Can somebody please help me to understand why so many people these days crave Nitrocellulose lacquer finishes on electric guitar bodies and necks as opposed to Polyurethane or Polyester?
I think most would acknowledge that the tougher and much more resilent "poly" finishes are more resistant to being "melted" by solvents leaching from things like foam rubber on guitar stands and hangers, things inadvertantly left in contact with them in a case, spillages of certain liquids and overspray droplets from air fresheners and insect spray, etc, etc, etc. I have had this in the past.
It is also true that poly necks can be made in satin finishes that many find less sticky than full gloss, so there is still an element of versatility when using poly.
Personally I find that a poorly finished "nitro" guitar can look every bit as bad as a poorly finished poly one, and I think that a good poly finish looks just as good as a well executed nitro one.
I'm sure nitro is generally applied more thinly on guitars than production line poly coatings, but I'm talking about electric guitars here and body vibration is not going to be affected to any discernible extent by the type of lacquer used on it and the thickness of that lacquer.
So why is it that nitro finishes are touted as being the holy grail when it comes to brand new custom made guitars?
Do they look better as they start to age, or is it that they begin to age quicker and look older than they actually are?
Is this something to do with a warmer feel in the hand from nitro as opposed to a cold plasticky feel from poly?
Have I opened up a can of worms? If I haven't already, my disclaimer below might do so.
I have to come clean here and say right upfront that I don't see any sense in artificially "relicing" a brand new guitar. I as the owner and player would always know it was artificial wear, and trying to impress people by having a guitar that looks vintage isn't something that interests me. I do like the rounded feel of the fingerboard edges of a well played neck, but I don't actually like the feel of lacquer worn through to the wood on the back of the neck or on the playing surface of a lacquered fingerboard. This is not to say that I don't like the look of a vintage guitar that has acquired real wear over its lifetime, but rather that if I buy a newly made guitar I don't want it to be masquerading as a vintage.
Comments
nitro is a manly word; it conjures up images of fast cars and rocket fuel
poly is a girl's name
I personally don't like nitro all that much - it's reactive, which is a pain in the bum. However, it's easy to apply as layers "melt" together. It's also easily repaired.
"poly" is a very broad range of finishes, but they get a bad rep because they're often very heavily applied. That's a manufacturer choice rather than mandatory though.
Poly is more resilient but when it does get dinged it looks like a chip of plastic has came out.
Whereas nitro is more prone to signs of wear but looks a lot better when it does.
And of course there's the habit of guitar companies of holding back on features to artificially add value to more expensive models.
I'm not a huge fan of polyester either, it can be applied thinly if you want but it always has a tendency to crack and chip in a more 'glassy' way. My favourite finish by far is thinly-applied polyurethane - it's tough enough to resist normal playing wear but when it eventually does, it's like nitro in that it ages in a nice way.
There is no such thing as "poly" - there are several varieties of polyurethane alone, let alone other non-nitro finishes, some of which start with the letters p o l y. Nitrocellulose is also a polymer .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Here’s a section off his website that links from his FAQ section discussing his experience in different finishes - it’s good info.
http://www.rowycokustoms.com/RK_nitropoly.html
Check out his work as well there’s a great gallery
I’ve got guitars finished in both and they are all well done - so personally I don’t care what they are finished in.
At the moment I'm looking for:
* Hamer SS2 & T62
* Music Man Luke 1
Please drop me a message.
Clue - one of them is nitro, two are "poly".
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein