Official Luthiers Forum!

Howdy! I was wondering how one achieves a satin finish such as that seen
on many high end mandolins? I love the way it looks but I dont know how
it is done. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you kindly.

-Nate, the happy man!

You generally just buy Satin finish and not highn gloss finish. The nice thing about satin is that you dont have to buff it out. Generally you just spray it on and leave it. Because it is satin it hides most of the imperfections of the finish. I dont know if it is a high end thing though.
Homeboy

all the high end mando's i've run across, from 1920's f-4's to the current f-5's from many makers have had gloss finishes. just seems to be the style that is preferred by most players.

whilst buying satin finish is one route, many builders do not like the appearance of the included diffracting solids which flatten the finish. rather, they prefer to control the degree of flattening by the grade of sanding and buffing they go to.

and whilst i don't use satin finish out of the can, i think one still has to sand it flat to get a good looking finish.

Try the O'Brien DVD on finishing. It explains how to do it. Here it is

To avoid the milky look of flat finishes, try using high gloss for all but the last couple (or three) coats.
I used a semi matte lacquer on my first four guitars & was a bit distressed when I found over time, the finish would polish to a high gloss where the player's arm rested on the lower bout.
I spoke to Mike Doolin about this & he told me that water borne finishes will do the same thing... Sigh...

     

I've been using a satin water base that I'm really happy with - Crystalac.

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

Most high end mandolins are french polished vintage ones anyway tend to be. with age the high lust turns in to a deep but not so shinny glow. French Polish can be finished to any luster you want and is a simple finish to apply. It is more work than spraying a finish because it is a hand rubbed finish. I suspect this is the finish you have seen rather than a lacquer satin finish on mandolins