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Anyone have any experience ( good or bad ) with crystalac brite tone finish? I see a lot of positive reviews for the product when sprayed on. The mfr says you can also brush on with excellent results. LMI also suggests using this finish as a brush on if you don’t have a spray rig.

Used it twice and gave away what I had on hand. It is touchy to spray and as I do a very thin lacquer finish I sometimes get buff through and this product does not burn into the previous coats so respraying the entire surface is required. The only advantage is it is cheap and being water born so somewhat safer to spray. It cures real fast but still needs more time than the instructions say.

As far as I am concerned it cured me of my desire to shoot a water born and sent me back to solvent lacquer.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
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I have used it. I don't have a spray setup, so I had to use the brush-on method. It works ok from start to finish (see what I did there?) but it can be pretty finicky if you have to adjust or redo something. I had to refinish one of the backs because I sanded through the finish and I ended up with a real bad cloudy effect (was probably my fault tho). And speaking of sanding thru, I commonly sand through the finish when I am level and finish sanding it. I did it a LOT when I used the recommended "3-5 coats of finish" or whatever, so I upped it to 10 coats of finish and still get spots here and there. I think it's because the brush on coats aren't as thick as the spray on coats? That is just my theory.

I could never find an answer on total cure time either, which was frustrating. They just instruct you on how long to wait between coats.

All in all, it's not a bad finish, especially if you really need a brush on finish. However, I am looking forward to being able to ditch it in favor of something a little more reliable.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
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In my very limited experience (this is the first and only real instrument finish I've worked with) I've enjoyed how easy it is to brush on, and I also enjoy that the fumes are so minimal I can do it inside. My workshop doubles as my guitar teaching studio, and we have 3 kids in the house so something that is considerably less toxic is a big plus for me.

Anyone spraying crystalac finish ? Do you spray sealer, how many coats before starting with the top coat