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Clearcoat. YES or NO?


Electric Blues

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I'm painting a Strat body with acrylic lacquer. I 'm going for a very thin finish on it.

 

Without clearcoat, the lacquer will polish and shine perfectly. The resulting finish on the guitar would be half as thick.

 

If I don't use a clearcoat, the finish and shine will have a vintage look to it. It will also show every bit of damage the guitar takes over time. The finish will also rub away eventually with use.

 

With clearcoat, the finish will polish and shine perfectly but look more "modern"... like a candy coated apple. The guitar will be able to take more abuse and not show it. The finish will take ages to wear away.

 

The finish would be twice as thick but even so, would still be a "thin skin".

 

In either case, the color is very close to Daphne Blue.

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No amigo. Stick to the two options puleez!

:thu:

 

Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo Amigo

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Hablo espanol? No tienes mercado negro alli?

 

Si... shitloads of mercados negros! But sadly... not for that type of thing. The sellection is sometimes scarce even in the large outlets like Home Depot ( yeah, we got 'em too). There's issues about transporting that tye of products.:thu:

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He can't buy nitro...
:(

 

Sure. I can buy nitro. I just can't buy the Deft brand that's all.

Before starting the project, I decided to use acylic lacquer instead of nitro lacquer. Just my preference.:thu:

Both nitro or acrylic can be sprayed and finished in VERY thin coats.

 

I don't care for nitro much. It ALWAYS feels gummy to me no matter how long it has dried. Maybe it's the oils in my skin.

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Absolutely clearcoat it.

 

Here is a strat I painted and cleared.

 

Inspiration comes from alot of places. It comes frome tone, it comes from the way the instrument feels, but it can also come from the way the thing looks too. Nothing wrong with having a great looking guitar. I love the highly glossed candy coated cleared look, personally.

 

 

010-4.jpg

 

014.jpg

 

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011-2.jpg

 

018-1.jpg

 

This is Tamiya color Lacquer paint and VAlspar lacquer clearcoat. The guitar looks spectacvular in person. These pics suck. One day Oi am going to take pics that does this guitar justice.

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Why can't you buy nitro? If you're going for a thin finish, that's the way to go, hands down.

 

 

1.Canadian officials think it sounds like an explosive.

2.Oil is MUCH thinner. The only problem anyone may have with it is it's nearly impossible to get it to check, if you're into that look. It also requires some polishing and adding of layers as they wear over time(if you want to keep color/finish even).

3.Shellac is more durable than nitro(at same thickness) while still bonding with wood overtime. Fell out of favor with manufacturers due to easy checking and expense.

 

Nitro favoritism is mostly induced by old gibson and fender collectors, and the companies themselves, to inflate prices on vintage and custom shop level instruments.

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I don't know much about acrylic, but if it is in fact as thin as nitro, then I see no reason not to clearcoat it. Color coats are inherently softer, because of the pigments in the paint. It'll still wear nice and quick if it's got a clear coat (as long as there isn't too much of it on there).

 

FWIW, and I know this is nitro, but I spray a few primer coats, a can of color coat, and 2 cans of clear coat, and the final finish is about as thick as a sheet of paper. Don't forget that you'll sand off a great deal of the clear or color coat during your final sanding.

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I can't imagine why you can buy nitro but not Deft. Some say Deft IS nitro, but I don't understand why it WOULD or WOULD NOT be...don't care either. The stuff is very user friendly.


Oh well.

 

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear Axe. Deft is a brand that I haven't been able to find here in Mexico. Nitro lacque though, under other brand names is available.:thu:

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1.Canadian officials think it sounds like an explosive.

2.Oil is MUCH thinner. The only problem anyone may have with it is it's nearly impossible to get it to check, if you're into that look. It also requires some polishing and adding of layers as they wear over time(if you want to keep color/finish even).

3.Shellac is more durable than nitro(at same thickness) while still bonding with wood overtime. Fell out of favor with manufacturers due to easy checking and expense.


Nitro favoritism is mostly induced by old gibson and fender collectors, and the companies themselves, to inflate prices on vintage and custom shop level instruments.

 

 

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:

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2.Oil is MUCH thinner. The only problem anyone may have with it is it's nearly impossible to get it to check, if you're into that look. It also requires some polishing and adding of layers as they wear over time(if you want to keep color/finish even).

Nitro favoritism is mostly induced by old gibson and fender collectors, and the companies themselves, to inflate prices on vintage and custom shop level instruments.

 

Even so, nitro is extremely thin. But it seems it isn't an issue of availability but preference for him. I do like a nice oil finish though (or tru-oil anyway ;))

 

100_0036.jpg

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Even so, nitro is extremely thin. But it seems it isn't an issue of availability but preference for him. I do like a nice oil finish though (or tru-oil anyway
;)
)


100_0036.jpg

 

Tru is what I mean by oil finish. Any other oil isn't technically a finish, more of a polish.

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