Guitar Clear Coat

[Steve]

Anyone have experience?

Chris and I will be finishing a few guitar this summer and we're looking for recommendations for the clear coat.

I've done a little research and found "Nitrocellulose lacquer" has been used.

Any other suggestions..

 

[Donnie]

Nope. No experience at all. Sorry.

 

[Steve]

Nope. No experience at all. Sorry.

I was about to send you a PM.

 

[dpm]

Nitro is very time consuming to use. It has few solids in it, needs lots of coats, and is a lot of work. It's also delicate.
Mike and Donnie are probably the best ones to answer this

 

[dpm]

Nope. No experience at all. Sorry.

* dpm giggles

 

[Adam]

Anyone have experience?

Chris and I will be finishing a few guitar this summer and we're looking for recommendations for the clear coat.

I've done a little research and found "Nitrocellulose lacquer" has been used.

Any other suggestions..

ATM Im using Krylon triple thick crystal clear extra glossy clear coat, and its holding up well

 

[Steve]

I'll be having the clear coat sprayed professionally by a guy that does Kitchen Cabinet refinishing. So he'll do plenty of coats and sand in between each coat. He asked me today, what type of Lacquer I wanted, so what ever I choose, needs to be sold by the gallon (or so), since it'll be shot through a gun.

 

[dpm]

Ask him what types he uses regularly. He'll do the best job with something he's used to spraying, and won't get the shits with you for asking for something exotic. You want something with good transparency, not hazy or milky looking.

 

[Donnie]

Steve, he shouldn't need to sand between each coat. If he's thinking of a polyurethane clear, then maybe but those are generally only used when you are just protecting stained wood.

 

[Steve]

Steve, he shouldn't need to sand between each coat. If he's thinking of a polyurethane clear, then maybe but those are generally only used when you are just protecting stained wood.

Yeah, he's used to spraying cabinets... I'll pass that recommendation on to him... and I'll probably give him a couple samples to practice on.

Ask him what types he uses regularly. He'll do the best job with something he's used to spraying, and won't get the shits with you for asking for something exotic. You want something with good transparency, not hazy or milky looking.

Great point... I talked to guy for the first time today, so I'm sure I'll have quite a few more conversation before we hand him the guitars.

 

[TripleFan]

If this refin business relates to the guitar Chris wants to swirl your clear coat depends on the type of color you use for the swirl.

If you will use enamel paint (Testors, Humbrol, etc) for swirling like the PG tut mentions you´re probably best of with 1K polyurethane clear. Some people seem to be successfull with poly clear by Minwax.
Nitro will most probably melt the swirl (and most other paint) right off your guitar. From what I´ve read the solvents in nitro are too aggressive to go over any other type of paint.
Same goes for some types of 2K poly clear.

Take all this with a grain of salt as I have no practical experiences in finishing. That´s what I´ve read on various forums related to guitar building and finishing.

TripleFan

 

[scott from _actual time_]

Chris and I will be finishing a few guitar this summer and we're looking for recommendations for the clear coat.
I've done a little research and found "Nitrocellulose lacquer" has been used.

i've sprayed nitro on several of the guitars i've built.



it was used as the classic laquer on 50s-70s guitars, and cars too. it builds a nice shell that is brittle and will chip (think RG2027), but it looks very shiny after wetsanding. nitro handles pretty well; it is relatively forgiving and it's not too too difficult for a beginner to get a good finish. it can also be bought in rattlecans at Lowes (Deft brand).

the major drawback to nitro--it is poisonous as F*CK. you MUST wear breathing protection that is designed to filter out organic solvents. that means not a flimsy dust mask, but a "gas mask" looking thing that has filter cartridges that will filter organic solvents. (also available at Lowes). you MUST spray in a well-ventilated area, not indoors unless you have a fan-powered ventilating system.

most pro clear coats on guitars are catalyzed polyesters, which are not as hazardous as nitro but are still poisonous and more difficult for a beginner to spray (need a spray gun and a ventilated booth). clear acrylics and polys can be found at Home Depot, but they don't build up a thick finish and won't buff to a mirror shine. shellac is good for a matte or amber-tinted finish. but nitro is the easiest way IMO for a beginner to get pro-looking results.

your cabinet-maker guy may be used to spraying thinner coats of things that don't build up and are not wet-sanded or polished. that's what i do when i'm building cabinets. make sure he knows what you're looking for on the guitar.

TripleFan is absolutely right about making sure your clear coat is compatible with the underlying paint. i use nitro clear over stained wood--the solvents won't change the stain. if you are using water-based paint, the nitro probably will melt through. the #1 rule of finishing is ALWAYS test on scraps first--preferably the same type of wood you're using, with the same stain or paint underneath.

you should thoroughly check out some of the guitar building sites, like the forums at projectguitar.com, and the finishing tutorials at reranch.com. they talk about the series of steps like sanding sealer, rough sanding, lacquer coats, wet-sanding, and buffing.