in the slots then removed it after lacquering by scraping out and swabbing with white spirit.