dave293

Not reall,y seeing as you would need more coats of the white to cover the blue. Masking wont be that time consuming.

The National D

I've nearly finished (1-2 more coats) finishing a mahogany body with nitro, and even after not having a new coat for 4 days, it is still very soft - storing it in the cardboard box it came in has scratched the hell out of it. The nitro I'm using is about 10% thinner and is being sprayed on. My question is, is this normal behaivor for nitro and what can be done to toughen it up so it doesn't blemish so easily?

Also, what is the best way to buff nitro so it isn't so sticky to touch? Use a wax or something, or go plain?

__________________
How may The National D help you waste your time?

dave293

You need to leave nitro for a month or two after spraying to cure. After it has cured you can buff it. You need to be careful with it until then.

The National D

By 'curing' you mean to just let is settle and soak into the grain for a couple of months?

__________________
How may The National D help you waste your time?

dave293

Just leave it and it will harden and any possible shrinkback will occur. As a general rule leave it in a closet or whatever and when you can't smell it, it's ok.

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, i'm tired.

CobenBlack

so if im painting my own design onto the guitar, i just follow the instructions as though i am going to paint it solid body, do one coat of the custom design (think hendrix v) and then clear coat over the top?

__________________
Like independent 80's hard rock bands? Check out mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Znu852-3qA

www.violentkarmamusic.com

dave293

Yes.

kaplac

Ok, I read over this and 2 things I'd liek to clarify.

Duplicolor And krylon spraypaints are both acrylic lacquer based paints.

So if your asking about any other types of paints, acrylic paints (like model paints and stuff) work well for smaller designs and stuff. Lacquer also does work well.

And For all of you doing clear coats, if you haven't been informed yet, you will need at LEAST 9 medium light coats but more is definately good. I typically spray around 15-20 coats of nitro on my bodies. Other waterbased finishes will require about the same amount, but read the instructiosn on the cans before you follow my advise.

For polyurethane finishes, the poly comes on thick when you spray it, so I'd do about 6 coats with about 2 medium coats every otehr day. And allowing a full day of curing time in between. Then about a week of curing after that.

And btw, when working with lacquers, there will be shrink back, and full curing time after you spray all of your coats will be at least about a month or 2, before you can start buffing and polishing. But even then the finish will still be soft.

Your body wont' be cured hard in probably about 4-6 months.

CobenBlack

thanks

__________________
Like independent 80's hard rock bands? Check out mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Znu852-3qA

www.violentkarmamusic.com

The National D

Thanks man.

__________________
How may The National D help you waste your time?

forsaknazrael

Good god. That's a long time. Thanks for that info, though.

__________________

xX_JIMI_Xx

yea i read that even after the initial hardening period of those months, it can continue to harden and dry for years, but you cant actually notice it.

__________________

┼

┼

yea thats me

kaplac

Yeah, nitro never fully cures completely.

But it'll be hard enough to play with and toss around by about 4 months.

After 1-2 months, the lacquer is still really soft and will carry any impressions from the surfaces it was on for a prolonged period of time. So its best to treat it lightly even after your done sanding and buffing.

JD Red LP

When a strip a guitar with chemicals, what stripper do you recommend? And what do i do to keep the paint inside the pickup and control cavities safe (it insulates the electronics right)?

__________________
7>6, you know you want join

Jackson COW7 Silverburst
Epiphone Les Paul Classic
Ibanez RG Project
Mesa DC-5

kaplac

I use jasco's chemical stripper, I think it's the one in a metallic yellow and red can. Its a paint and epoxy remover.

a lot of chemical strippers are really hit or miss. some strippers aren't strong enough to remove some paints.

Squiers I noticed are especially hard to strip since they load so much paint onto the bodies, and it's all pretty much rock hard poly.

And to protect the sheilding paint in the cavities, just don't put any stripper on it, or cover it with masking tape and cardboard. or something.
But I've found the greatest results from

sempri_fi

be careful with that stuff, like wear gloves and whatnot, its not fun to get on your skin, unless you're into the whole chemical burning thing

didnt think so...

kaplac

^ true dat

The stuff is pretty nasty on skin forgot to mention that.

And I noticed even with gloves it still went through to the skin, so might want to get a pair of super industrial gloves if you don't want a nasty burn for a couple hours.

oreodunk

Am i able to spray Satin Laquer onto a sunburst paint?
Will it be able to look more worn out like a vintage strat?

kaplac

It wont' look worn out, it'll just be not shiney. It guess it coud look worn. But it won't look like a 70s strat that was played to hell over the years.