Warmoth finishes?
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Strat Avenger
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The poly is also more durable and looks great.
Ace Flibble
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And the 'satin' nitro, like many satin or matte nitro finishes, rubs glossy very quickly with use anyway. If you do want a satin finish then I'd just order a gloss poly one then rub it down with 1500 wet&dry paper. If nitro is what you really want, gloss or satin, you'd be better off doing it yourself. You can rattle can a clear nitro gloss or satin finish very easily, and you can get some satin nitro that actually will stay satin (or just use gloss nitro but mist it on rather than spray in thick layers).
Cagey
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Marco78 said:
Nitro is a labor-intensive finish to apply and it's inferior to urethane. The urethanes look just as good and are much more durable. The only reason to use nitro on a guitar is if you're finishing it yourself because you can't get the factory finish you want. Shooting catalyzed finishes requires a more demanding setup and a greater degree of experience due to handling issues and the fact that it's essentially unrepairable. It's gotta go on right the first time, or you may as well toss the body (from a commercial POV). Lacquer allows repairs, but really only if you're not paying for labor.
Stories of tonal differences due to finish on electric guitars are baseless. They do apply to some degree on acoustics.
Marco78 said:
It's all "real" nitro, but the chemistries change a bit depending on what kind of money you want to spend where. The catalyzed acrylic lacquers cost more, but are less labor-intensive than old-fashioned nitro. You could put traditional nitro on, but then the price goes way up due to the labor and there's no upside to it. The final result is essentially the same, but the traditional stuff will chip/scratch/wear off faster.
Patrick from Davis
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Real nitro has an amazing clarity/depth to it. However, it is also dissolved in solvents, so it carries a high VOC. This means EPA, Air Quality Management, Protective gear, and a separate spray set up. That previous line means it costs a lot more time and effort just to be able to do the finish. Never mind how much time it take to actually do the finish. If environmental restrictions get changed, you might not be able to get what you need to even do the finish. In essence, it is problematic from quite a number of points of view.
Patrick
Patrick
Thanks for all the answers.
Ok, the nitro that W isn't a "old" nitro. I prefer nitro for a aesthetic point of view, I don't think that is superior like sound and I hate glossy finish on neck.
I think that keep the non finished version of neck and body and after my tech use a real nitro to finish them. Thanks a lot.
Marco
Ok, the nitro that W isn't a "old" nitro. I prefer nitro for a aesthetic point of view, I don't think that is superior like sound and I hate glossy finish on neck.
I think that keep the non finished version of neck and body and after my tech use a real nitro to finish them. Thanks a lot.
Marco
Ace Flibble
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It's pretty much the second most standard 'mod' to do, after putting in coil split switches. You literally just get two sheets of 1500 grit wet & dry paper, mask off the area you want to satin, and spend about five minutes rubbing it down with one piece dry and one piece wet. You can use 0000 steel wool instead, which tends to give an even smoother feel but a rougher look.
Just don't try to sand over binding or the fretboard sides. Stick to the neck and you can't go wrong. 1500 grit paper (or 0000 steel wool) is so fine you'll never sand right through the finish unless you're at it for hours.
Just don't try to sand over binding or the fretboard sides. Stick to the neck and you can't go wrong. 1500 grit paper (or 0000 steel wool) is so fine you'll never sand right through the finish unless you're at it for hours.
Ace Flibble
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"Playability" is entirely subjective to the player. Many people prefer satin poly finishes, oil and wax finishes or just raw wood. However there are some people that do prefer gloss finishes. Similarly the divide between poly and nitro is more or less 50/50, there's really no clear winner.
And yes, get two pieces of 1500 wet & dry paper, using one totally dry first and then use the second very slightly dampened with a little room temperature water with a tiny, tiny amount of soap or washing up liquid in it. The dry piece will be what really takes the gloss off, the wet piece is just to smooth out any particularly deep scratches. You may be fine with just one dry piece of 1500 though, it really depends on how careful you are and what the finish is like to start with. If you're trying to take the gloss off a really thick finish then it can be a better idea to use the steel wool, or go up to 1200 grit paper for the dry stage.
For really, really thick gloss poly finishes, like those you get on production guitars from China and Korea, you can start off with 800 grit paper, then use 1200 or steel wool to smooth it off. If you're buying a Warmoth neck with a Warmoth finish though, it'll never be that thick.
And yes, get two pieces of 1500 wet & dry paper, using one totally dry first and then use the second very slightly dampened with a little room temperature water with a tiny, tiny amount of soap or washing up liquid in it. The dry piece will be what really takes the gloss off, the wet piece is just to smooth out any particularly deep scratches. You may be fine with just one dry piece of 1500 though, it really depends on how careful you are and what the finish is like to start with. If you're trying to take the gloss off a really thick finish then it can be a better idea to use the steel wool, or go up to 1200 grit paper for the dry stage.
For really, really thick gloss poly finishes, like those you get on production guitars from China and Korea, you can start off with 800 grit paper, then use 1200 or steel wool to smooth it off. If you're buying a Warmoth neck with a Warmoth finish though, it'll never be that thick.
Marco, neck (back of...) aren't that complicated, I'm learning.
I used tru-oil on mine, and by the time I had a couple of coats on it, it was really solid, and glossy. I sanded it back down with 600 grit, then some scotchbrite 0000 'steel wool', and it feels awesome now.
You'll also find some threads about 'raw' necks. That is: no finish at all. A lot of progressive and careful fine dry sanding, movie watching and beer consumption. S'all good.
I used tru-oil on mine, and by the time I had a couple of coats on it, it was really solid, and glossy. I sanded it back down with 600 grit, then some scotchbrite 0000 'steel wool', and it feels awesome now.
You'll also find some threads about 'raw' necks. That is: no finish at all. A lot of progressive and careful fine dry sanding, movie watching and beer consumption. S'all good.
Strat Avenger
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I have a hard time believing that 1500 would produce a satin result. I performed this mod about 20 years ago on a Fender Strat and a Ibanez, and I used 400 dry. It polished back up after a bit of playing.
Ace Flibble
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Well it depends on the guitar. As I said, some more common production guitars are going to need something a bit heftier. Warmoth spray their neck finishes so thinly though that even 1200 is a bit of a risk. 1500 is abrasive enough to take the gloss off without running any risk of sanding through. You can even skip the wet stage if you want to be sure there's not a hint of gloss left.
I will say though, and perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier but many people turn their nose up at it, the best satin results I've had have been from getting a can of gloss nitro and misting it on from about three times the distance you'd normally spray with. Just put it right on top of the existing finish. Then I leave it in a regular room of the house to dry up and repeat twice more. The combination of the relatively rough (but thin) paint and whatever dust it picks up as it dries results in a finish that feels like a neck that's been around since the 50s (literally; I first did it to try to replicate the neck of a friend's 1958 LP Jr).
Only problem with this method is it doesn't look satin. It just feels it, kind of like oil & wax finishes.
I will say though, and perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier but many people turn their nose up at it, the best satin results I've had have been from getting a can of gloss nitro and misting it on from about three times the distance you'd normally spray with. Just put it right on top of the existing finish. Then I leave it in a regular room of the house to dry up and repeat twice more. The combination of the relatively rough (but thin) paint and whatever dust it picks up as it dries results in a finish that feels like a neck that's been around since the 50s (literally; I first did it to try to replicate the neck of a friend's 1958 LP Jr).
Only problem with this method is it doesn't look satin. It just feels it, kind of like oil & wax finishes.
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