Finding "a better way" is a constant mantra around the Taylor factory. When it came to guitar finish, a better way was an imperative in the early ‘90s. Traditional lacquer finishes—though used for generations—can take several days to fully cure, are susceptible to cold-checking (a web-like pattern of fine cracking caused by extreme temperature fluctuation), and are environmentally un-friendly.

The charge for a better finish began with Bob Taylor and staffer Matt Guzzetta interacting with various ultraviolet (UV) bulb manufacturers. Despite being rebuffed and told that a UV-cured finish wasn't possible with wood as a material, the two nurtured direct relationships with chemists at various chemical companies, working together to find a solution. After exhaustive testing, the development process finally bore fruit in 1995 with the invention of a finish that is cured using UV light. It's a finish that's fast-curing, thin, durable, and versatile, and we've been using it ever since.

Using a polyester-type resin that's UV-activated, the new finish proved to be easier to use than Nitrocellulose-type lacquers. It's clearer, so the wood grain/coloration is more natural and distinct. It also doesn't yellow like lacquer, resists scratching and cracking, and doesn't cold-check. It contains as many "solids" as thicker finishes, so a thinner application provides the same protection while allowing the tonewood to breath for a more natural tone. It also ages the same way that we like a good lacquer finish to age, allowing the guitar to "open up" as it's played over the years.

Once the UV finish has been applied to a guitar, it's taken to a custom-made UV oven for curing. While lacquer finishes can take days to cure, the UV-curing process speeds it up to a matter of minutes, thanks to an added photo-initiator. The result is speedy production and the elimination of countless hours of harmful curing time, in which toxins are released into the environment.

Our polyester-based finish is about 85% resin and only 15% solvents (almost the exact reverse of the polyurethane ratio). UV-curing produces a greatly reduced Volatile Organic Compounds rate, the measure of pollutants released into the air. For our efforts, we earned not only a better finish, but a commendation from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District. We were also able to exceed all the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency, reduce the time it takes to complete a guitar, and apply finishes that are thinner, better-sounding, better-looking, and longer-lasting. And, because the finish is completely cured when it leaves the curing chamber, it doesn't sink into the wood's pores like our old solvent-release finishes. So, even though our finish is thinner than ever before, it still retains the "traditional" beauty of the old thicker lacquer-based finishes.