daveq Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 I watched the stewmac video on guitar finishing last night. They supposedly used nitro lacquer for most of the finishing. From what I could tell, they did a whole guitar in a matter of days. Teh LGM tutorial that explains the differences between products mentions that nitro has a very long cure time (3 weeks before polishing). Is this right? How did they go so fast in the video? I'm so confused about all of the products and terminology! If anyone here has used nitro lacquer, could you please tell me how long you waited between the various steps? I'm planning on a multi-color (3 solid color) guitar. Thanks, Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Yes Dave if you do a little digging your going to find out for a decent rubout and polish any lacquer (doesn't matter what type) needs a good 3 weeks to cure before polishing and buffing. One of the things about tutorial videos is that they RARELY ever tell you the time involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted August 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Thank you Brian, I guess I'll have to watch it again and see if they really say that it took 3 days. Then again, it wasn't clear to me that they were using nitro lacquer either but I'm pretty sure they were. Anyway, between coats nitro drys fairly quickly, right (45 min)? It's just the final buffing that requires the 3 weeks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Nitro will dry in about 5 minutes, I don't leave any time between coats, once you stop spraying, wait a good 5 days before you try spraying anymore (this is just my opinion from personal experience). When I was using Nitro I always put on 25 to 35 coats, 20 in the first day one after the other, wait 5 days, sand it flat, then 10 more. THEN!!!!! you have to wait a good 2 to 3 weeks, longer is better. The thing with video tutorials is, I'm sure it only took 3 days of work, but they don't tell you about all the time in between where they don't look at the guitar. The other thing is, you can polish nitro after only 2 days, but in 2 more weeks it will have shrunk so bad it will look like total crap again and you'll need to do it all over. That's the problem with Nitro, is it shrinks dramatically for at least the first 3 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 You might want to read this link.. it has some very interesting things on this subject. http://www.edromanguitars.com/tech/polyvsnitro.htm Nitro is good but comes with alot more headaches.. for example.. Nitro does dry faster between coats(also known as flash time). Takes around 5 minutes in the right conditions, and poly takes 30 to 40 before next coat can be applied. But where Poly really shines is the amount of time till polish.. which in most cases is 10 hours air dry time... instead of having to wait 3 weeks for nitrocellose to cure... but also Poly is even more dangerous so, make sure for good ventilation and use a good respirator, but you need that for spraying nitro as we'll.... Also I can understand why they deal with nitro.. it's because you can add your own colors to the clear easier. But from now on I'm a believer in PolyUrethane.. It's hard as a rock.. and looks awesome.. but then again nitro isn't bad to start off with.. it's just when you get frustrated that you'll be looking for poly.. lol.. My current choice is Nason Select Clear for the clear coat simply because it's really good paint for a better price.. just shop around for prices though it's still expensive.. PGP also makes good paint.. Good Luck on your paint job... Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted August 16, 2003 Report Share Posted August 16, 2003 FWIW, I put about as much faith in anything Ed Roman says as I believe that Yugo makes good luxury cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 16, 2003 Report Share Posted August 16, 2003 hehe.. yeah I know but it's the only thing I could find out with Nitro vs Poly.. lol.. I'm with ya LGM.. Poly is the best it just cost alot more.. $$$$$$ lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted August 16, 2003 Report Share Posted August 16, 2003 One thing to remember, Nitro doesn't work well over most anything except Nitro, keep that in mind when you do your multicolor paint job. It will work over alot of acrylics, but if you use enamel, or poly colors, you're asking for trouble. Nitro can be really idiotic to work with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 16, 2003 Report Share Posted August 16, 2003 lol... I was just looking at Harmony Central at the reviews some of Ed Roman guitars are getting.. most are good ratings on the guitar.. but he's not doing good because of the customer support part.. which most rated under 3... lol.. guess Ed is a hot head... it was funny reading some of those post.. P.S. No offense to anyone.. I don't even know Ed.. but just reporting what I've heard.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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