what are you guys using as a finish coat on your pot calls? and do you finish inside and out?
I only finish outside. I use cellulose sanding sealer by Mylands along with Mylands frictions polish. Seams to do the trick for me. I also don't seal my soundboards.
inside and out, minimum of 3 coats of Polyacrylic.
I use tung oil on the inside and spar urethane on the outside. Haven't noticed any difference in sound when compared to a pot that isn't treated.
The problem with not sealing the inside is moisture getting into the wood, which can cause the wood to move/warp, and can actually cause some surfaces, like glass, to break under the stress of the movement. This problem wouldn't show up immediately, so you would be running the risk of having a bunch of pots in customers hands that start warping down the road if the inside is not sealed. I use rattle can spar, and I spray both inside and out to try to get a good seal on the whole pot. Like others have mentioned, a good penetrating oil finish will help prevent this as well.
Seal inside and out. I like to use CA most often but use oil finishes and spar finishes at times.
I seal inside and out using CA glue
Yes by all means finish inside and out. The inside finish is more important than the outside finish. If your not finishing the insides, the call will change tone according to the moisture/humidity in the air and will never sound the same as it does inside your shop. I prefer a hard smooth finish inside the call, so it doesn't effect the sound of the call. The outside, I use a couple coats of tongue oil to seal the woods first, then I'll spray a couple coats of lacquer over that to finish the outside and seal it solid. I do the same with all my wood soundboards.
I would seal both inside and out. I use lacquer, on some exotics poly will not dry or takes a really long time. Lacquer works great for me.