double A said:All the reasons stated above are correct. Paint is to guitar manufacturer what cheese is to a taco truck: one of the most expensive and volatile ingredients. It takes a lot of work and research to find the paint that is: 1)safe, 2)cheap, 3)fast, 4)beautiful, 5)durable.
And, in my humble and completely personal opinion, nitro is way overrated. It's become a over-hyped and lazy marketing point. Like hide glue. I've completely moved beyond caring about having things "the way Leo did it". But that's just me.
shaps6 said:double A said:All the reasons stated above are correct. Paint is to guitar manufacturer what cheese is to a taco truck: one of the most expensive and volatile ingredients. It takes a lot of work and research to find the paint that is: 1)safe, 2)cheap, 3)fast, 4)beautiful, 5)durable.
And, in my humble and completely personal opinion, nitro is way overrated. It's become a over-hyped and lazy marketing point. Like hide glue. I've completely moved beyond caring about having things "the way Leo did it". But that's just me.
Thanks, Aaron! Without giving away any proprietary secrets, do you guys use a special concoction that you guys have developed for your gloss finishes?
double A said:shaps6 said:double A said:All the reasons stated above are correct. Paint is to guitar manufacturer what cheese is to a taco truck: one of the most expensive and volatile ingredients. It takes a lot of work and research to find the paint that is: 1)safe, 2)cheap, 3)fast, 4)beautiful, 5)durable.
And, in my humble and completely personal opinion, nitro is way overrated. It's become a over-hyped and lazy marketing point. Like hide glue. I've completely moved beyond caring about having things "the way Leo did it". But that's just me.
Thanks, Aaron! Without giving away any proprietary secrets, do you guys use a special concoction that you guys have developed for your gloss finishes?
No can do. If I told you, we would find ourselves sitting next to each other in the back of a windowless white van, bound, gagged, and bouncing down an unmarked logging road deep into the woods. :help:
It would be nice to meet you though.
Cagey said:Finishing with nitrocellulose lacquer is a LOT of work, which takes time, which costs money. If you wanted a finish like the poly you currently get from Warmoth for $225 but in lacquer, it would likely cost you $600 or more. Catalyzed Poly, on the other hand, you shoot it and you're done. It cures very quickly, but you still have to wait for it to harden enough to buff. But, overall, the actual working time is trivial compared to lacquer.
The problem with catalyzed poly is that due to toxicity and tack time, you need a more elaborate spray booth than something like lacquer requires. But, a formal paint shop will have that so it's not really an issue. It's also more expensive, but even if you triple your finishing material cost by using it, the labor savings are so dramatic that that's not an issue, either. Another problem with poly is in a production situation, it's essentially unrepairable. If you screw it up, you have to strip it and start over. But, a production shop will have a professional finisher who doesn't make stupid mistakes, so that's not an issue, either.
So, in the final analysis, using poly is a no-brainer. Especially when you consider that there's no benefit to lacquer for the end user.
To be honest, I'm still not exactly sure why that would affect the sound of a guitar differently than poly.
Especially because a guitar's electronics are really doing most of the work, no?
TonyFlyingSquirrel said:After working there, you'd be hard pressed to find better quality, and more visually appealing finishes for the $$$ elsewhere in the Git-Biz.
Carvin & PRS are the only other ones that are remotely in the same category as far as quality, but you'll pay more $$$ for them.
In my opinion, as a parts manufacturer, this positions Warmoth proportionally higher in the game as it is far more accessible to the consumer financially, and with greater choices.
AirCap said:To be honest, I'm still not exactly sure why that would affect the sound of a guitar differently than poly.
Because lacquer flexes with the wood - it vibrates with the wood.
Poly does not flex - it does not vibrate - it constricts.
Especially because a guitar's electronics are really doing most of the work, no?
No. The sound of an electric guitar is determined by the acoustic sound of the assembled woods and hardware. If that guitar has a dead spot between 500 and 800 HZ, no pickups or electronics will add it back in. Pickups enhance and filter what's there - but cannot fundamentally change the sound of the guitar.
double A said:I absolutely believe the best playing and sounding electric guitars ever built are being built right now.