www Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 I am going to add a drop top to my latest acquistion and need to know what the finish is. Any ideas????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovation22 Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 What do you mean, like poly or lacquer? What make/model guitar is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 What do you mean, like poly or lacquer? What make/model guitar is it? SX J bass. Made in China. The finish feels hard enough to poly, but I wanted to know if there is a way to tell????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 im just gonna state a few facts about both, cos im not sure i could tell them apart, however have a read anyway! nitro lacquer checks and gives a very high gloss, very glassy finish. it is hard also, but more brittle than poly. poly withstands water better, and doesnt age or yellow like nitro does. hope this helps mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 i phrased that badly! the nitro gives a great glassy finish but checks (miniture cracks) not it gives a good finish because it checks!! its too late! mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Being the bass is new it doesn't have checks yet. If I spray poly over nitro will it stick?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 hmmm, im not too sure, i think nitro is quite sensitive to solvants, which the poly will have, to keep the spray in solution, this evaporates to leave finish, yadda yadda. ill ask dad, he'll know dad thinks the poly will eat away the nitro. sand the nitro off and do it with poly. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Well, since I guess lac and poly are the top two contenders these days... Find an inconspicuous spot on the body somewhere and drop a drop of lacquer thinner on it. Wipe it off after about 1 minute. If it's soft, you can scrape some finish off with your thumbnail, it's lacquer. If no response, it's probably poly. AFAIK, poly is harder and tougher than lacquer. The old finishing rule is never apply a harder finish over a softer one, trouble will always follow. If I remember right, you can get away with lacquer over poly, not the other way 'round. BUT, you can always use 2 coats of shellac as a barrier coat. Shellac is a great 'separator', it bonds to almost anything and almost anything bonds to it. So, if lacquer is on the bottom, shoot shellac, it'll stick to lacquer. Then shoot your poly over that, poly will stick to the shellac. But you still might run into problems doing poly over lacquer...hard over soft just don't mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 drak has a good pint there, i actually stumbled over some shellac on one of my brothers shelves, dad had put it there, wee shells. i found it on the net, its the secretion of a bug from somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 I always mix my shellac from fresh flakes and alcohol. Pre-made shellac has a shelf life and goes bad after a period of time. Doesn't dry hard, will stay gummy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 i dont think ill be using it, cos i think im oiling my next guitar, or using poly, but i may experiment with shellac, i was on a site about it, saying about cuts etc... i didnt read very much of it, lol mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butnut Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Im still not 100% sure what this is about, but it seems like a question of if you can use poly over lacquer or lacquer over poly. The answer is yes. You'll just need to scuff/sand since it's an existing finish. I use only lacquer for my custom paints and clearcoat with poly. I shoot lacquer over old poly finished bodies after using the primer and sealer. I will, for the first time, be shooting nitro clear lacquer right over a nice see through blonde poly to create the checking effect doing the hot/cold thing. Looking forward to see how that turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 poly and laquer fight. The finish will bubble and stuff. You can wet sand it and make it look OK, but up close, it'll always look ike crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butnut Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Lacquer sprayed on fresh poly will lift it...but since it's an existing finsh (I assumed) it should be stable enough to scuff, prime/seal and paint. I've been doing this for years with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted December 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 Thank you gentlemen. The posts helped alot. I'll try the lacquer thinner on an "inconspicuous spot" and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butnut Posted December 20, 2003 Report Share Posted December 20, 2003 What do you mean, like poly or lacquer? What make/model guitar is it? SX J bass. Made in China. The finish feels hard enough to poly, but I wanted to know if there is a way to tell????? Getting back to your question, it will be safe for you to poly over poly with no reactions. I'm pretty sure most import stuff is poly as lacquer is more labor. I lacquered over my poly base only after paint stripper did absolutely nothing to it. I had poly'd it about 15 years prior to doing a color change and it was soild as a rock. I should have stated that to avoid confusion as lacquer sprayed on anything other than lacquer will mess it up...unless you have a very stable and old cured poly surface. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 When I talked to the guy at Guitar Reranch about 3 months ago, he said that Poly would work over Nitro. I also remember a automotive finish person tell me that I could spray clear automotive Poly over Nitro and it would work great. I have only done one guitar with this combination, using the nitro for the basecoat, and poly for clear, but so far it looks great.. I'll let ya know if it ever peels off.. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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