Nitro is no more toxic than acrylic at the end of the day.
As for the yellowing, that takes quite a while to happen and in 99% of cases it wont make a lot of difference at the end of the day due to all the other ageing processes that happen
One of the issues with acrylic is it never really fully cures. This can lead to cracking, sinking, milky patches and not to mention not allowing the timber to breath a bit.
This is why you wont see many Luthiers use acrylics.... well, not perfectionist pains in the arse ones like yours truly here
But. If it works for you go for it!
Not every one has access to spray gear, let alone the space to set up and leave things hanging for months whilst waiting on finishes to fully cure, so acrylics and urethanes do have their advantages.
Yeah dB I didn't know about acrylic being plasticky and not fully curing. Thinking back I may have had problems with surfaces leaving indentations on one guitar which probably hadn't fully cured.
To be honest if I had a spray rig and a proper spray place I'll definitely use nitro. But they are really expensive as cans!
A decent compressor can be got for around the $200 mark.
Really useful things to have, I reckon mine gets used more to check tyre pressure on the Minister for War and Finance's work van
A touch up spray gun is around $70.
With the nitro, it seems expensive to buy by the tin but you can spray at least 4 or 5 Guitars so it ends up being quite good value for money.
I dont have a dedicated spray booth! Wha?! I hear you say...
I get great results spraying outside in the carport, just have to wait until the breeze drops and away I go..
Great thing about nitro is it is touch dry in no time, so dust and crap doesn't have much chance of sticking.
Scuff sanding with 320 between coats removes any stray cat hairs or dust monsters..
Then with the final flash coat, which is diluted 1 part nitro to 4 thinners, well, that is touch dry almost as soon as it hits the body so very little chance of crud monsters.
One day I will get around to making a spray booth........
sounds good DB, when the weather improves must give the nitro a go in the spray gun
Current Builds and status
scratch end grain pine tele - first clear coat on !
JBA-4 - assembled - final tweaks
Telemonster double scale tele - finish tobacco burst on body and sand neck
Completed builds
scratch oak.rose gum Jazzmaster - assembled needs setup
MK-2 Mosrite - assembled - play in
Ash tele with Baritone neck - neck pup wiring tweaks and play in
Fantastic looking build Simon, I don't know how I have missed this so far!!
Can I ask where you got the waterslide decals done?
Acoustics:
1995 Maton EM725C - Solid 'A' Spruce Top, QLD Walnut B&S, AP5 Pickup
2015 Ibanez AEL108MD-NT - Laminated Spruce top, Laminated Mahogany B&S, Fishman Sonicore Pickup
Electrics:
Pitbull LP-1S - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=5745
Carsen Superstrat Rebuild - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6284
Builds in Progress:
Silent Guitar Semi-Scratch Build - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6809
Thanks mate will have to look into that
Acoustics:
1995 Maton EM725C - Solid 'A' Spruce Top, QLD Walnut B&S, AP5 Pickup
2015 Ibanez AEL108MD-NT - Laminated Spruce top, Laminated Mahogany B&S, Fishman Sonicore Pickup
Electrics:
Pitbull LP-1S - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=5745
Carsen Superstrat Rebuild - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6284
Builds in Progress:
Silent Guitar Semi-Scratch Build - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6809
Just spent the whole day wet sanding and buffing the body. My arms are so sore right now.
I'll leave it for a few days before assembling. I'll do the neck tomorrow.
The mahogany was a pain to wet sand. I probably didn't grain fill enough and I had a few shiny low spots which I couldn't level out. I could continue wet sanding and level them out but I risk sanding through and I think the latter is worse. I already accepted it isn't perfect but it's good enough for me!
OOOOHHH SHINY! Great work dude!
FrankenLab
Hand crafting guitars, because Death Rays are expensive.