Guitar Finish Lacquer
Lacquer finishes
For a lacquer finish we offer a choice between Nitrocellulose (nitro) or Polyurethane (poly). Lacquer is colorless transparent and built up in thin layers for a hard, durable protective coat. Both lacquers can be used over sustain, the nitro can be colored for a translucent candy color with the sustain concentrate and both lacquers can be turned into a solid color with the sustain Solids.
The solvents in nitro take longer to cure and this requires extra care with applying thin – yet covering – layers, too thick and the lacquer can go white. The curing of nitro also takes longer (ap 2 weeks) than poly (48 hours). The layers of nitro melt in eachother to form a unified layer, making it easier to do a spot repair than with a poly finish.
Lacquer is applied by spraying, for example with a spraycan, spraygun or airbrush. The gloss lacquer can be polished to a mirror like high gloss. The more gloss you desire, the more you need to make sure that your base is completely smooth. Remove every single last scratch and fill open pores with a grainfiller or Z-Poxy finishing resin. We recommend for poly to apply 2 layers of primer and 4 layers of topcoat, for nitro you should count on 9 – 12 layers.
Fumes from lacquer are harmful, so make sure to wear a high quality fine-dust mask, protective clothing and have a well-ventilated workspace.
Our guitar lacquers:
| Guidelines | Nitro | Poly lacquer |
| Hardness (least hard 1 - hardest - 5) | 4 | 4 |
| Building capability (least 1 - most 5) | 5 | 5 |
| Flexibility (little 1 - lot 5 ) | 2 | 2 |
| Color | transparent | transparent |
| Gloss (depends on application, the higher the gloss, the smoother your base must be) | matte - high gloss | high gloss |
| Prep - sanding | u/i 400 | u/i 400 |
| Prep - with open pores | Required. With grainfiller or Z-Poxy | Required. With grainfiller or Z-Poxy |
| Prep - sealing/priming | Cellulose sanding sealer | Primer |
| Application method | Spray | Spray |
| Minimum no. of layers | 9 | 4 |
| Drying time between layers | 1h | ap 15m |
| Curing time | 2 weken | 48h |
| Finishing | Fine sanding from 800 to 1200 grit | Fine sanding from 800 to 2000 / 3000 grit |
| Polishing | With polishers such as Menzerna | With polishers such as Menzerna |
| Maintenance | Clean with lemon oil. | Clean with lemon oil. |
| Compatibel - suStain Concentrate* | as finish over & mixed with | as finish over |
| Compatibel - suStain Solids* | Mixed with | Mixed with |
| Compatibel - suStain Mica* | as finish over & mixed with | as finish over & mixed with |
| Compatibel - Metal flakes* | as finish over | as finish over |
| Safety** | Ventilate well and wear a high quality fine-dust mask and protective clothing! | Ventilate well and wear a high quality fine-dust mask and protective clothing! |
| Available in: | Matte 400ml & 1L | 1,5L Pro |
| Gloss 500ml, 1L & 5L |
* Finishing products and product combinations should always be tested before use
** Follow the complete safety instructions on the packaging