A few comments
We don't expect a French polish finish to be quite as hard as hard as a cat poly finish. We don't expect a French polish finish to be Alcohol resistant like cat poly or nitro. we do expect or at least complain about any waterborne finishes lacking these characteristics????
I will be the fist to agree that KTM9 is not the end all finish.
Does it shrink back? Yes So does nitro. If you have a problem with it shrinking back then you leveled out to soon. Since the carrier of the solids is water, it's initial shrink back is more. After it is cured I have had no problems with it shrinking back.
I have had one player whose sweat chemistry did cause me some issues, but I have had the same problem from a client that opted for French polish.
Problems leveling out to a pure level? Well you should have no more with KTM9 than with any finish, as that is a mater of application levelness and nothing to do with the media. It does shrink back but fast enough as to make leveling (after proper cure) any different than any sprayed film.
I really don't mean to appoint my self KTM9 defender as I too am a French polish fan. KTM9 does have its drawbacks. It also has its attributes.
I would never compare it to Cat poly, but I would and do offer it as my base line finish and have for a while with great results and no warranty issues.
while learning to work with this media I ran into some of the same issues that many of you have faced with it. But to be honest I have found it more to be my initial lack of understanding the media and how to work it than flaws in the media.
If you are looking for the best armor for your guitars KTM9 is not it. If you are looking for the best nontoxic that you can spray economically with out environmental concern and good wear. Well There it shines.
I have done several dent tests with nitro, KTM9, and French polish dropping a BB through a tube at a constant distance and measuring the creator depth. The nito did fair a bit better than KTM9, but not by much at all. Scratch resistance, well I have had no issue there with KTM9 but I only have about 20 guitars out there with it on.
I guess I am giving it credit for being a better finish than many of you by crediting it for its environmental attributes more than others. While Mike Doolin now offers Cat poly or urethane as his finish. He still will tell you or did me that as far as waterborne finished are concerned you can't beat it. and if it was an exceptional finish to start with, do you think he would have endorsed it in the first place???
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