So the necks on the RI guitars are not nitro?..only the body?
The whole "thinskin nitro" finish thing has made me wonder about the process,I've never researched the finish on guitars very much,although I can tell easily the differences in the heavy finish on my American Standards and the finish on the RI guitars.
Truthfully niki,other than the colors,guitar finishes kind of bore me,it doesn't make a big difference in tone to me like advertised.

No you're right on VRI's mate, I must have had a brain fart or something. They are cellulose. VHR's are urethane and so are Highway1's.

The whole process of the finish is shrouded in mystery isn't it? I think that is because of nothing more than web discussion without all the facts.
There was that post made by a masterbuilder, though I can't even remember what his name was let alone what was said.
There are a few things you can rely on.
All guitar bodies need some kind of sealer on them.
Cellulose can go ontop of urethane.
How thickly either is applied is down to the person doing the job, and/or the requirements of the job at hand.

I have no doubt you can see as much as I can, that the finish on these guitars is really really thin. Compared to my Sunburst Deluxe it seems like they just let the hotrod body look at the paint tin. Yet the sunburst deluxe has wood grain showing, despite having the same sealer and even urethane paint. You just can't infer anything from the undercoats. They could have been sanded back to a micron away from bare wood. We'll never know.
All I do know is that I enjoy my HR. It could be bananna skins under the red for all I know. It looks and sounds great though.

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No no and no

I like the feel of the finish on the body of the "thinskin" guitars that I have,but like you,it really doesn't matter...what's important to me as far as tone goes is not the finish and types of wood,but the pickups and amps that I use,and the speaker has the final say in the matter.