Just about every consumer grade acoustic guitar has either a gloss or satin finish; gloss finishes have the clear coat. The difference is negligible and only affects aesthetics. On some very expensive acoustic guitars you might find tung oil finishes. You could always strip and refinish an acoustic guitar, but don't expect stellar results unless you know what you are doing. Then again, clear coats are pretty easy to apply decently. And lastly, shouldn't posts like this be made in the "Musical Instruments" forum?

I think there are at least a few people out there who would disagree. The stain or lacquer on a guitar can affect the tone IMHO and it likely effects the longevity of the guitar as well. I personally prefer a well lacquered guitar. I've tried a few natural finish guitars and didn't like any of them. Some from Taylor and Seagull(I've never liked Seagull guitars mind you).

My brother works for a local luthier and just recently I had the pleasure of meeting [[url=http://[/URL]="http://shuriyaguita…"]this man[/]="http://shuriyaguita…"]this man[/]. I suppose I could ask around for specifics.

I know for sure that in Violin making the Lacquer is as crucial to the construction as the construction itself. Thickness, density, penetration can effect the tone.

This is of course just an opinion. I don't know that you can "prove" this. This is also from a classical point of view.

I think there are at least a few people out there who would disagree. The stain or lacquer on a guitar can affect the tone IMHO

Once upon a time I used argue about the supposed tonal differences between nitro and poly finishes, but that was just dumb. Technically, every piece of a guitar affects the tone, and while the finish itself does affect the tone, it isn't really the TYPE of finish that affects the tone, but the thickness of the finish that affects the tone. Cheap guitars usually have thick, gloppy finishes, while expensive guitars have thinner, better applied finishes. Honestly, I don't think anyone would do so well in a blindfold test comparing satin finishes to gloss finishes.