Seeing as quality of sound is paramount, the best finish for a concert guitar is a thin finish such as oil, French polish or nitrocellulose. These finishes will allow a concert guitar to sound it’s best without restricting the resonance of the soundboard.

Some luthiers such as Stuart Christie believe that French polish enhances the sound of his guitars. Check out his beautiful Romanillos model, based on Julian Bream’s 1973 José Romanillos guitar.

Other makers such as Ryan Gibson have applied oil to their guitars, as in theory this allows the soundboard to move more freely than French polish. Take a look at his Spruce/Santos Rosewood guitar currently in stock at Classical Guitar Academy for an example of a stunning oil finished instrument. Ryan also uses French polish on his guitars depending on customer demand.

Steve Toon opts to use a special oil based varnish. “this is similar to what has been applied to violins lutes etc for centuries. It is sometimes confused with an oil finish but this is a true varnish made from natural gums and resins. It provides a good level of protection to the guitar and is also very thin; more or less the same as French polish. It is also a little more flexible than the other finishes mentioned, allowing the wood to move.”

Steve has applied an oil varnish to this beautiful cedar doubletop model, available to buy from Classical Guitar Academy.