Official Luthiers Forum!

I pasted this here from another forum.

Thought it might edify.

I just bought a gallon each of Mohawk vinyl sealer and pre-catalyzed nitro from a local distributor....which perfomed better than anything I've tried so far. Both the sealer and the nitro laid down beautifully with no tendency to sag or drip. The pre-cat lacquer is NOT the stringed instrument lacquer which is meant for acoustic instruments. The pre-cat (Mohawk Duracoat M610-24807) will get quite a bit harder, can be applied thicker, and will be quite a bit more durable than the stringed instrument lacquer.

I applied both with a cheap hvlp gun.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I am by no means an expert on this but I will pass on what I've been told. I asked an expert very well known luthier once why luthiers don't use pre-cat lacquer since it is more durable and yellows less than nitro cellulose. He told me there are two reasons. One is a lot of people like the yellowed look but more importantly the nitro cellulose, in particular musical instrument grade nitro cellulose, is more flexible and won't craze. I believe it is also easier to repair.

Yeah....I considered that.

You could be right but I dont' think there's much to worry about.

First...they advertise this stuff as flexible and the guy said he sold this stuff to lots of electric builders. He recommended the stringed instrument lacquer for acoustics...which lent him some credibility since he knew enough to discuss the issue. I think the main reason acoustic builders use the softer stuff is that they need to put it on quite thin and have it flex along with the vibrating surfaces. Which is to say that with electrics the surface material isn't nearly in the same dynamic environment.

Second...they also advertise that the material is very resistant to marring....which speaks to it's toughness. Generally, plastics that have good toughness properties are resistant to microcracking....crazing being a direct consequence of microcracks.

Third...I'm keeping two of these guitars and sending the other two out to people that know they are getting...more or less...prototypes. They both play lots of live music and they'll put them through the ringer.

We'll see.

_________________
I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Thanks for the heads up. Made a note of it and will look for it when I'm ready to start finishing this round of axes.