Question about Nitro clear coat

scalino65

Hi
I am currently mucking about with a mex strat. I've stripped off the poly finish, sealed, primed,etc and have just shot my final top coat of solid black nitro. Prior to the top coat I flatted out to 1000 grit. Top coat on and it looks fantastic and very deep,etc, however, obviously it isnt now flat.
So, just wondering what the next stage is. I have the nitro clear coat ready to go but do I just shoot it over the top coat as it is without flating back first, or do I flat out to 1500/2000 and then shoot the gloss over that? 
Experience from painting cars suggests the former i.e. clear coat will not hide anything (hence why you can look at a brand new audi/bmw/merc in a show room and the paint is very shiny but full of orange peel) however, I also wonder whether nitro clear coat will have a sufficient key at 2000grit.
I havent shot nitro before so all thoughts and suggestions will be very welcome. I am being extra patient and really trying for as deep a finish as I can achieve.
many thanks
Will

SteveRobinson

Firstly, you don't need to key nitrocellulose over nitrocellulose. Being a lacquer, the solvents will redissolve the previous layers and bond as if it were one layer.

You can sand before the clearcoat but you'll find that you'll still get some orange peel with the clear lacquer which will need flatting and buffing if you want a glassy shine. Personally I never sand before clear for that reason. Any minor orange peel in the colour coat (especially black) won't show through the clear.

scalino65

thanks Steve, looks like Ive wasted hours of my time! live and learn,eh? many thanks for the tip, I'll see how i get on. best. will
p.s. paints are very good quiality, got them off some bloke at manchester guitar tech.....

vale

@SteveRobinson hey steve, apologies to jump into this thread with a semi-relevant question but you sound knowledgable about nitrocellulose.
i just wondered how long does it take for something sprayed with nitro to stop smelling of paint? it may sound trivial but i really hate the smell of paint, it makes me heave badly.
so if it's months i would have to think how i would survive without a sprayed part until it stopped smelling. thankq if you can give a pong timescale.

SteveRobinson

scalino65 said:

thanks Steve, looks like Ive wasted hours of my time! live and learn,eh? many thanks for the tip, I'll see how i get on. best. will
p.s. paints are very good quiality, got them off some bloke at manchester guitar tech.....

I'm pleased to see you are buying the best! Feel free to tag me here or email if you have any questions.

SteveRobinson

vale said:

i just wondered how long does it take for something sprayed with nitro to stop smelling of paint? it may sound trivial but i really hate the smell of paint, it makes me heave badly.

It depends how thickly it's sprayed but the solvents flash off pretty quickly. 99% of the odour is gone within a day or two I'd say.

vale

@SteveRobinson ahhh, you are manchester guitar tech steve. just clicked with scalino's reference.
yep, that's where i would get from. & recommendation given to me by a proper local luthier who swears by your stuff. your good reputation precedes you.
re smell, days rather than weeks or months is good news. will get planning. thankq steve.

Rabs

scalino65 said:

Hi
I havent shot nitro before so all thoughts and suggestions will be very welcome. I am being extra patient and really trying for as deep a finish as I can achieve.
many thanks
Will

I have used Nitro a couple of times (also from the Manchester guitar tech).

A couple of things you do need to know if you didn't..  Nitro needs to be sprayed in the correct environment above 15 degrees and it should also be not too humid....  Or you may get issues with moisture getting under the finish.

Secondly..  make sure you wear proper protection....  Nitro is pretty evil as far as toxicness is concerned..  Cover your skin and obviously wear a mask.. and a proper mask (not one of those paper things that do nothing).

And yes it does stink pretty bad but that goes away pretty quick as mentioned.

Deadman

I've never clear over solid nitro colours, just simply flat back and buff. I don't see the point.

vale

Deadman said:

I've never clear over solid nitro colours, just simply flat back and buff. I don't see the point.

i watched this at weekend & man gives his reasons for clear over tinted laquer (from5mins). tho same reason wouldn't seem to apply to colour nitro.
i don't know anything about nitro other than what i've learned in this thread, so just passing on a clip i found informative. may be useful to other curious sorts. he seems to get good results.

scalino65

Here's a thought, how did Fender refinish nitrocellulose guitars with a different colour over top (e.g. white over sunburst). As has been said above, if the nitrocellulose "melts" into the layers below, would you have to somehow "seal" the original finish in order to spray another nitrocellulose colour over the top? Otherwsie wouldnt you get a horrible mix of both colours?

SteveRobinson

No, it just dissolves the surface and there is no mixing action. I suppose if you sprayed really wet it would sag so best avoid that.

WezV

scalino65 said:

Here's a thought, how did Fender refinish nitrocellulose guitars with a different colour over top (e.g. white over sunburst). As has been said above, if the nitrocellulose "melts" into the layers below, would you have to somehow "seal" the original finish in order to spray another nitrocellulose colour over the top? Otherwsie wouldnt you get a horrible mix of both colours?

it melts in, but will still sit in fairly distinct layers.  Really depends how wet you spray it

You might get bleed through of some colours over time

scalino65

ahh right got it. Interesting stuff nitrocellulose! cheers. Wll