federaldepot Posted July 13, 2006 Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 Hi to all on the board I just bought a Washburn WD18SW solid wood mahogany acoustic in a satin finsh. I want to apply a spray on Nitrocellulose finish Can I just put the nitro over the satin finish? Or will I need to do something else? I checked the tutorials and did a search but did not turn anything up for satin to Nitrocellulose finish Any help is appreciated! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Briggs Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Hi to all on the board I just bought a Washburn WD18SW solid wood mahogany acoustic in a satin finsh. I want to apply a spray on Nitrocellulose finish Can I just put the nitro over the satin finish? Or will I need to do something else? I checked the tutorials and did a search but did not turn anything up for satin to Nitrocellulose finish Any help is appreciated! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 I also want to know why- it looks nice as it is in the photo IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
federaldepot Posted July 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 (edited) Hi to all on the board I just bought a Washburn WD18SW solid wood mahogany acoustic in a satin finsh. I want to apply a spray on Nitrocellulose finish Can I just put the nitro over the satin finish? Or will I need to do something else? I checked the tutorials and did a search but did not turn anything up for satin to Nitrocellulose finish Any help is appreciated! John Hi John. First question I have to ask is - why??? If you just want to get gloss finish you could do it, but regardless of which type of catalyzed poly Washburn used, the only way to get nitro to stick is to spray a couple of coats of spirit based shellac. This will stick to anything, and nitro will bite into the shellac. I'm not sure, however, that the nitro solvents won't have an effect on the base finish. The other thing is that the new gloss coats won't be as if the entire finish were nitro clear. The base finish's satin is made possible by a flattening agent, which any sprayable coating can contain. Once that's gone down onto the wood, any clearcoats over the top will still appear somewhat 'cloudy'. If it were of utmost importance to have a nitro finish, it'd be better to RE-finish in nitro; ie: strip to bare wood and spray all over. Hi Jack Well my reason is that Im reading about how nitro finished guitars improve in tone when as the get older. I figured since I got the box for cheap I could just refnish it in nitro for cheap too. Is there much of a difference between an satin finished guitar and a nitro finished? Other than this tone aging improving stuff Im reading about? When you say strip down to the bare wood would i have to sand off the brown finish as well? or would I take off enough to get the satin off? Thanks for your info! John I also want to know why- it looks nice as it is in the photo IMHO Hi Ben I've been reading about how nitro finished guitars sound better as they age and figured I try to nitro the Washburn for cheap. Do you know anything about this nitro aging/tone improving stuff? John Edited July 15, 2006 by federaldepot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 I'm sure I replied to this thread yesterday...whatever... Well my reason is that Im reading about how nitro finished guitars improve in tone when as the get older. I figured since I got the box for cheap I could just refnish it in nitro for cheap too. Let's clear this one up RIGHT NOW: the myth that nitro-finished guitars improve in tone as they age because of the nitro finish is absolute, complete, utter, unadulterated nonsense. Simply Not True. What does matter is a well built guitar to start with (they break in/change as they age), and a thin finish. And most satin finishes qualify as 'thin' better than cheap gloss finished instruments. The finish material (polyurethane, polyester, nitro, shellac) doesn't really matter. What matters is how thin the finish is applied. Look at a lot of big name acoustic builders: Taylor, Larrivee to name but two. They're not using Nitro. They are building world-class instruments. Many smaller hand custom builders, with great instruments selling for even tens of thousands of dollars are using polyester (UV catalyzed or MEKP catalyzed), and these guys know how to build guitars. Is there much of a difference between an satin finished guitar and a nitro finished? Other than this tone aging improving stuff Im reading about? When you say strip down to the bare wood would i have to sand off the brown finish as well? or would I take off enough to get the satin off? A few things: difference between them is looks, and they've got slightly different finishes. The satin finish is probably thinner than a gloss finish at that price point, so you're fine. And forget all that nonsense about magic tone finishes. Stripping down to the bare wood means sanding off everything. Don't know if it's been stained, or something else, but realize that unless you've got a fair amount of experience finishing guitars, you will very likely not achieve a professional looking result. Finishing is not that easy, and there's a learning curve. Another risky thing: On an acoustic, you've got diddly in terms of margin for error: you can't afford to sand the wood much at all. You risk removing too much, significantly changing the thickness of the plates your sanding (tops, sides, back), which can affect the sound and the structural stability. It requires a light, careful touch. Bottom line: forget all the hyperbole you've read about Nitro's magickal tone-enhancing properties, and just play the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 (edited) If you want to improve the tone of your guitar get a bone nut and saddle and have it professionaly setup. Edited July 15, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 If you want to improve the tone of your guitar get a bone nut and saddle and have it professionaly setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
federaldepot Posted July 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 If you want to improve the tone of your guitar get a bone nut and saddle and have it professionaly setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Im mean whats the deal with this nitro? They make it out like its the holy grail of guitar finish tone It's a common finish on many 'holy grail' guitars (although many old Martins have Shellac finishes, I believe), and mojo, marketing and sloppy thinking has lead to many people claiming it has qausi-mystic properties. I'm firmly in the 'properly applied thin film finish is all that matters' camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
federaldepot Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Im mean whats the deal with this nitro? They make it out like its the holy grail of guitar finish tone It's a common finish on many 'holy grail' guitars (although many old Martins have Shellac finishes, I believe), and mojo, marketing and sloppy thinking has lead to many people claiming it has qausi-mystic properties. I'm firmly in the 'properly applied thin film finish is all that matters' camp. Hi Mattia, Thanks for the info. It saved, me time money and trouble from getting sucked into another goofy marketing scam John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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