Does anyone prefer poly finished strats over nitro if all other options were the same? I don't get why most sig models and their higher prices still have poly?
Other than the ej sig...

Do you like poly for the protection? Don't want it to wear out like nitro, etc..,

I have guitars with both Nitro and poly. I like the way the nitro give a cool natural aging patina to it...but I love how my poly's just shine up so nice! So I would have to say I love both.
ABS

+1

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

This can turn into a hot topic as some purists can see only nitro as the ultimate finish for "tone wood." I have both and nitro is more sensitive to the surrounding environment, it is more brittle when cured, checks and chips easily. Yet some of those things are desirable if you want a relic look, or own a vintage classic that should show it's age. I have also sprayed both, and lacquer is easier and more forgiving to work with. So, my answer is, both! depending on your desire and taste. But for my everyday player, I want urethane, as it just holds up better.

_________________
Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

make it two

_________________
***God made men and men made guitar***

My SRV is poly and when I had my '78 refinished I had it done in nitro and I prefer the poly. Nitro is great for that vintage look but it's so fragile every little ding takes a chip of paint off. The poly is bullet proof and I don't have to worry about checking.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Poly. Definatley. I do love that shiney look.

If I was going to get one that I wanted to get busted up or reliced I would go for nitro.

I read somewhere that nitro lets the wood continue to age, while poly doesn't, meaning that the nitro painted bodies get better with age and the poly ones won't.

Is this actually true? It sounded a little odd to me, but I would be interested to know.

If thats true I'm gonna spray myself in poly so I can live forever as some sort of guitar god.

+1 Although even the Poly will show some natural wear when played often and hard enough.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I do if they are brand new as I take meticulous care of my guitars and want them to maintain that showroom new look for the duration of the time I own them.

If I obtain one that is clearly used, I honestly don't care.

Call me crazy but that's the way I feel about it.

_________________
You dig?

Did you read an advertisement? That sounds like marketing hype.

For the FACTS, I feel the need to post this famous quote from Fender masterbuilder Mark Kendrick regarding nitro:

Pardon my typos. I've lost alot of brain cells in my day. Could it be the 'Nitro'.

The first Fender lap steel was finished in black enamel. When Doc Kauffman and Leo formed K&F guitars in 1945, their original instruments, including the amplifiers, were finished in a lead based, wrinkle coat enamel. A nice shade of Battleship Grey. That was the only color available. After expermenting with different woods other than pine for guitars, they began using nitrocellulose lacquer. They used what was available to the furniture trade at the time.
The original colors were blonde, sunburst, etc... just like your Grandmas coffee table.

Custom colors were introduced in 1955. Once again they were enamel. The same material they used in the auto industry. The enamel would not adhere to the stearate based nitocellulose sanding sealer. Acrylic lacquers were then developed by Dupont to be sprayed on material other than metal. "Duco colors". In order for the paint to adhere, Fender began using a Sherwin Williams product called Homoclad. It was a penetrating, heavy solid, oil based sealer used as a barrier coat to to provide better adhesion for their guitars with custom colors. It was applied by dipping the guitar bodies directly into a 55 gallon drum, filled with the product. ALL Fender guitars produced after 1955 used this product until 1967, when Fender began experimenting with polyesters an undercoat.

By 1968, virtually all Fender guitar products used polyester as an undercoat, including necks. It's a two part product using Methyl Ethyl Ketone(MEK) as a catalyst. The reason the face of the pegheads were not sealed with polyester, is because type 'C' decals (under the finish) would not adhere to the product. While it is true a few guitars may have squeaked by with homoclad, when homoclad wasn't available, they used a Fuller O'Brian product called Ful-O-Plast. PLASTIC!!! It's obvious to me that those necks or bodies were stragglers, having to be reworked for some reason or another and not shipped after the change.

I'd like to make one thing clear... ALL FENDER GUITARS PRODUCED AFTER 1968 HAD A POLYESTER UNDERCOAT WITH A LACQUER TOPCOAT!!! There is no specific ratio. Enough poly was, and is sprayed to properly fill the grain while preventig a burn through while sanding.

In 1983, Fender began using polyuerthane as a topcoat. It cured quicker. It had better clarity. It had more depth and gloss, and didn't melt when you accidently spilled 151 on it. Fender then discontinued the use of polyester on the necks. Polyurethane is a 2 part product using a catalyst.

Fender has continued to use polyester, polyurethane, nitro, homoclad, and Ful-O-Plast.

Nitro is not a superior finish. An electric guitar doesn't 'breathe' at 120 db.

I like polyester. I like Nitro colors too. But maybe I'll let the players that use poly (ester or urethane) speak for themselves...

Billy Gibbons, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Joe Perry, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Roccco Prestia, Jimmie Vaughn, Nils Lofgren, Vince Gill, Chet Atkins, Tom Hamilton, Lenny Kravitz, Merle Haggard, Don Rich, Darryl Jones, Mike Stern, Larry Carlton, Peter Frampton, Sting, Marty Stuart, just to name a few. More are available upon request.

Hope this helps,

Mark K.


This is written by Mark Kendrick master builder @ Fender.

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

Really don't remember where I read it, was quite some time ago, but I had wondered about it ever since.

That article has satisfied my curiosity though!

Ha!
I love the part about 151 melting the finish.
Never worried about it when we played in bars. More worried about gunshot than alcohol.

Though this also reminds me what Leo Fender has said about wood used in the guitars...he used whatever was available at a good price! Single-piece, multiple-pieces...they were all the same to him.

-T

_________________
-T

"You can't spend what you ain't got, you can't lose what you ain't never had" ~ McKinley Morganfield

Me.

I own guitars with all the major finishes: I've sprayed all the major finishes, and some others. Nitro's fine. Polyurethane is better.

For reasons, see metropolis74's quote from the great Mark Kendrick, above. There's nothing left to add to that.

Cheers - C