Monday, September 16, 2013

UV Finish Training

This month I headed down to the Taylor factory for a couple of days to get trained in using the Taylor UV cured finish for repairs.  If you know anything about guitar finish, you know that there are a number of styles used.  From the old school nitrocellulose lacquer to the quickly cured UV finishes and everything in between.  Taylor has always been known for not being afraid of using new technology and this is a great example.  I had been wanting to get training for this for so long and this year all of the stars finally aligned.
I made my third trip down to the factory in early September and was lucky to get one-on-one training with one of Taylor's finest- Mr. Rob Magargal.  You may recognize him from online Taylor videos from their website.  Rob has worn so many hats over the years with Taylor including overseeing production quality and being the head of the repair department there.  He is currently heading up the Taylor Service Centers worldwide.
Rob brought me up to speed on how the Taylor finish works and how to properly repair it.  Over the last several months I had been buying what I needed piece by piece for my shop, including a compact spray booth, UV curing light, and spray equipment.  Rob walked me through the steps that are used at the factory to repair their finish and how I can implement that technology in my shop.  It was an absolutely thrilling experience as always.  After spending a day watching how it was done, the next day entailed Rob watching me doing multiple finish repairs on a guitar body.  I was able to walk around the factory and share the spray booth, buffing room and other areas alongside the great folks in production making new Taylor guitars.  The factory is a constant buzz of people putting their best effort forward to bring you a great quality guitar.
The folks down at Taylor are always ready to share information, tips and industry secrets to people like me who are representing them out in the field.


Best,

James Fry

Here is a shot that Rob took of me holding a guitar body under the UV curing light at the factory.  The visor protects my eyes from the UV light.