Nitro Finish Damage From Plastic?

[Hydrogeoman]

I have heard that nitro cellulose finishes are easily damaged when placed in contact with polymeric material, i.e., plastic.

How much, if any, of a problem has this been for you builders that shoot nitro and use plastic pickguards? Do you have to use a nitro cellulose pickguard? I am assuming if there is damage it is confined to the area under the pickguard. What form and to what degree is the damage? Do you apply a paper backing or other shielding on the back of your pickguards to create a barrier between the two materials?

I hope these aren't dumb questions , but the guitars I am currently working on all have nitro finishes and will all have plastic pickguards. I never gave it any consideration before until I did some reading in Bob Flexnor's book "Understanding Wood Finishes" and then I saw a warning label on a capo I just purchased stating the same.

Thanks for any experiences you can share.

Cheers

Greg

[Southpa]

I think it may be a case where its the opposite. The nitro reacts with the plastic, especially if not all of the volatile solvents (acetone, MEK, etc.) in the lacquer did not get a chance to evaporate.

[Doeringer]

+1 for Opposite - as long as the nitro has cured before the pickguard was attached, there should not be a problem.

Find an older nitro guitar and pull off the pickguard, almost looks like it was just buffed underneath. If this were a big problem, other parts like plastic pickup rings, cavity covers... could not be used.

Manufacturers need to put warning labels on products, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes to protect themselves (sometimes from idiots).

Here is a good example - I have my own brand of Hot Sauce. Hot Sauce does not need to be refrigerated (as long as the PH in the recipe is at the right level) but every bottle you find will say Keep Refrigerated (or something similar)...Why? Not because the sauce will go bad, but because the person putting sauce on their burger (or whatever) may touch the food with the lip of the bottle, put it back up in the cabinet, then will blame the maker for the furry growth that appears on the sauce.

[spazzyone]

the furry growth that appears on the sauce.

Dude thats my favorite part

[hooglebug]

you might have heard about the way nitro reacts with the foam rubber often used on guitar stands etc. these can leave nasty marks on nitro finishes

[Hydrogeoman]

you might have heard about the way nitro reacts with the foam rubber often used on guitar stands etc. these can leave nasty marks on nitro finishes

Yeah, this makes sense. The capo I bought has foam rubber where it contacts the back of the neck, thus the warning label on the box it came in.

[biliousfrog]

I've had a similar reaction with acrylic laquer...& the reaction was with a Warwick rockstand that I bought because it was supposedly made with "non-reactive" rubber