My first nitro job

ThePrettyDamned

Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...

What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? Obviously, I can think of a spray gun (which one?), paints, sandpaper from coarse to maybe 4000g? I usually have some to 12000 anyway... Spray booth? Mask?

Tips and help much appreciated. I fancy taking the leap

stonevibe

Definitely want a mask. 

I used rattle cans and they worked fine. From Northwest Guitars.

You will need wet & dry of various grits and a sanding block.

Lots of patience.

ThePrettyDamned

stonevibe;708302" said:

Definitely want a mask. 

I used rattle cans and they worked fine. From Northwest Guitars.

You will need wet & dry of various grits and a sanding block.



Lots of patience.

Patience is not a problem, I'm used to waiting a day between each coat of wudtone, then two days between top coats with ultra thin coats and finish via wet sanding. So hopefully it won't be a billion miles from that, albeit a harder finish.

What sort of mask do you recommend?

Rattle cans may be good for a first timer actually! I suspect I'll probably try those, and go for a nice blue colour.

Danny1969

A friend if mine gets amazing results using cans to get the thickness, waiting a couple of weeks for the paint to harden and  then using elbow grease to get the finish like glass. 

A 3 sided box with a spit to turn the guitar body can make life easier

stonevibe

I bought one like this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Expert-13500-Filter-Respirator/dp/B007H6Y092/ref=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1437303779&sr=1-5&keywords=respirator+mask

lamf68

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gerson-Disposable-Twin-Respirator-Mask-/380625402839?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item589f0abbd7

ThePrettyDamned

Danny1969;708354" said:

A friend if mine gets amazing results using cans to get the thickness, waiting a couple of weeks for the paint to harden and  then using elbow grease to get the finish like glass. 

A 3 sided box with a spit to turn the guitar body can make life easier

Fancy showing a picture with the box/spit? Is it something to hold the guitar body in place?

jd0272

I use a lazy susan to turn the body when doing the sides.

IvisonGuitars

If it's your first nitro finish, i'd definitely go for cans although it can get pretty expensive pretty soon. The Manchester Guitar Tech and Rothko Frost cans have both been excellent. Once you get used to using nitro and if you are doing a few guitars regularly, a HPV spray set up will work out much cheaper.

Respirator wise, I use one of these and they are excellent:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/jsp-tradesman-2-mdf-mask-ab1p2/21462

Make sure you read up on EVERYTHING you can find about spraying nitro, there's a knack to it but it does deliver a great finish.

SteveRobinson

ThePrettyDamned said:

Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...

What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? 

The key to getting a smooth thin finish is all about the preparation. 

You have to sand, grain fill (if appropriate) and seal and/or prime to perfection before any colour goes on.

Treat the first attempt as a learning experience and the next (there is always a next) will be much better.

ThePrettyDamned

SteveRobinson;708661" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...



What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? 





The key to getting a smooth thin finish is all about the preparation. 

You have to sand, grain fill (if appropriate) and seal and/or prime to perfection before any colour goes on.

Treat the first attempt as a learning experience and the next (there is always a next) will be much better.

Awesome. I've done lots of surface prep for wudtone finishing, but that requires a sunken finish - no grain filling or sealing/priming.

So it'll be quite different. Exciting!

lamf68

ThePrettyDamned said:

SteveRobinson;708661" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...



What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? 





The key to getting a smooth thin finish is all about the preparation. 

You have to sand, grain fill (if appropriate) and seal and/or prime to perfection before any colour goes on.

Treat the first attempt as a learning experience and the next (there is always a next) will be much better.

Awesome. I've done lots of surface prep for wudtone finishing, but that requires a sunken finish - no grain filling or sealing/priming.

So it'll be quite different. Exciting!

Imagine getting a small nail file, one of them boards your Mrs uses to smooth her nails, then get that nail file and rub it on your teeth so they wear down enough until the nerves are exposed. Once the nerves are exposed start chewing a whole roll of aluminium foil whilst a friend scratches his nails down a chalk board, top it all off by pushing a marrow up your cornhole then tell me grain filling is exciting.

jd0272

^^^^

DrBob

lamf68;709130" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

SteveRobinson;708661" said:ThePrettyDamned said:



Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...







What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? 











The key to getting a smooth thin finish is all about the preparation. 



You have to sand, grain fill (if appropriate) and seal and/or prime to perfection before any colour goes on.



Treat the first attempt as a learning experience and the next (there is always a next) will be much better.

Awesome. I've done lots of surface prep for wudtone finishing, but that requires a sunken finish - no grain filling or sealing/priming.



So it'll be quite different. Exciting!





Imagine getting a small nail file, one of them boards your Mrs uses to smooth her nails, then get that nail file and rub it on your teeth so they wear down enough until the nerves are exposed. Once the nerves are exposed start chewing a whole roll of aluminium foil whilst a friend scratches his nails down a chalk board, top it all off by pushing a marrow up your cornhole then tell me grain filling is exciting.

Which is exactly why I get you to paint all my guitars Rich...

ThePrettyDamned

lamf68;709130" said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

SteveRobinson;708661" said:ThePrettyDamned said:



Let's say I wanted to use a nitro finish on my next guitar...







What is the bare minimum equipment I'd need to do a pretty good thin finish, levelled, smoothed and polished? 











The key to getting a smooth thin finish is all about the preparation. 



You have to sand, grain fill (if appropriate) and seal and/or prime to perfection before any colour goes on.



Treat the first attempt as a learning experience and the next (there is always a next) will be much better.

Awesome. I've done lots of surface prep for wudtone finishing, but that requires a sunken finish - no grain filling or sealing/priming.



So it'll be quite different. Exciting!





Imagine getting a small nail file, one of them boards your Mrs uses to smooth her nails, then get that nail file and rub it on your teeth so they wear down enough until the nerves are exposed. Once the nerves are exposed start chewing a whole roll of aluminium foil whilst a friend scratches his nails down a chalk board, top it all off by pushing a marrow up your cornhole then tell me grain filling is exciting.

Oh bugger.

hywelg

Buffing compound. Forget 12000 grit, I never had much success with it. Much better to use a proper cream buffing with a soft cloth. You'd be surprised how this evens out and removes any tiny scratches that the 600 grit made but the 1000 and 2000 grit didn't quite get to the bottom of.

Now some people swear by T-Cut. There are numerous fine compounds by Farecla, the finest of which still doesnt do as good a job as this,

http://home.btconnect.com/daviddyke/Stains.htm#Burn.

Works very well indeed and will work down to a very fine glossy finish. Elbow grease required, but you dont need to go above 2000grit with the wet and dry.

hywelg

Oh, and you'll want various blocks for sanding. I use a small piece of well sanded 2x1, a similar sized piece of hard foam and a piece of softer foam.

And I would go with rattle cans first time. I tried mixing my own and ended up with crazed lacquer, twice. Too much thinners I think, maybe in too much of a hurry to build up the coats. Let every coat dry really well before buidling up with another,

ThePrettyDamned

Lovely, great tips here.

It is immediately obvious that there is a bit of an art form to it. But I really want to do it, I'll probably search for a boo boo or guitar build bass body and start there.

BigMonka

lamf68 said:

Imagine getting a small nail file, one of them boards your Mrs uses to smooth her nails, then get that nail file and rub it on your teeth so they wear down enough until the nerves are exposed. Once the nerves are exposed start chewing a whole roll of aluminium foil whilst a friend scratches his nails down a chalk board, top it all off by pushing a marrow up your cornhole then tell me grain filling is exciting.

I think you might be doing grain filling wrong, I've never needed to use a marrow ;-)

lamf68

Which is exactly why I get you to paint all my guitars Rich...

Cheers Rob, talking of which, how far are you along getting me the next one?

Deadman

I can't really add much else but the offer is there to re-do it if you make a mess. You should be fine though