ihocky2 Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 After doing quite a bit of reading I am a little more informed but just as confused on what type of clearcoat I want to use. I have 2 projects I am planning, one being a solid, possibly metallic, finish and the other being dyed. For the dyed I will be using either the Stewmac liquid stain or analine dye. But from there I am not sure what will work the best and easiest. These will be my first two finishing jobs, so I want something less complicated and more fool proof. I don;t have a spray booth so 2 part polyurethane is out. These are my following options and thoughts on them, a little shove in the right direction would be appreciated. Nitro: Pro- Less sanding between coats and no lines showing if coats are sanded through because of the layer melting. Less chance of runs. Cons- Goes on thinner than Poly. I really dislike the yellowing factor, I am looking to do medium to dark blue or green or purple, and want the color to stay the same over time. I also don't like the checking it does. Acrylic Laquer-I haven't found anything telling me a whole lot about it and the advantages over nitro. Waterbased Laquer Pros- A lot less toxic. Supposed to yellow a lot less and shrink less. Cons- Can't find enough people that have used it to make me feel comfortable using it and not much info on it. Polyurethane- Pros-Can be bought at home depot or lowes, goes on thicker, doesn't yellow or shrink. Cons- must be sanded well between coats, if coats are sanded through lines are present. When sanding between coats on poly, exactly how much must it be roughed? My main concern is if there is orange peel must I sand all the way until it all roughed, or shouldn't the orange peel bee too much of a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 I'd personally go with nitro. Why? I'm used to it. It's got a lot of great pros towards it like you mentioned. Layer melting, quick drying times, cheap, ect. Nitro doesnt yellow as much as you think, as long as you don't keep your guitar in an open window with constant sunlight on it no problem! Also checking shouldnt be an immediate issue but posisbly one over time as it's exposed to different climates. Nitro is a very forgiving paint too, great for beginners! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarchump Posted April 17, 2006 Report Share Posted April 17, 2006 (edited) I found nirto to dry really slow for me. It took 8 weeks for it to be hard enough to touch without leaving marks... Maybe it was a bad experience. I was using wacko nitro cans(bad stuff imo). The Minwax poly i used on a different project went on nice. just put it on as evenly as possible. I found the poly way more forgiving when it came to runs and drips becuse it builds so fast you dont run the risk of sandinf through. Also with poly, the down side is you need to set out a good 5 days for finnishing. Never stop in the finnishing process with it and continue weeks later or you run the risk of getting an ugly finnish that didnt blend well between layers even after sanding. Thats my 2 cents Edited April 17, 2006 by guitarchump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom300 Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 (edited) ignore please my post wound up being redundant Edited April 18, 2006 by Venom300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 The dry time doesn't concern me so much with any of the finishes. I have one that I can play while I am waiting for it to cure. I am just looking for a method that is going to show the least amount of errors. Which so far sounds like nitro, but like I said earlier I am afraid of the yellowing and cracking. How bad is the yellowing really? Say I did a whtie body, would it fade to more of a cream over time or would it tend to end up more of a TV yellow? Also how long does this really take and the same for the cracking? I am really interested in the waterbase laquer, but would like to hear from someone who has used it. Also any help on what the differences are with the acrylic laquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 I think this whole yellowing thing is blown way out of proportion. If you take care of your guitar (i.e. not leaving it in the sun for the rest of it's existance) it's not going to yellow that much. If you sprayed a white body it would probaly turn out a nice cream color like on the old strats, OVER TIME. Finish cracking occurs when the body moves. Whether that be from the wood shrinking over time, or a sudden temperature change that causes the wood to expand and contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Thanks for the clarrification on the problems with nitro. Still not sure what road I am going to take and probably won't know until I order something. Since it is cheap and easily available I am thinking about testing some poly on white paint and see how it affects that color and see how it polishes out for me and if I can do a good enough job to not get witness lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarchump Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 I think you will be surprised with the poly i was told that its hard to polish, hard to sand, and had problems blending between coat. But I found it way easier to use then nitro. Poly built fast was clear hard and wasnt that hard to polish. I like the finnish alot more then nitro in general. Keep in mind the rattle can poly is one part poly and not 2 part and there are some differences in the finnish. Ive only delt with the 1 part if rattle cans. im sure using a spray gun with any finnish would be way easier once u got the hang of it. Try out the minwax poly i think you will be happy with it and not bother going with the nitro that drys slow and builds slower. But thats just my opinion. Hopefully you find one that works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Nitro is an inherently unstable finish. Period. Very few old guitars aren't checked, degrading, etc. and most weren't left in the sun. If you like the yellowing, by all means, go for it. This said, it's got a pretty good track record overall, and if I could spray it withouth, y'know, killing myself with the fumes (maybe soon...I sense a spray booth in my future), I probably would. As it stands, I'm having pretty good success with waterbased finishes. Going to try KTM-9 next. What I really want to be spraying, though, is a catalyzed polyester. But anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 What nitro where you spraying Mattia? Werent you using a respirator when spraying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarchump Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 I spary minwax poly outside with only one of thos medical rated dust filters and i dont feel that im inhaling any fumes.Plus i do tend to spray down wind if theres a slight wind, but im usually behind the shed thats sheltered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 20, 2006 Report Share Posted April 20, 2006 I always spray with a respirator is only one issue; I live in an urban environment, so spraying outside is hardly an option (I spray out a 4th floor window), but the solvent fumes linger for far, far too long, and the offgassing doesn't help either. As for respirator, get a good one. If you can smell your finish/solvents at all while spraying, it's not doing it's job properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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