I have a guitar finished in Seagraves satin clear(nitro). I'm not really happy with the finish. Its been curing for a few years now and it still has that sticky feel to it. Can I simply wipe it down with naptha and spray colortone satin clear nitro over it? I really don't want to sand back to the wood as I have a gorgeous color to the wood and I don't know if I could reproduce it.
Satin finish
- Thread starter scootles
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Patrick from Davis
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Sticky (gummy) implies water, or that the finish was put on too thick. Then the solvent of the lacquer can't escape. I am unsure if it will work, mixing brands is generally not the best idea. That being said, it is done all the time with certain brands. You should probably rough up the surface slightly with some 320 paper to give the next layer something nice to stick to as well. Hmm, I think that some of the others with more experience will have some other ideas that might help.
Patrick
Patrick
Cagey
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I've never had any luck trying to repair a bad finish chemistry by covering it up with a good one.
I can't imagine nitro not hardening up after a couple years no matter how badly it was mixed, unless it was cut with the wrong reducer or otherwise despoiled.
If that's the case, then go back to the first sentence.
Else
Go back to the first sentence.
I can't imagine nitro not hardening up after a couple years no matter how badly it was mixed, unless it was cut with the wrong reducer or otherwise despoiled.
If that's the case, then go back to the first sentence.
Else
Go back to the first sentence.
bagman67
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If it's still gummy, it seems likely it'd wipe off with a liberal application of lacquer thinner, easing the sanding burden considerably. Of course, there's the issue of whether you have a color coat under the satin topcoat that you want to avoid reapplying, but no matter how you slice it, if you want a good finish, you should get rid of the bad one first.
Patrick from Davis
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The general consensus that the problem may just be a problem is one I agree with. However, after thinking a bit about it, you might want to try to reapply a couple/several coats of shellac (Zinsser Wax Free Shallac Sanding Sealer) to try to cover the problem. Then use you next kind of lacquer over that. The shellac tends to stick to everything, and everything tends to stick to it. It is a wonderful intermediate.
This is no guarantee it will work, but I would try to seal the bad stuff before mixing it with a new finish.
Patrick
This is no guarantee it will work, but I would try to seal the bad stuff before mixing it with a new finish.
Patrick
Alright, I cleaned up the guitar, sanded with 800 grit and sprayed the satin. From the looks of it, it has come out perfect. I haven't touched it since yesterday. Tomorrow I'm going to wipe it down with a microfiber. I've found that to be the best way to remove overspray particles. Can't complain here. its like a whole new finish on an old guitar.
Thanks guys.
Thanks guys.
Cagey
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scootles said:
You might want to wait a week or two before you start manhandling the thing. I know the finish probably feels dry and hard now, but trust me, it's not. Warmoth doesn't take 6-8 weeks to deliver a finished body because they're lazy or just want to piss people off. It takes time for the finish to really cure to where it can stand any attention, especially from abrasives.
Cagey said:
I understand your concern. I've been finishing guitars in nitro for almost 30 years. I've just never used the satin. I am not actually using sandpaper. With all my finishes after curing for 2-3 days I wipe it down with a microfiber cloth just to prevent the overspray from hardening too much. Been doing it for years so I'm not really concerned. What I meant about the 800 grit, was I sanded it before spraying the satin. I am not going to sand this finish or polish it at all with any polishes/rubbing compounds.
