Kanile'a Satin Finish

PoiDog

PoiDog

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I'm not sure if this belongs in this section or the Luthier's section, so the mods can move this if it's incorrect.

Basically, I have a really quick, potentially silly, question: Is the Kanile'a satin finish a nitrocellulose base? I went on their site to look and couldn't find info one way or another. I know their gloss UV finish isn't nitro, but they don't specify for the satin.

I ask because I'm considering a small A-frame stand, but have been warned that the padding used on it can react with nitro finishes.

Mahalo in advance.
 
Mandarb said:
From the Kanile'a website....

http://kanileaukulele.com/faq16.php?osCsid=911b78e052db1b2f0acbabfa77884fdc

http://kanileaukulele.com/satinFinish.php?osCsid=911b78e052db1b2f0acbabfa77884fdc
Click to expand...

Mahalo, Madarb -

I already went through their website, and while they are pretty clear that their UV finish isn't nitro, there isn't any real info one way or the other about the satin -- unless it's just understood by people other than me that wiping varnish is or isn't nitro-based.

Oh, and I did send them an email asking, but figured I'd also cross-post here in case I could get the answer faster :)
 
Hey PoiDog, it might also depend on when it was made, if it's an older one it could have nitro... I have owned plenty of nitro instruments and I just wrap a piece of soft leather around rubber coated wall hangers, stands, etc.
I use laces for the U shaped parts and flat pieces with a drop of CA on other surfaces (not too much, don't want it to soak thru) :)
 
I'd like to point out that there are UV cured polyesters and UV cured urethanes. They are actually all polymerized through bonding with oxygen, and the UV initiators just enable that as a catalyst, just the same as would happen using a chemical catalyst. There is a school of thought that the chemically cured finishes are slightly harder, but if you analyzed the finished product, you'd probably not be able to tell the difference between chemical and UV cure. The resins are exactly the same.

The UV cured finishes have a major "gee-whiz" factor, but in fact are not superior to chemically cured finishes; they just cure faster.
 
I have one. It's extremely thin, and nothing more than a rub over the instrument with a wiping varnish. There really isn't enough finish to damage!

I love my kanilea but their satin finish seems to me far too thin. I have a satin finish Koaloha which feels much nicer. Sometimes when I'm playing my kanilea I think its almost as if they needednt have bothered with a finish at all
 
bazmaz said:
I have one. It's extremely thin, and nothing more than a rub over the instrument with a wiping varnish. There really isn't enough finish to damage!

I love my kanilea but their satin finish seems to me far too thin. I have a satin finish Koaloha which feels much nicer. Sometimes when I'm playing my kanilea I think its almost as if they needednt have bothered with a finish at all
Click to expand...

Several of my satin ukes have a wonderful finish that is barely there: Gstring, Boat Paddle, Mya-Moe, and Compass Rose (just in my group of ukes). All have really nice thin finishes. I think that adds to their sound, but that is a different topic.
 
Mahalo for all the replies and suggestions so far, everyone.

Does anyone know whether wiping varnish is nitro-based?
 
PoiDog said:
I ask because I'm considering a small A-frame stand, but have been warned that the padding used on it can react with nitro finishes.
Click to expand...

Hey PoiDog,

Curious to which stand? Is this a legit warning? I have a lot of different stands I use and I'd hate to find out the hard way.

Thanks.
 
bdukes said:
Hey PoiDog,

Curious to which stand? Is this a legit warning? I have a lot of different stands I use and I'd hate to find out the hard way.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

It's the Musician's Gear A-Frame stand. My friend has one and it comes with a small label warning about the potential reaction to nitro finishes. But I have the feeling that almost any stand that uses the same un-upholstered padding has the same problems.
 
I think almost any rubber coated stand will come with a warning about nitro finishes but it's really not a big deal if you protect the instrument from direct contact using something like I mentioned in my previous post. I did have a wall hanger melt the finish on a mandolin neck years ago but solved the problem with a piece of leather.
 
The wording among finish types have gotten very, very loose. What the finish companies call them and what they are according to "classic" definitions are just totally gone... For instance, Waterlox, an "oil finish" that I quite like is actually a long oil varnish. It's got a drying oil...tung oil...and a couple of suspended resins, phenolic and alkyd. That makes it a varnish. Modern lacquers have no lac bug content, but shellac does. There is catalyzed lacquer. There is conversion varnish. There is acrylic lacquer...which is not nitrocellulose lacquer. And when people talk about "poly finishes", do they mean polyurethane or polyester? Etc., etc., etc. And if you think this is confusing, try being a finisher...
 
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