i'm thinking of going down the nitro road for my black mij 57 strat , some may remember i got it in a box in bits and the back flat and the front around the bridge had been sanded ,just to get by i gave it a hasty going over with black (auto) paint on the last decent day we had here in scotland last year , so i'm thinking of sanding the body right down and giving it a going over with nitro , the sanding isnt a problem , and i have a compressor and a few spray guns (ones a devilbis) , i'm just wondering if theres anything i need to look out for , temps ect , best grain filler , thinners ect , i know theres a few refinishers on here , can you give me some guidance please , cheers
Alan

_________________

i would check out this site to see if some of these products are aval in your area.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... vents.html

just like any paint temp above 75 dreg. and low humidity. look around on the site for tips.

i have 2 gibsons but i like the poly finish on the strats, holds up better. but its your choice. but nitro is pretty toxic to use also google is your friend on finding info for nitro finishing work

hope this help a little

_________________
My setups

Gibson les paul trad pro 60's neck
Gibson sg standard 60's neck
Fender mim 1993 strat
Fender 2007 american strat sienna sunburst
Epi humming bird
Peavey calssic 30 and 50
Fender 212
Pignose
Digitec rp500

Hi Alan. First question: have you sprayed nitro before? If not there's some tips, but I'll wait to find out your experience level.

Grain filler. Depends what sort of wood the body is. Ash or mahogany, you need it. Alder, you don't. I'm guessing your MIJ may be Asian basswood, within which case I don't think you'll need to grain fill, but you need to assess that for yourself depending whether there are open pores in the wood or not.

If you do want to grain fill I like this stuff, available in different tints:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/brummer-brum ... rod783015/

That's a water-based grain filler and I have come to like it much better than oil-based ones. You simply mix a little of the powder with water to a toothpaste consistency and then squeegee it on using something like an old credit card as a spreader. It dries in minutes and you can then fine-sand it flat, or if you put way too much on you can take a slightly damp cloth and kind of polish it off as much as you require.

Very user-friendly! Ideal.

Sealer. Before you get on to the nitro you may want to seal the wood first. Some people are against this (principly Ed Roman) but virtually all the guitar makers do it: it just saves you some of your much more expensive nitro later on, since it stops the early coats sinking into the timber. I use this sealer, from Behlen. It's a quality product intended specifically for musical instruments:

http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merch ... e=MUSICFIN

Nitro. Far as sources for nitro are concerned, in our part of the world these days I find Axminster.co.uk as good as any. Try this page:

http://www.axminster.co.uk/page/find/?n ... ose&page=1

I use the Chestnut Cellulose Sanding Sealer to build the undercoat, spraying and sanding till you have a perfectly smooth surface. Then move on to the Fiddes Cellulose Lacquer. You could use some thinner for the first coats, though if you've done the undercoat well I'm not sure there's much need since you shouldn't need too many top coats and using the lacquer neat is therefore possible. Your choice.

A completely different way to go is to buy everything you need in aerosols from this gentleman:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/s ... e-lacquer/

Forum user Twelvebar says those are simply the Re-Ranch products rebranded for sale our side of the pond. If so, then quality is assured. I think aerosols are fine for guitar finishing, especially if you are good at sanding and buffing. And for a paint project like a guitar that requires many small coats it sure saves on clean-up compared to using the spray gun. Again, your choice.

That's plenty to be getting on with. Any help? Questions?

Cheers - C

_________________

thanks anaconda and ceri for the pointers , and ceri , i think i'll go along with your recomendations , sanding and buffing are no problems for me , i have a tub of brummer lying around somewhere for the filling , and the spray nitro sounds a lot less hassle than cleaning out the spray gun umpteen times .
I've wired up my 94 USA std the rory gallagher way (i was using the black one for this) so i'll get ol blacky stripped and sanded down and get the nitro ordered up , then all i need is a few days up here when it's going to be over 22 or 23 degrees C , i'll get some pics up of the project as it progresses , cheers
Alan

_________________

well thats the strat in bit's now , now to the sanding over the next few days , cheers
Alan

_________________

Ceri i am not sure if this is still true. There is now a line on the manchesterguitar site that says he only uses local product.

_________________
I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

a few pics of the dismantled strat

one of the neck end , made the day before my birthday in 85

the neck pocket


and it's looking like a refret is in order

cheers
Alan

_________________

Are you doing the fretjob yourself or sending it out?

_________________
"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


facebook.com/313DBC

Hi Twelvebar: ah-ha, that's interesting. I wonder where he's sourcing those type of colours? Though we're not yet having the difficulties you've described where you live, this side of the pond it is gradually becoming harder to get hold of nitrocellulose. I used to buy it from Behlen (here you can buy direct from the manufacturer's website, which is handy), but researching for my previous post I discovered that I can no longer see it on their .co.uk pages (they used to list it as "stringed instrument lacquer"). I wonder if they've stopped making it?

It's odd, because there are still plenty of carpenters who like it, and some vintage car enthusiasts who want it too. Last time I checked you could still order car paint in a cellulose formula at my local automotive stockist... but I haven't checked for a while. Hmm.

And to Alan: maybe it's just in my head but to me there's something viby about a MIJ Fender. Thanks for the photos! Be sure to let us know how you're getting on with it.

Cheers - C

_________________

hi , detroit blues i'll do the fret work myself , i'm thinking of going with a taller fret compared to the tiny original ones
Ceri , yep gotta love the old mij strats mate and i'll keep everyone posted to the progress of the old girl , cheers
Alan

_________________

Ooo, I bet some people round here would appreciate photos of that, too.

I'm writing this on a break from my first ever experience of fretting with stainless steel frets. Hot damn, they're hard! I now get why luthiers charge a lot more for steel...

Cheers - C

_________________

hi Ceri , i'll be shure to take pics of the process , i'm hoping that by a bit of cutting and heating i'll get the frets out without having to refinish the fretboard , thats my plan anyway , cheers
Alan

_________________

Ceri they still had it at the shop i go to, last time I went. I will inquire on my next visit.

In my opinion though for solid body electrics Behlen's Qualilac is a better product. Their stringed instrument lacquer is designed for acoustic instruments, which vibrate and expand and contract in a very different way. Qualilac gets a bit harder, and is (I think anyway,) more durable. I have used the Stringed Instrument Lacquer and have no complaints, but it offers no advantage except on acoustic instruments.

_________________
I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Ah-ha, that's a new one on me.

Have you seen this, Alan?

http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merch ... gory_Code=

For some reason I'm only finding the thinner on Behlen's own UK website at present, not the lacquer itself. However, a quick Google finds it for sale at plenty of other outlets, so...

Something to explore further. Is it essentially a nitrocellulose type lacquer, Twelvebar, or something else? I know they're making a big deal about their WB products at present.

Cheers - C

PS: at last, a grown-up technical type thread. Phew! Thanks, guys.

_________________

I misspelled it Ceri, apologies

Qualalacq



available in gloss or satin
it's their straight forward basic nitrocellulose lacquer as far as I know (I'm guessing it's a portmanteau of Quality Lacquer,) it's what I used for the red strat (which I swear will at some point get completed!)

_________________
I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.