Lawrence-McFadden bankrupt

[DGDevin]

"The LaurenceMcFadden paint company, in business since 1885 and supplier of the finest lacquer, polyurethane, and polyester finishes to much of the fretted instrument business has shut down as of this week. The company is in bankruptcy and are negotiating to sell their formulas to other entities. This is going to hit our industry like a bomb...they supply Fender, Guild, Ovation, Martin, Taylor, and countless smaller makers."

"The Lawrence-McFadden Co. manufactures wood products. The company was founded in 1875 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On February 26,

2009, The Lawrence-McFadden Co. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia."

[Swingman]

> "The Lawrence-McFadden Co. manufactures wood products. The company was

Damn shame, but this has been going on for some time now ... you haven't been able to buy their Mission Oak stain from Rockler's for a good while. I believe Leon may have finally received an order of gel stain, but a few months back it didn't look good for getting it.

[Leon]

> "The Lawrence-McFadden Co. manufactures wood products. The company was

Fortunately I got 8 quarts of gel varnish from them in December.

>

[DGDevin]

Huh, I just ordered eight cans from Grizzly, hope they all show up, I really like that stuff.

[Leon]

Don't be suprised if they send you one of their other branded products. That is what I got and the rep indicated that if I was not pleased he would take it back. I was very pleased.

[DGDevin]

Package arrived and all seven varieties are L-M, not a substitute. What is the other brand they sent which you're happy with?

[Scott Lurndal]

Note that LM is in chapter 11. That generally means they are still doing business, just reorganizing their credit picture.

scott

[Leon]

Whitewood Master Finish is what they sent me. According to them it is exactly the same thing. I was pleased. There was another label however I do not recall the name.

[DGDevin]

I can find Whitewood Masterfinish (formerly Mastercraft?) mentioned in various places online--looks like they're owned by an unfinished furniture company--but not on Grizzly's site. Perhaps Grizzly is bringing it in as a substitute for L-M while they see if L-M is going to survive or not.

[Leon]

I think the different branded names were for the purpose of offering the same product on a wholesale level to those in the trades. The LMF brand was probably the most expensive of the offerings. This probably was working like Budweiser beer and Bush beer, both the same beer but each had different angles of attack concerning marketing and advertising.

[DGDevin]

They can come up with a dozen names for carbonated goat piss, none will make it worth drinking. ;~)

[Lew Hodgett]

If it's sold by Budweiser, Millers or Coors, it's a step up to qualify as goat piss.

Lew

[DGDevin]

You've probably heard the joke about when Budweiser sent a sample of what they figured was their best beer ever to the British (or German, or Belgian etc., take your pick) brewer's organization and then waited for a reply on the quality. Long weeks pasted, finally an envelope arrived and the Budweiser execs tore it open and read:

Your horse has diabetes.

[Lew Hodgett]

---------------------------------------------- Not this one but similar versions.

Mutterings:

"Greasy Dick" in St Louis is gone, but "Yuengling" in Eastern PA still survives.

Maybe I'll try to find it here on the left coast.

Lew

[Swingman]

Local Rockler had their last quart, and two pints, of their "Mission Oak" gel stain on clearance yesterday, which Lawrence-McFadden made for them. May well be the last of the mohicans ...

[Pat Barber]

This is really sad... Do you have any other known products to replace these with ???

Le>

[Swingman]

Sadly, at this point, no. I jumped on those immediately, but there has been no mention of this particular product on Rockler's sites for some time .

Then again, there is more than likely some shelf life to contend with with regard to "stocking up".

Too bad ... I still have a couple more anticipated upcoming projects where a color match is going to be imperative.

[Scott Lurndal]

Update: looks like they're selling off the coatings, From Michael Dresdner:

Q: Any word on the Lawrence McFadden Seagrave deal? A: The decision of the bankruptcy court that must approve Seagrave's purchase of Lawrence McFadden has been postponed until February first. I will get back to you via this blog once that is finalized, but in the meantime, I spoke at some length to Peter Tepperman, the owner of Seagrave Coatings, this morning and he told me he has every intention of continuing to offer the McFadden formulas for instrument finishes, gel urethanes, and other standard line products for which McFadden has developed a fine reputation over the years. The conversation left me very confident that I can now recommend Seagrave Coatings with the same fervor and assurance as I always did with McFadden in the past. I think we have a winning situation. Here's a link to Seagrave so you can see what they are all about.

scott

[Swingman]

Thanks, Scott ...

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:58:41 -0500, the infamous Pat Barber scrawled the following:

FUME IT, dad blast it!

-- Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate. -- Chuang-tzu