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Alternative Clearcoat


TeiscosRock

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I've heard that Duplicolor clear takes forever and a day to dry.. Are there any other inexpensive bradns that would work better over duplicolor color coats?

Duplicolor being...what? What's the manufacturer say? What are you trying to spray over? Are you talking about cure (ie, the month it generally takes most non-catalyzed finishes to be ready for buffing), or recoat time?

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Mattia, do a search on Duplicolor and you will see that quite a few here including me had problems with it...

If you spray it too thick it will really take more than 4 months to dry to the stage that you can buff good without leaving marks, and after that it will take quite some time to fully cure. And the problem is that the stuff can be layed pretty thick without it run.

Alternatives depends on your location, here in the states I'm using DEFT right now with great result, I have dared to wetsand and buff 2 days after the last coat was applied. this is not a good idea, but I'm the desperate type... in the future I will be using poly to be able to finish the next day. Other than that you have to check what type of finish you are usng as a base coat to determine whta clear will be compatible with it. I use createx for colors lately and had no problem with the DEFT nitro over it. I seen a few guys here use the DEFT over duplicolor mirage and it turned great. But remember that the base have to be completely dried before spraying DEFT if not it can reat and cause shrinkage.

Good luck

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I've saved the Duplicolor clears for other silly stuff, like to seal wooden truss rod covers, or for use in general household stuff. It flashes pretty quickly but takes...um...how long to cure? The clock is still ticking! :D

One great use I found for it was to lacquer pot pickups as I'm winding them. Because of the quick flash, I can soak the coil in it and resume winding again shortly thereafter (without a splash of lacquer on the first few turns) I think that's my new exclusive use for that stuff. Since it never really cures, I would classify it as somewhere between beeswax and nitro as a potting material.

It's totally consumer grade, so that some weekend handy-mom or dad can shoot their kid's bike or some flower vase and get great results. Deft is clearly the favorite around here, and no one has reported any problems with solvency or adhesion. So that's the way to go. But since Duplicolor is an acrylic based product, the ultimate would probably be a pro-grade automotive acrylic clear.

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Put this in the FWIW department...

My local wood guy (who is a professional finisher besides being a professional furniture maker, antiquer, etc...) says that Duplicolor is the biggest, saddest disgusting joke to ever hit the finishing market.

Like Frank explained, it's for people who have no interest in taking the time to learn the skills it takes to apply a real finish of ANY kind (poly, nitro, acrylic, take your pic), the weekend mom and pops thing. They are the 'I want it now, I want it now' people of the world, or simply innocent pedestrians who want to do an interesting weekend project.

It is a panacea, that's all. It's not real, and he is very saddened that so many people want to try and 'cheat' the old tried and true ways by using this stuff, then think they have created something nice, when any person who understand finishes and finishing knows it's a total joke product.

Put another way, Duplicolor is nothing more than a distraction, a sideroad, for those who really want to learn the art of finishing. For someone who really wants a professional finish (and I would think most guitar builders DO want somewhat of a pro finish) Duplicolor is a road that leads to nothing but a dead end, there's nothing of substance there to be learned.

I personally have never even used it, so I don't have any comments, those were his, but he sells wood to people who WANT a professional finish, but don't want to take any time to do it the right way.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. :D

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