subject17

to let you know i held the nozzle down fully holding the can 12 inches from the body surface doing 3 light coats every 20 minutes with a few breaks in between. =... i spent all day on it and followed the instructions on the can. BTW it IS mahogany.

its minwax rattle can polyurethane. maybe i was too light on it. i'll be getting 4 more cans to make sure its done right the next round. lol. it was sanding sealed too.

actually i used 4 cans and about 15-20 coats a can. guess i need to just keep putting more on lol...

well 68 coats of rattle can poly later and i bearly have any build. very light coats mind you. but still 68 coats. looks like i need another 4 cans. any suggestions?

i forgot to mention also that my neck and headstock are dyed as well. how much poly is typically required to do a neck? common sense tells me that i would want it as thin as i can get it on a neck thanks! -RS.

thanks, i will keep that in mind. im just trying to use it for that purpose you stated. and take some of the filling responsibility away from the poly ( not all of it ) im just taking my time with this and hopefully... (god willing) everything will turn out OK on this first time out. i need to run a poll on the color of hardware i should use for a blue burst though.... not too sure... hmm..... thanks

i see, well i am headed back to the de-pot tommorow morning to get some supplies. i will for sure be heading there to get some things. i know about the longer drying time. i have alot of things to learn... and i wish i had the experience needed to shoot the 2 pack poly. (and the equipment for that matter) this is a HUGE undertaking for me. and i know its kind of like drak said to me. the next one is always better. im doing the best i can to get a good finish this time around and the next time. i can learn from what did not go so right and make sure i do it properly that time around. as far as finishing liquids go, what makes poly or nitro better than the other? because as far as i can see. it looks like they both have their drawbacks. checking and yellowing versus. unforgiving repairs and longer dry time. i have decided on poly this time in part because i've seen a beautiful red tele that was minwaxed... LOL... and godinSG made a guitar that was finished in it as well and they both came out great looking. i've also seen some awesome guitars sprayed with deft... and i will be trying nitro next time around. nitro is a little harder for me to get ahold of though. but i wanted to try both and see what rattlecan i like better. to cope with the dust and bugs issue... the area i am spraying in, when done. should be as dust free as a human can get it with standard cleaning utensils, and im in arizona. so bugs arent as huge of an issue... though i will setup some traps now that you've said something about it. the drying area is a locked closed shed that gets pretty warm but not HOT HOT.... i think its a pretty good area for all of this. any other advice is appriciated. and i didnt want a war in this thread. im just trying to soak up whatever information/experiences/mistakes/victories that you all have had with this stuff and try to apply it to what im doing. i feel that some day i will try waterbased and epoxy finishes too but thats another time another story and another set of equipment for sure thanks again. -RS

I just wanted to say that i ordered some very nice shell from Depaule Supply http://www.luthiersupply.com/productspage.html This may be common knowledge among you guys. But andy is an awesome guy and even took my order on a saturday. (forgot it was saturday lol... im not being payed or compensated in anyway for this. but if your needing inlay material and you want something beautiful.... you should at least have a look this place rocks.... and the prices are good too... only like 13.00 for me to get everything i needed for my products. have at it guys. -RS

i see, i have sanding sealer that is made to go with this particular brand of poly though. well i suppose 1 coat wont hurt it. i need some minor things leveled anyway. this is a refin and not a build.... (that comes next ) if you think i should just start blasting it. i will assemble my makeshift spray booth. (shed converted into a spray booth with the front door as the opening. (that took days to get ready lol) thanks Cheers.... hmm.... no beer icon... :|

southpa, what do you think of using sanding sealer to kind of pack the pores a bit to reduce the possible shrinkback? its more of a protective layer other than an actual pore filler. might help preserve it. what do you think?

alright so just to see if i understand this correctly. 3 coats to do the guitar? or 3 coats every 20 minutes until the desired build is reached. im a total idiot but such subtlties are the root at how these things work thanks RS EDIT: sorry didnt mean to quote the whole post.

hey godin, i've done some wipe on dye bursting and to be honest. the closest i've seen to a white dye is a silver grey available at http://www.wdlockwood.com/main.html you might be able to delute it enough and brighten it up. (not sure on this one) its in the alchohol soluable section i think. you might be better off trying the spray and having a big fade so that it gives a transparent effect. (like VERY small particles) so that it will still show blue below that. (if thats what your looking for) i think that would look great. just some ideas since you were looking. -RS cheers. helps. if i can spell... lol

im sorry i read it again. i didnt really understand it too much the first time. as long as the finish looks good and can stand some minor abuse over the years. i DO take good care of my instruments. i will try it and if i dont like it so much. next time i'll use nitro. just to know. with the 1 part poly. do i have to spray all my coats together (20-30 min apart) to have it work like i've read of can i do like 1-2 coats a day (at the beginning anyway) and be ok? i just want to make sure that i dont screw it up thanks -RS cheers

now wes when you say soft, do you mean like never hardens right soft or soft as in will take damage faster? i dont want to use it if it will not cure properly. thanks -RS

to be honest. i've never used rattlecan poly before and i was seeing if it was a viable alternative to nitro because i think guitars that are checked look like crap. lol (just my 2 cents) not only that the whole ambering issue with nitro is a concern to me. (im not an pond scum green fan at all)(blue guitar) lol i just dont know what is going to dry hard and still work well for a clear coat. i figure worst case scenario. i start over with nitro.... but this whole thing is pretty new to me still... any advice on nitro that i might not know would be very good so i can apply it to what i know thanks -RS