“I’ve been in the Paint and Coatings Industry for over 17 years at Rust-Oleum, Sherwin Williams, Cook Paint and my own specialty Coatings and Adhesive company, Akrofire Inc. I was the primary Technical Spokesperson for Rust-Oleum for about 7 years. Found you online and just wanted to say that I really enjoy your technical articles. Oftentimes I find myself critical and nit-picky about online Coatings information but I think your writings are spot on; useful, technically sound and very well written. Mostly I just wanted to congratulate you on your uncommonly high quality technical advice.”
—George Danker, Akrofire Inc, Kansas City, MO—
Jeff Jewitt has taught finishing courses all across North American for over 20 years. But now you can get personal instruction from the on-line courses that you can purchase through O’Brien Guitars website here. All courses can be downloaded after purchase, or you can do what I do, which is simply navigate to the chapter or title you need to watch and stream it. Really quick and avoids searching! Click here to view all courses
The following links will take you to the O’Brien Guitars website to complete your purchase.
A Factory Lacquer Finish – Takes you from surface preparation all the way through to the final buffing. If you are just starting out, or not satisfied with your current finish, this is a must-have. 3 hours of instruction. Some people buy this course just for the surface preparation or buffing sections.
Urethane Finishing – Ever wondered how the high – tech polyester or 2-part urethane finishes are done? This is the current finish Jeff uses that took him years to fine tune. Now you can learn it at your own pace. You get complete instruction from start to finish as well as links to the products used.
Perfect Neck Set – one of the biggest challenges with luthiers just starting out is getting the geometry of the body correct so the fretboard is straight and fits the body correctly. This video shows you the method I perfected to get it perfect with repeatable results. This is my most popular course.
Sunbursts Made Simple – finishing is enough of a challenge for most guitar makers, let alone the idea of doing a sunburst. Sunbursts seem difficult – but with Jeff’s expert guidance and teaching, he makes it simple. This 7-1/2 hour course will guide you through applying sunbursts by hand and spray gun. Taping, scraping and finishing the sunburst are covered as well. Jeff uses actual guitars to demonstrate the techniques.
Leveling, Wet-Sanding & Buffing Made Simple – finishing the finish application has never been so thoroughly explained and demonstrated in the course. Finishers struggle enough to get a good finish and then are mystified by the process of polishing it to high gloss. This 5 hour course covers everything you need to do to get a great gloss finish. Other finish sheens are covered.
Jeff has authored 5 books on Finishing, Refinishing and Spraying Finishes. They have all be published by the Taunton Press. You can get a signed copy by ordering directly from us via our store on eBay.
This project is a new concept in book publishing, combining a feature and technique packed 45 minute DVD with a 125 page companion book.
In this book and DVD, Jeff explains how to choose equipment, how to set it up and demystifies the entire spray-finishing process.
Through this unique multimedia approach, which includes detailed step-by-step instructions, photos, and how-to video, readers learn where to safely spray finishes and how to troubleshoot and solve spray-finishing problems. Both the book and DVD cover a variety of spray systems, solvents, and waterborne finishing products.
Old furniture, whether a treasured heirloom or consignment shop find, is often better made than anything that can be bought today. So, why let damaged finishes detract from a beautiful piece when you can repair or refinish it in a way that preserves the piece and makes it look as good as new? Author Jeff Jewitt, a professional refinisher with over 30 years experience, shares his tricks, shortcuts, and tools of the trade in Refinishing Furniture Made Simple, an easy-to-follow book/DVD set by the Taunton Press that is sure to fly off the shelves. Weekend refinishers as well as professional woodworkers will benefit from the insider tips on how to evaluate the condition of a piece to decide the best strategy for rejuvenating it, repair and revive finishes to enhance their beauty while preserving their patina, and match an old finish for a seamless look.
Published by Taunton Press, the book, “Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing” has over 300 pages and 800 color photos and is the most up-to-date, comprehensive book on finishing wood ever published. This book covers both tried and true techniques like French Polishing right alongside more modern techniques such as spraying polyester and conversion varnish. You’ll learn about all the latest products and the tools to apply them, and techniques like toning, shading, sun-bursting, creative grain filling, and applying finishes, both by hand as well as spray. The book is organized for quick access which makes it easy to find each technique or topic.
Taunton 2000
This book was designed to make finishing easy. In this book you’ll get pro-level advise presented in a clear and concise format with plenty of clear, four-color photographs. You’ll get advice on the best equipment to buy, and then you’ll be shown how to use it. Included are helpful hints on each page to avoid the most common pitfalls and troubleshooting charts. The heart of this book is the Specialty Finishes Section, in which 14 finishes are detailed in a step-by-step format.
