# Is the satin finish on a guitar always ends up losing?



## Rex (Jan 19, 2012)

Hey i´m searching for a new 7 and i´m looking for a LTD MH 417, but I've read in forums that the satin finish is lost where your hand is supporting and in the neck.

Does this always happen? Does it happen soon? Is I´m worried about the body finish, the neck is not as important.

I´ve got friends who have others guitars with satin finish and they don´t like this finish. 
They say that the satin finish is gloss finish in the area where you put your arm.

Is noticeable the difference or it´s not important?

Well thanks in advance, and sorry my poor English


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## charlieshreds (Jan 19, 2012)

Hey man! Your english is fine dont worry haha.
But anyways im not sure if the finish actually comes off but my friend owns a satin finished
Ibanez and where his arm rest its kinda oily and brighter looking.
Thats my two cents hope it helps!


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## Andromalia (Jan 19, 2012)

Some areas will tend to get glossier yes, but not to the point of calling it a "gloss finish". It will be more noticeable on dark/black guitars.


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## Rex (Jan 19, 2012)

Andromalia said:


> Some areas will tend to get glossier yes, but not to the point of calling it a "gloss finish". It will be more noticeable on dark/black guitars.



The MH 417 is Satin Black


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## mikernaut (Jan 19, 2012)

I have/ had a couple camo ESP's with the satin finish and I love the feel. It will smooth out abit from wear but Andromalia said it will never be super glossy.


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## theicon2125 (Jan 19, 2012)

I used to own an LTD EC-256, which is a distressed satin black, and like mentioned above, the spot below the pickups where I would sometimes rest my hand got a little shinier. It was nothing major so I would go ahead and get the MH. And make sure you do a NGD when you get it


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## Neil (Jan 19, 2012)

It depends whether the manufacturer has used a proper satin finish, or simply a gloss finish that hasnt been sanded to a high grit and buffed.

Manufactures probably just use normal gloss finishes on everything to save money, and on guitars that are going to be satin they just leave the finish as it is straight from the gun (may be do a bit of levelling) and if they want it gloss they level sand it to a high grit and then buff it for a gloss finish, by playing the guitar you are just doing that process over a long period of time (thats why people who had a gloss neck and sanded it down say that the gloss comes back after a while).

A proper sating finish however has 'flattening agents' in it, things added to the clear coat specifically to cause light not to reflect well and result in a satin or flat finish.

In theory a proper satin finish shouldn't be able to buff to a gloss but I don't know personally.



If your finish does go gloss you can always make it satin again with wire wool or sand paper.


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## Into Obsidian (Jan 19, 2012)

Ive been meaning to ask the same thing! This is my NAMM CS Jackson Warrior W/satin finish. And underneath the bridge pickup is where I have some oily/shiny buildup. So you're saying some fine steel wool will take care of this? Thanks to all for your input!


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## Sepultorture (Jan 19, 2012)

for the necks satin finish the wear is actually a good thing, the satin is a good feel and allows you to move about without the posssibility of sticking, your hand will wear it out but will wear as much as you play, i find wearing away at bare wood or satin leaves it feeling even comfier and easier to play as it matches the roughness of your hands

as for the finish on the body, not soo awesome, all satin will wear, on the arm rest and even around the pickups if your fingers ever rest there, it sucks and not much you can do about it


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## Moltar (Jan 19, 2012)

I have always thought that any kind of wear patterns on guitars looks cool. It just shows that you have played the shit out of that guitar. Same appeal of people wanting those road worn fenders except you have worn it yourself.


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## otisct20 (Jan 19, 2012)

I have an MH-417, it is a great guitar (for me) has the most comfortable neck ever. It does gloss quikly, especially the neck but it still play fast and easy. If I were you I would just get the guitar< the finish is not important!


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## TRENCHLORD (Jan 19, 2012)

Just rescuff the back of neck when it gets smoothed out.
The armrest and pickup areas don't matter a bit (to me anyways).


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## veshly (Jan 19, 2012)

My flat black guitar has some spots like that and even some of the paint coming off on the forearm spot. I dig it.


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## sakeido (Jan 19, 2012)

Moltar said:


> I have always thought that any kind of wear patterns on guitars looks cool. It just shows that you have played the shit out of that guitar. Same appeal of people wanting those road worn fenders except you have worn it yourself.



bingo. i stressed about it at first then thought "ahh no way it looks awesome!" 
plus a satin finished neck with a couple years of hand oil worked into it plays soooooo smoothly.. imo, better than just a raw finished oil neck


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## Floppystrings (Jan 20, 2012)

You can get a buffing kit and make the finish glossy.

I have seen some good results doing this and I would probably do it if I owned an MH-417.

The back neck of my ARZ307 is sanded satin w/600 grit sandpaper, and I am pretty sure I could buff it back to a shine in about 10 minutes with the buffing kit (it attaches to a drill).


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## adrock (Jan 20, 2012)

Neil said:


> A proper sating finish however has 'flattening agents' in it, things added to the clear coat specifically to cause light not to reflect well and result in a satin or flat finish.
> 
> In theory a proper satin finish shouldn't be able to buff to a gloss but I don't know personally.


I used to paint motorcycles and cars for a living, and I was obsessed with satin finishes for a while. I still love them.

You can definitely buff a clear coat with flattening agent to a perfect gloss. The satin will only last if you DO NOT USE the item. Any wear on satin will literally "buff" it out, as mentioned in a previous reply. 

Just for the record, flattening agent will also make the finish slightly cloudy, not by much though. It's only noticeable when compared to clear without flattener added.

And my 1,000th post, whoo!


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## Littledidweknow (Jan 20, 2012)

They get a glossy look due to oils from our skin. A detailed cleaning with any product that helps break down oils will get it back to a nice satin finish. Mine never gets too glossy looking so I only clean it when I change strings.


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## Hellbound (Jan 20, 2012)

depends on the brand and quality. I have 2 Schecters...one ATX c-7 in black satin which turned into a kinda nasty feeling gloss finish in a matter of just months. The other is a Loomis in vampire satin which not only costed more but has a much better finish and even though it is satin in 2 years of usage the finish is no different than when I first purchased it. There is a way of using fine grit sandpaper to smooth the finish back out to a satin finish which I may try on my Black one because it is pretty hard sliding up and down the neck. So all in all I say quality wins...meaning usually the more expensive a guitar the better the finish will last.


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## Rook (Jan 20, 2012)

Depends on the guitar.

My SLSMG glossed up the neck, under the knobs and where my arm rested. When I say glossed I mean properly glossed, I could almost see a reflection in it 

My Mayones is satin finished and it gets a little oily but wipes off and looks even all over.


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