Nitro finishing on a neck DIY

[BarkingTree]

Has anyone used the small cans available for nitro clear on back
and headstock finishing..
Im thinking of buying a raw neck with the frets of my choice and
can shooting the back and headstock with a nice thinner coat of
nitro..
Experiences Good/Bad?

Thanks

 

[itkindaworks]

I've seen nicely done necks that people claim were done with nitro cans. I wouldn't know because I didn't actually see the process, but it seems like it can be done well.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I've used rattle can nitro (Deft) with good results (sorry no pics.) Obviously, the main limitation to rattle cans is the limited control over the spray characteristics. Deft nozzles do allow you to choose two different spray patterns but you are stuck with the one droplet size and aerosol mixture.

Which means you really need to follow the directions on the can - especially as concerns ambient temperature and humidity.

Nitro is actually a rather forgiving material to work with. Since each successive layer 'burns in' to the previous layer you can easily correct any flaws by sanding them level and continuing on. And if things go totally haywire you just saturate it with lacquer thinner, wipe it clean and start over.

 

[9fingers]

I did a neck recently with Stew Mac clear. Room temp, low humidity and LOTS (12 or more) of thin coats, with a month or more drying time before wet sanding & polishing and it came out very nicely. One can did the neck.

 

[Kingbeegtrs]

make sure to first spray the neck with Deft Lacquer Based Sanding Sealer. Give it an hour or two to dry and then sand it down with 400 grit sandpaper. Now that you've done this you'll use about half as much lacquer to get the nice thick glossy effect.

Also, make sure that your first coat of lacquer is clear. you can spray the tint afterwards.

If the tint doesn't look like you want it STOP immediately. Let it dry for a day and go back with some steel wool and rub it out.

The most important thing you can do when painting is to be patient. If you make a mistake STOP. Let it dry and correct the problem the next day.

btw -

12 coats is WAY too many. The Lawrence McFadden schedule calls for a maximum of 8 coats with a wet-sanding after the 4th coat. You can do up to 4 coats a day in optimum conditions.

Use the Deft because it has a retarder already in it - this will keep the finish from blushing.

 

[BarkingTree]

Great information..Thanks so much.
The other alternative Ive heard of is Tru oil over light tint stain and then
wax for a rubbed finish..which Im thinking may be a very good end result
for feel and appearance..but entirely different than nitro..in the end.

 

[rogwerks]

Go to "Re-Ranch Guitar refinishing" (on da web...)

VERY cool site with a ton o' tips fo' re-finishing...

es todo...

 

[uOpt]

This means no maple fretboard, right? Spraying a maple fretboard with the frets on is a real pain since the frets attract the paint and might leave little valleys in between.

Back of the neck isn't too trivial either because it is round. The round shape means that when you spray you always have some side exposed with too much or too few paint. Running nose effect is pre-programmed.

I came out all right by just sanding enough. Next time I'll use a mask to narrow down the spraying to only a small area that is really facing the can.

 

[Travst]

The Reranch products are excellent, and the forums are a great resource.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

This means no maple fretboard, right? Spraying a maple fretboard with the frets on is a real pain since the frets attract the paint and might leave little valleys in between.

Back of the neck isn't too trivial either because it is round. The round shape means that when you spray you always have some side exposed with too much or too few paint. Running nose effect is pre-programmed.

I came out all right by just sanding enough. Next time I'll use a mask to narrow down the spraying to only a small area that is really facing the can.

Sure, rosewood and ebony boards are easier; just use plenty of high quality fresh masking tape. I like to "burn in" the edges once things dry well with a bit of hard rubbing by hand (or carefully with a Makita buffer). Do NOT leave the tape on over a week, max.

I did basically what Keyser Soze has described, only a lot of them. My new technique involves filling voids (Allparts fret ends) plus the skunk stripe with a blend of Natural and Light Bartley's grain filler (the whole of a maple neck), then burnishing the heck out if it. Oh, sand it super smooth to 500 before grainfilling. Then, skip the sanding sealer and instead of 10 coats do 5 of the Deft clear gloss rattle can nitro. Slick.

Don't use the last 10 % of the can. I mean, the Deft is much higher quality stuff (especially the can itself) than the ReRanch, but no telling what will come out of any can at the end. (I use the remnants for something less important, but even after 25 clean cans in a row I am wary.)

 

[outtahear]

Deft is much higher quality stuff (especially the can itself) than the ReRanch, but no telling what will come out of any can at the end. (I use the remnants for something less important, but even after 25 clean cans in a row I am wary.)

Seroiusly

The Re-Ranch product is McFadden. The stuff damn near every manufacturer/small shop uses. Deft is nice, bit soft in the end though.

 

[Dave Orban]

Has anyone used the small cans available for nitro clear on back
and headstock finishing..
Im thinking of buying a raw neck with the frets of my choice and
can shooting the back and headstock with a nice thinner coat of
nitro..
Experiences Good/Bad?

Thanks

Not that difficult, but it takes time and patience. Several thin applications are better than a single heavy application. And, you have to let the nitro adequately dry/cure before your final sanding and buffing, and the sanding itself takes a lot of patience.

I use a stain prior to applying the nitro, to give the maple an aged appearance.

Like I said, not difficult, but takes time and patience, to do it right.

 

[jawjatek]

Its easy - I've done a bunch, but I use Behlen Master Top Coat gloss nitro from Grizzly - about $5 a can. My method : I stain the wood first using transtint dyes in water (some yellow, some vintage maple, a tiny bit of brown and red - experiment on scrap - because I'm going for a vintage look). Then rub off the whiskers with steel wool (water will raise the grain). When I get the neck like I want it, I shoot the clear. If this is a maple fretboard, you can scrape the lacquer off the frets after it dries during fret dressing...HTH YMMV

 

[jawjatek]

PS WEAR A RESPIRATOR RATED FOR VOC! Nitro is BAD for the lungs.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

Seroiusly

The Re-Ranch product is McFadden. The stuff damn near every manufacturer/small shop uses. Deft is nice, bit soft in the end though.

Sure, the basic McFadden is what Fender, etc. use but with ReRanch something gets lost on its way to the rattle can. Look at all the additional ingredients besides the lacquer on almost any rattle can and there's enough extra stuff there to choke a pig. This is where ReRanch falls down, the stuff every rattle can must have that the basic McFadden product does not use or need. The cocktail of propellants, solvents. That's where the devil lies.

I like Deft for the same reason others say they hate it. It does stay soft longer, but it also is much more resistant to chipping, crazing, etc. "Nitro" of today is way different than the 1950 stuff and I've decided that is not automatically bad. I don't want to have to baby these things and I don't want my finish reaching the end of its useful life in 7-10 years.

I don't mind taking 18 months working on and messing with one guitar, never quite finishing it up. Professionals need to move them out, and that's why a quick drying product is essential for them, so they can ship the guitars and get on with the next batch. I don't worry about that.

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

Not that difficult, but it takes time and patience. Several thin applications are better than a single heavy application. And, you have to let the nitro adequately dry/cure before your final sanding and buffing, and the sanding itself takes a lot of patience.

I use a stain prior to applying the nitro, to give the maple an aged appearance.

Like I said, not difficult, but takes time and patience, to do it right.

Dave, what kind of stains do you like and how do you apply them? I visualize Minwax Gel Stain or something like that? How do you get the maple to "accept" the stain so it doesn't just clot in the corners?

Much obliged.

 

[kstrat62]

Go to ReRanch and search for Tru-oil. It is by far the best feeling neck finish I've ever felt(I have it on 4 necks!) and it's very simple to apply.

 

[K-man]

Go to ReRanch and search for Tru-oil. It is by far the best feeling neck finish I've ever felt(I have it on 4 necks!) and it's very simple to apply.

I agree. It's stupid easy. I didn't use a stain beforehand, but the tru-oil has developed a nice tint to it.

 

[Dave Orban]

Dave, what kind of stains do you like and how do you apply them? I visualize Minwax Gel Stain or something like that? How do you get the maple to "accept" the stain so it doesn't just clot in the corners?

Much obliged.

I don't recall for certain, but yeah, it was a Minwax type of stain... but liquid, not gel... Just wiped it on with a bit of old t-shirt, let it sit for a bit, then wiped it off. Let it dry, then did it again... repeated this a couple of times, until it got the "amber" intensity I was looking for. I had no problem with clotting...

The thing is, you really can't be impatient with this whole process... so, it took a couple of weeks to do the neck. There's a lot of "waiting" involved. LOL!

 

[Boris Bubbanov]

I don't recall for certain, but yeah, it was a Minwax type of stain... but liquid, not gel... Just wiped it on with a bit of old t-shirt, let it sit for a bit, then wiped it off. Let it dry, then did it again... repeated this a couple of times, until it got the "amber" intensity I was looking for. I had no problem with clotting...

The thing is, you really can't be impatient with this whole process... so, it took a couple of weeks to do the neck. There's a lot of "waiting" involved. LOL!

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I've been using this burnished Bartley grainfiller approach and I like it a lot, especially with striped necks with a lot of character. With plain vanilla, Allparts type necks I might be getting into difficulty. The easiest, most powerful way to burnish the wood is to go in the direction of and between the frets. This really gets the excess filler off as well. But the grain of course runs 90 degrees otherwise and I'm seeing some effects I don't like so much, at least on very boring plain maple. I'm sort of scalloping the surface, at least in appearance I am.