Starr Guitars is becoming an industry leader in Nitrocellulose Lacquer guitar finishing.

For years we have offered high-end Nitrocellulose Lacquer finishes, both shiny new and antique or "aged" finishes. For special orders, we offer personalized graphics on our custom guitars.  Finishing guitars has become our primary business and we are proud to showcase our talent on your instrument.

New for 2010, we are now considering accepting instruments from all manufacturers that can benefit from an upgrade. Please contact us to discuss!

Attention: Boutique Builders

We offer OEM pricing for smaller companies without spray facilities. We can help!  We have worked with quite a few small companies and can offer good discounts depending on volume.

Standard Finishes:

NOS High Gloss
Our regular, high gloss NOS finish we have become known for. Multiple sanding steps to insure a flat, mirror-like finish that is extremely wear resistant and will last for years. Nice and thin and resonant!  Very labor intensive and time consuming.  But, yes, it IS awesome!

Solid color (all colors available): $325 Alder, $375 Ash, Mahogany, etc.
Metallics: add $100
Sunburst or Toner: $375 Alder, $425 Ash etc.
2-piece Neck Finishes (non-finished fretboard): $150
1-piece Neck Finishes (finished fretboard): $200
New! Les Paul-style guitars add $400

Additional Options:

Neck Tints (any wood) Translucent Toner (tint): add $25
Grain-Enhanced Stained Tops - Figured Maple: add $120
Stripping and prepping: $150 (lacquer based), $300 (Polyester based)

Antique, Relic and Aged Finishes

For the ultimate in vintage looks, our proprietary processes and techniques offer the look, feel, and soul of a classic vintage instrument without compromising its playability or tone. In fact, some say it actually improves the tone!

From the raw wood, we finish the instrument with the intention of showing decades of use and abuse. We use a specially formulated nitro designed to dry hard and weather check correctly unlike most “relic'd” guitars on the market. We use vintage correct pore fillers and aniline dyes that fade under UV light to create the organic quality that our beloved vintage guitars have.

Using photos of real vintage guitars as a reference point, we ding, dent and chip the finish in the correct spots and wear the finish down in the natural parts of the body most commonly affected by physical contact, right down to the wear spots between the frets. Then we actually oxidize the wood rather than use dye to color the chips and dings. There is a difference!  Then, when necessary, we UV fade the finish to take on the natural color and characteristics of the old classics.

There is a real art to this process and it's what makes us the premier antiqued guitar finish shop in the South East.

Keep in mind that these finishes are unique. They are all done by hand, one at a time. Unless we're working on a high-end reproduction, you can expect a one-of-a-kind look.

To learn more about our antique, relic and aged finishes, please contact us for pricing and more options.

We look forward to working with you!