Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi,
I will be attempting my first Nitro finish in a few days. I have chosen Cardinal Luthierlac.

I plan to use epoxy filler under the finish. Should I put a coat of vinyl sealer over the epoxy and under the finish or spray the nitro right on the epoxy?

Also, any suggestions as to spray schedule would be greatly appreciated.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I would use the vinyl sealer. It'll assure good adhesion

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Scuff the epoxy well before spraying their sealer. After spraying a few coats of sealer, scuff it very well before spraying the lacquer.

I had a lot of adhesion issues before getting in touch with Mac. He really impressed the importance of scuffing on me, which wasn't an issue when I used McFadden.

Before I started using Zpoxy as a filler I communicated directly with tech support at Pacer and I was assured that their product was compatible with nitro lacquer. I use vinyl sealer as part of a complete finishing system and would recommend that practice regardless of the pore filler that is used.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I did order their vinyl sealer. When I read the write up on lmi's page I got the impression that you didn't have to scuff the vinyl sealer if you sprayed the top coat within a half hour. Apparently that is not the way to do it.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I had to strip the finish twice because it peeled like a flaking sunburn when I tried to level. I'd scuff just for good measure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

James,
I think I remember you posting something about that. It would be a real bummer. After all was said and done, how did you like the cardinal?

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

The information I got from Pacer was in regard to their Zpoxy "finishing resin" if using System Three or other I'd check with the makers. The beauty of a compatible nitro finishing system is that each layer of chemical "burns" into the previous layer. Personally, I simply would avoid using coatings that lay "on top" each other --- with scuff process or not.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I don't have the nuance to compare the final result to the McFadden I've used before, but it seemed slightly trickier to use due to those issues. I think it's a great to still have an option for lacquer though.

I am pretty sure Seagraves "Macfadden formula" instrument lacquer is still being sold -- I thought I saw it in the SM catalog.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Ken
I thought Seagrave bought the rights to McFadden. But when I google Mc fadden lacquer it comes up with a full Lawerence McFadden product line inclusing Nitro with Seagrave on the bottom of the page. One big happy family now?

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust