Stewmac nitro checking...only year old

F

fordmugg

New member
Finished this guitar about a year ago and sprayed it with stewmac rattle can nitro, i pulled it out of its case yesterday to find this, a bunch of checking lines in the nitro. How could this happen the guitar is in the house in a case and not exposed to weather changes. I took some pics but it looks way worse in person....any idea what could of happened?




 
Re: Stewmac nitro checking...only year old

I've found the best checking naturally over time with my builds has not come from the more pure stuff, but from the lacquer with plasticisers in....go figure.

And a couple of my guitars have checked in cases too - it might be less likely in a more stable environment but if the guitar wants to check, it will.

I'm not sure if your builds are for you, or for clients. In both cases the use of nitro is very likely to end in checking, and whoever is the owner just needs to accept the benefits/limitations of the finish chosen.
 
Re: Stewmac nitro checking...only year old

Mick: "Your nose is broken.

Rocky: "How does it look?"

Mick: "It's an improvement!"
 
Re: Stewmac nitro checking...only year old

Unfortunately that is a big and common problem with lacquer. It is more likely to happen if each of the layers was sprayed on too thick, and/or not allowed enough time to cure between coats.

I used to finish all of my builds with nitro, but because of that problem, now I use polyurethane. It has its own set of problems and handling characteristics, but it doesn't crack like lacquer (it doesn't shrink as much), and it is very hard and durable. I haven't tried acrylic, it also has its own unique shortcomings which I'm not prepared to deal with.
 
Re: Stewmac nitro checking...only year old

I used Reranch nitro and no checking at all on my sonic blue strat. I skipped the clear, so it's really starting to show some wear after only three years.
 
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