Any Experience With Vinyl Sealer Like Behlen's

[TeleJelly]

Working on several swamp ash bodies at once. My current process has been tint body, apply lacquer sealer, sand and repeat until level then apply lacquer finish coats.

I was perusing the StewMac and Woodcraft catalogs and came across some Vinyl Sealer that is to be applied as your sealer coat, but has a higher solids content to level the wood surface.

Anyone used this before and yielded better results than sanding sealer? Inquiring minds want to know :!:

 

[steviemac]

You will have great results with McCloskey's Gym Seal........it's self-levelling and if you take your time between coats, sanding with wet/dry auto body paper, you can build up a super tough finish that you can buff out after your final coat. A friend who built world class violins, mandolins & guitars before he died at age 95 turned me on to this product, and also Transtint Dye. He would dissolve the yellow or amber Transtint in denatured alcohol....making up several different small glass bottles of varying strengths. This applied with care gives you a pale or darker yellow base that you can move around or lighten as needed simply by wiping it away with an alcohol soaked cloth. It's a good idea to use a scrap of wood similar to your guitar body until you see what works best for the stain color you're using over the Transtint. When you apply whatever stain color you want, you will be amazed at the way your finish will glow from down deep in the grain. Please pass this on to anyone that asks you how your finishes have suddenly become so intense. My friend shared everything that set his instruments apart....he won the finish competition every time he entered one.......more people need to know about this...perhaps you already know this.......in any case....pass it on.

 

[steviemac]

Just to be clear........the Gym Seal is over the top of your Transtint & whatever color you're after......i use it over painted colors as well.......as it gives you a finish that can take a lot of abuse........smoke.......scratches......gym shoes walking over it.........spray the air with water mist before you brush it on.......i prefer to brush it, (I hold the guitar body horizontally in a jig) you can spray it, but your coats are harder to control than with a brush, and you only need to clean a brush, rather than a spray outfit.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Hi, Danny.

I haven't used it in a while. It resisted drying quickly, and brought the process to a halt.

I recommend high quality blonde dewaxed shellac, made fresh from flakes as you need it.

The other choice is a varnish called Minwax Tung Oil Finish. This is a high end wipe on wipe off material that locks your color and grainfill in, so you can apply lacquer over it fairly soon. In either cases 2 coats is sufficient; I tend to do many more in the shellac because I get wrapped up in what I'm doing.

 

[Jan Folkson]

I use the behlen's vinyl sealer and have had good results with it. No drying time issues here.

 

[garymaddox]

I've used Behlen's vinyl once and I like it. I don't know how it will hold up in years to come but it does level quite well and only needs about an hour to dry between coats.

 

[castpolymer]

I just used Behlens on a mahogany body Tele I am building. Dried to touch in about 20 minutes. Good stuff.

 

[TeleJelly]

Thanks guys, also found something interesting on the RR forum from Curtis Novak using a water based sealer. I believe it was Minwax's Polycrylic. Looking for some alternative to the Deft Sanding Sealer I have been brushing on.

 

[boris bubbanov]

I sure have used a lot of PVA primer and builders on other kinds of projects; bikes, cars, house interiors and exteriors.

I'm wondering if my Behlen's sealer can was from a bad batch. I know my Behlen's Pore O Pac was bad and every can is bad. They changed the formula when they brought the production into the Mohawk plant. Garbage.