Hi. Anyone ever have a problem with nitro not hardening up? Iv'e recently been finishing a Warmoth neck, but the nitro (10 thin coats- 24 hours apart) wont set up & after 8 weeks is still soft!! I contacted the supplier of my nitro & have been told that the problem is probably the sealer that Warmoth use reacting with the nitro & preventing it from curing. Anyone else had this problem on Warmoth necks with nitro??
Nitro won't cure!!!
- Thread starter dbel27
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jackthehack
Epic Member
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This time of year, when it tends to be cooler/damper you can't shoot even thin coats 24 hours a part; you've trapped uncured lacquer under other layers.
I'm assuming that if you attempt to wet sand it, it gums up?
Where are you and what were the conditions when you shot the neck? I've done the same thing before, trying to shoot lacquer when it was less than 60 degrees ambient and wound up having to strip the mess and wait until it got warmer to refinish the lacquer.
I'm assuming that if you attempt to wet sand it, it gums up?
Where are you and what were the conditions when you shot the neck? I've done the same thing before, trying to shoot lacquer when it was less than 60 degrees ambient and wound up having to strip the mess and wait until it got warmer to refinish the lacquer.
I'm in Scotland U.K. I.m shooting the nitro in my garage, but bringing the neck inside the house (central heating, steady 70 degrees) to dry!! Each coat appears to be hard after drying overnight. Thats the funny thing, when I sand it, it gums very slightly, but polishes beautifully, but its still soft to the touch - it doesn't make sense.
Keyser Soze
Senior Member
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Nitro lacquer, technically speaking, does not actually 'cure.' It is strictly evaporative, meaning that when all the solvent has degassed it is as hard as it going to get. Think of a pot of boiled pasta then imagine all the water evaporating leaving behind a dried shrunken layer of pasta - that's essentially what nitro lacquer is.
As opposed to reactive finishes, where the finish molecules continue to cross link together for quite some time even after the solvent/vehicle is gone.
Reactive finishes leave witness lines when you sand through the layers (each layer remaining physically distinct from the others), evaporative finishes (lacquer, shellac) do not - each freshly applied layer slightly dissolving the previous layer and melding together to form one thicker layer.
I cannot see how a sealer underneath the topcoat would retard this process. The only possibility I can think of is if there were plasticizers in the lacquer and somehow these interacted with the sealer to become more 'potent' thereby keeping the final product softer than intended. Although. given the product they are selling - with the full knowledge that many DIYers are going to use nitro as a final finish, I seriously doubt the people at Warmoth would choose a sealer that was not nitro compatible.
As mentioned temperature and relative humidity all affect the time it takes for degassing to occur. Cold and damp conditions could delay that process for quite an extended period.
If you have an empty closet in your home try hanging the piece in there with an incandescent bulb left on. This often can provide the warmer/drier micro climate necessary to get full degassing. Use an empty closet unless you like the smell of lacquer thinner on your clothes.
Exactly what product did you use?
As opposed to reactive finishes, where the finish molecules continue to cross link together for quite some time even after the solvent/vehicle is gone.
Reactive finishes leave witness lines when you sand through the layers (each layer remaining physically distinct from the others), evaporative finishes (lacquer, shellac) do not - each freshly applied layer slightly dissolving the previous layer and melding together to form one thicker layer.
I cannot see how a sealer underneath the topcoat would retard this process. The only possibility I can think of is if there were plasticizers in the lacquer and somehow these interacted with the sealer to become more 'potent' thereby keeping the final product softer than intended. Although. given the product they are selling - with the full knowledge that many DIYers are going to use nitro as a final finish, I seriously doubt the people at Warmoth would choose a sealer that was not nitro compatible.
As mentioned temperature and relative humidity all affect the time it takes for degassing to occur. Cold and damp conditions could delay that process for quite an extended period.
If you have an empty closet in your home try hanging the piece in there with an incandescent bulb left on. This often can provide the warmer/drier micro climate necessary to get full degassing. Use an empty closet unless you like the smell of lacquer thinner on your clothes.
Exactly what product did you use?
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