Nitrocellulose Lacquer Never Cures 

Thanks Dave. I’m glad to hear it worked out for you!

Hi Michael. Have you seen my video on how finish affects tone? I think that may help provide some insight on this topic.

The pooling issue is pretty unusual. I think you must have a slower thinner than one might typically see.

Thanks, Brad Angove.

It can be difficult to find a balance on how many coats you need. The Behlen comes out of the can better and faster, so with the watco you need to be more conscious of your coat thickness.

Ya, I’m not sure what one expects. That’s an appropriate set of numbers. If you want more nitro solids, make your own out of ping pong balls.

You’re welcome. I’m happy that it was informative.

Have you seen my video on how to get a professional looking clear coat with spray cans?

I’ve seen a few people use the solarez. It looks like a good product, but I’ve never used it myself. I seem to recall reaching out to them a year or two ago about it. I’ll try again to get in touch with them.

I’m excited to give the crackle a try. Should be fun haha.

Brad Angove I hope you make a video on the crackle finish.

That’s the plan.

I think you could probably get away with it just fine. They’re certainly not meant to go together though. Make sure you sand the acrylic before painting over it.

It finishes gassing off after about a month usually. By then it has fully dried. It just doesn’t have a chemical curing reaction.

If one of my lacquer finishes chips I will see about doing that.

Belhlen (now Mohawk) has a Water Clear Acrylic lacquer clear coat that is fully compatible with Duplicolor cans

Sand it smooth and see if you need to recoat or if you can just polish.

No, acrylic doesn’t yellow.

I’m in Canada, yes. I generally get my pigments from a place called walls alive. I get my dyes that I mix in from a variety of places though, including Behlen.

On a solid body electric, it really doesn’t matter what you put on it from a tonal perspective. You’re right that some people still cling to that idea, but the finish doesn’t make a difference that we can hear. As for the nitro, I think the main draw for people who ask for it is the way that it ages and wears.

Curing is a chemical process that changes the composition of the material. A cured finish generally can’t be re-dissolved in the same thinner.

For me, yes. It sprays better, doesn’t check as easily, and dries faster to be able to polish. You can look at it as twice the price if you want. Of you can say, is it worth $9 for better quality paint?

Haha thanks.

That is a crazy comment

you're the flake and a giant sized asshole , sounds like ya better lay off "using a few lacquers " and try and save that 1/4 operational braincell u have left .

Did you buy a spray can of the clear or are you mixing/spraying with a gun?

@@BradAngove Hey Brad- thanks for the response! Both laquers (blue & clear) are spray cans from SoloGuitars.com

You don’t need thinner then. You won’t be able to thin it anyway. You will probably need to do some sanding and polishing though. Try to keep the color to the effected area and the you can do your clear coat and sand smooth and polish.

@@BradAngove thank you dude! appreciate the advice

Yes, if it’s lacquer you can do that and mix in more thinner to help melt those lines in a bit too.

I had no idea cricket balls were made of wood. I figured it was just the bats. I honestly have no idea what you would coat that with. Maybe just oil.

That won’t work. Heat will actually cause the lacquer to release and bubble.

Yes, give it about 3 weeks to dry fully and then you can sand lightly and coat with poly.

@BradAngove Ended up taking off the nitrocellulose and sanded down to bare wood then I used a black oil based stain caked it on HEAVY and let it sit for 3 days sanded it super lightly with 800 grit and now I'm using a wipe on oil based poly so far I just laid the first coat down its a thin coat but I plan on doing several coats 4 or maybe more sanding in between each coat of course.

You can get brushing nitrocellulose lacquer. It’s a good option. Don’t brush the spraying version though, it will dry as you’re brushing it and will get stringy.

@@BradAngove i was wondering about that. Thanks.

Which one are you going to try?

The EM 6000. Although, I'm a bit torn. That 9000 Poly looks intriguing. Hard decision, 34 bucks a litre is a bit of an investment, lol.

Yeah, that’s a little steep haha.

I wipes off? Does it feel rough to the touch?

It is smooth and shiny and looks dry, but when I take a cloth and wipe over the top, I get a metallic looking dust the color of the paint on my cloth.

Sounds like you just need to seal it in with some clear coat. Wipe it off first, that metallic dust is probably just overspray that should be cleaned off.

Thanks so much ! That's exactly what I will do. I am learning a lot from your videos, keep them coming.

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching.

About a month

@@BradAngove :( haha thanks for the response

Have you seen my video on how to turn gloss finishes matte or satin?

I like the Oxford supply nitro. They have really good spray cans. So does Mohawk.

If the Sherwin Williams that you’re using is enamel based, your lacquer will react poorly and probably wrinkle and peel.

don't do it ! never use nitro over oil based stains and paints ! the main solvents in nitro : Asobutyl Acetate , Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether Acetate & Acetone will usually melt anything under it other than ngr stains or analine and other alcohol or water based dyes

I would just use a soft cloth, like an old T-shirt or something, and a bit of polish. That should clean it up.

Brad Angove Thanks for the reply. I have tried that a couple of weeks ago, but no results. I just bought the gibson pump polish a few days ago, but haven't tried that yet, do you know any other way to remove those stains? Thank you for the help.

Sand it off/out with some high grit paper and then polish it back to a high gloss.

Any chance your cloth has some junk built up on it?

I get pretty much all of my nitro from Oxford Supply at this point. They may be able to help with the color match.

Yup. I can do one on that.

They should be compatible. They’re both nitro based. I don’t know if I’ve ever tried that specifically though. Also, Behlen is now Mohawk. They discontinued the Behlen brand.

@@BradAngove Yea that's what I thought, I got a quart of Mohawk lacquer and need to spray 2 guitars. My thought was to lay down 3-4 coats of Watco then finish it with 4 coats of Mohawk. I really like how fast Mohawk lacquer hardens I can usually buff it within 7 days.

Normally you would just shoot some aluminum colored paint to give it that look, but if you really want raw, give a light coat of adhesion promoter and then use the spraymax 2k for durability reasons

Would I need to use an adhesion promoter if the aluminum was fairly brushed, not polished? How would 2k react direct to metal?

I was assuming the aluminum would be brushed or blasted. If it’s polished, I don’t love your odds of the paint sticking regardless. At that point I would probably just wax it. The 2k isn’t designed to go straight over metal.

Yeah, when I was watching this for editing purposes I was thinking “well, you’re going to regret that little slip...”

Hi there. Did I answer this on another video? The question looks familiar, but I don’t see a reply.

@@BradAngove Hello - I looked through some of your other videos and their comments but couldn't find a definitive answer (apologies if I missed this information in one such video - newbie painter!). In the meantime from some research, I have concluded it is blush. Since I stopped spraying when I saw this development and never added a clear coat, could I fix this with some sanding back and respraying light coats of lacquer when humidity drops? Or is there another way of dealing with this? Thank you.

Is the blushing still there? If so, yes, you can sand it lightly and then spray a light coat that is mostly thinner. That should re-wet the surface and allow some of that humidity to escape.

@@BradAngove Thank you for the reply. Yes, it's still there. Humidity has gone up significantly in the past few days, so no spraying for a while. I'm hoping as lacquer never cures it won't be a problem to wait another week or so for this humid weather to change before I attempt a fix. Thanks again, very helpful video and replies.

Ya, that shouldn’t be an issue. It will still do in essence the same thing when you go to fix it.

I would think you probably could. I’ve never tried though. Generally the precat lacquer is used in place of nitro.

It’s not recommended, but I’ve don’t that combination of paint types before without issue.

@@BradAngove thanks man ! I didn’t want to take the time and money to do the lacquer when I could hit it with a couple coats of 2k. Awesome channel by the way !

@@BradAngove hey Brad, how long you think I should wait until I spray the gold lacquer with the spray max 2k clear. I just scraped the binding and it Seems pretty dry after a couple of days. What’s your recommendation. Sorry to bother you. Have a happy new year !

@leestaggs8818 I’d give it a couple weeks. Lacquer feels dry quick, but takes a while to fully dry.

Did you buy the water-borne compatible version of it?

Brad Angove, yes I did

Then yes. You can use it for both. Just be careful when you’re cleaning between types. There’s no special step, you just need to be thorough.

Thank you for the info and taking the time to answer

Thanks for watching.

Yes. Vinyl sealer replaces the sanding sealer.

Brad Angove Very cool of you to reply thank you very much. How long should I wait after I spray the Vinyl sealer to put on the color

@@Drjackdempsey9644 I like to wait 3 days just to be safe, but I have done it after an hour or two before.

How fast did you apply the lacquer?

@@BradAngove 1 light coat, wait 5mins. 1 heavier, then wait 5hrs and repeat. I live in Fla., probably the humidity...

Ya the humidity could be an issue for sure. It might harden if you put it somewhere hot and dry for a bit, but probably not. You may well have to sand it off.

Hi Adrian. I think we chatted about this on Instagram, right?

@@BradAngove yes, I was trying to reach you through your Instagram page too, but saw your video talking about nitrocellulose paint here first!! Thanks again ✌🏼

Wet sanding is something you need to be careful with both because it can burn through and because the moisture can cause cracking. I wouldn’t wet sand a lacquer finish. As for the polish, it doesn’t really remove clear coat, but you can still burn through if you are too aggressive with your polishing.

Okay, and just to be clear , by aggressive do you mean just don't press to hard?, so as long as your gentle with polishing it should never burn through?

If you keep the polisher in the same place for too long or press too hard you can burn through. Using the polisher on top high a speed is also risky.

I’m sorry, I’ve never used synthetic lacquer. I’m not even sure what that is, so I can’t really help on that one.

Brad Angove sorry I was thinking about acrylic lacure all of my questions have to do with acrylic not synthetic.

The acrylic sprays very similar to the nitro, but doesn’t dry as fast. I usually use the same thinner for both. Just not for the water-based acrylic lacquer of course.

I wouldn’t really recommend it, but if you let the rustoleum dry 100% and then scuff lightly to promote mechanical adhesion you should be able to.

Ok thanks man I went on and bought some 2x clear to do it with

I doubt it.

How long ago was it painted?

@@BradAngove Hi mate , it's a V22 serial so i'm guessing 22/23 . It does still have a strong smell to it , beautiful guitar though , got some cream off docs today that's working already so my immune system is just gonna have to put up with it as i ain't sending this beauty back lol

I think that issue may dissipate as the remaining solvent evaporates over time.

@@BradAngove Me too , i've been leaving case open let some air at it . All the best for 2024 mate 👍

Likewise sir

Trash can

Yes. It's my favorite that I've used.

Haha yeah, part of why lacquer is so easy to fix is just that. It doesn’t cure.

Because I’ve had trouble with it haha. It doesn’t spray all that well. It doesn’t seem to dry quite the way I like. I’m not a huge fan of acrylic lacquers honestly, but even so, that can is not one of the better ones I’ve used.

Brad Angove lol I know what you mean, man. My finishes always turned out shitty and took forever to dry when I used it

I think they discontinued the behlen products. I’m waiting for an update for the replacements from Mohawk.

@@BradAngove damn cause i wanted to buy them through ur link. i love ur videos

@@iniquity7 Thank you. Here is a new link for the mohawk products: amzn.to/31ZW2f3

Paralyzed? You’ve lost me haha. I’ve never heard of it. Is it a catalyzed lacquer?

Brad Angove lol Pre-catalyzed **** sorry haha

Oh, right. Pre-cat lacquer is good stuff. It doesn’t behave quite the same as nitro, but you should be able to get a similar effect.

Brad Angove so you think i can use it to relic and give me that look i want to the guitar?

If you know how to relic things properly, then yes. I think it will be very close.

Use the Behlen Sanding Sealer, and then Behlen Vinyl Sealer before you spray the Behlen Stringed Instrument Lacquer. All of these can be bought in rattle can if you don't have spray equipment. I ABSOLUTELY recommend spraying the sealers, ESPECIALLY over Angelus Leather Dyes. This comes from first-hand experience. Here's why, lacquer thinner is alcohol based as is the Angelus Leather Dye. There is lacquer thinner present in the sanding sealer and vinyl sealer as they are lacquer based sealers. If you try brushing the sanding sealer, the alcohol will case the dyes to reactivate and make an enormous mess. You'll be sanding back to raw wood and starting over. Edit- I have tried other methods of staining with Trans-Tint Dyes, Artist Oil Paint (with Japan Drier), and I've found Angelus gives the best colors, the brightest colors and is generally easy to work with and relatively inexpensive compared to some of the other options. In other words, Angelus is my first choice over everything else I've tried for this type of project. You just have to experiment. Edit 2* The Behlen products are formulated to work with each other which removes the guess work of whether the products are compatible or not. Stick with one brand, is the best advice I can give on that.

Thanks for the clarification. One other question...if I use tru-oil will I need sanding sealer? I know tru-oil can act as its own sealer - pore filler (I've used it before)...just need to know if it will mess up the dye. Thanks!

Either way. Doesn't really matter, you'll use less Tru-Oil if you put a sealer down. Plus a sealer will lock in the dye. Which ever you choose, just make sure your dyes are completely dry (overnight dry time AT LEAST). Putting a sealer down will help seal the wood and give more protection than just the Tru-Oil alone and will allow the Tru-Oil to build quicker. Also, it depends on type of sheen you're going for with Tru-Oil. Really, it's just up to you which ever way you want to do it. Sealer is a little safer. A nifty trick if you need to grain fill and want the filler really highlight the grain. Put your dye down, let it dry for a couple hours. Sand back very lightly, put your filler down, sand back, put sealer down, level sand the sealer, then apply another round of dye. Seal the whole thing then finish. It might seem a little counter intuitive, but it really gives a cool look.

Thanks!

I concur. Except that I would skip the sanding sealer if you’re using vinyl sealer anyway. Everyone has their own strategies though to an extent.

Acrylic lacquer doesn’t yellow over time either, which is nice. I’m more of a poly guy myself though haha.

I can’t see the picture, but nitro cracks because of shrinking. It’s a result of temperature and humidity conditions usually.

Yes, if it’s nitro you can spray nitro on it and it will melt in and bond. Just make sure you clean it first. Slightly ambered nitro should work just fine, and it makes sense to have it over the logo because that’s what you would generally expect. Sanding the old nitro gently before applying the new stuff also wouldn’t hurt even though it’s not necessary.

@@BradAngove Thanks for the response. I see that Stew Mac has stains starting from scratch. I'm not that motivated to sand down an already professional finish. It's one of the American made fender Jimmy Page mirror teles. I wanted it for the nitro neck and rosewood fingerboard and no skunk stripe. It is just a little too pale for me,. Thanks again,

Do they dry?

The tears do

I’m not going to recommend that you get a catalyst...

Haha thanks.

That’s quite the side note haha. Doesn’t sound like the healthiest option.

Brad Angove no, no it's not lol

First one through the door.