Removing Lacquer

[Dave M]

I had to remove a bridge and made a bit of a mess so decided to refinish the top. (I wasn't too happy with the finish anyway)

And Gosh it's hard work isn't it! The nitro had been on for a while so was fully hardened and it's tough stuff. Welcome I suppose in terms of wear. It has also demonstrated that I am definitely putting the stuff on too thick.

It is also improving my performance at sharpening scrapers!

Dave

[seeaxe]

I've taken the nitro off a few times on the last ones i tried to spray but was it new and soft so was fairly easy. So now I've swapped to FP i only have to brush it with a fingernail and i have a scratch while its freshly done.

If you're in business I can understand why a nitro or similar finish is preferred. It would be interesting to see whether the finish makes any difference structurally.

I like the bigger white purfling strip on that guitar Dave. Would you mind sharing how you did that?

[Dave M]

Richard I go for nitro for it's wear resistance, this one in particular being a steel string.

The binding is made from strips cut from the side so is a good match. The purfling is maple, cut roughly to size on the bandsaw then taken to size on the thickness sander. I keep trying different binding/purfling schemes and on this one I specifically wanted to separate the two halves of the back given the dark and relatively plain grain of the Walnut. I would probably use a thinner line on another build though I am pretty happy with this one.

Dave

[johnparchem]

A respirator, good ventilation and lacquer thinner or stripper?

[seeaxe]

I think that thicker light line looks great Dave. You've "nailed" it!!

[Cutty]

I like the jig for holding it down on the bench, what a great idea!

[Dave M]

I make no claims Cutty. It is Trevor Gore's design for a cradle for use with the binding channel router jig. The idea to use it finally came to me after I had chased the box around the bench for a while !

[quartpopt]

I like the jig for holding it down on the bench, what a great idea!

Well worth making for cutting binding channels.

[blackalex1952]

Has anyone tried spraying the old hard nitro with nitro lacquer thinners in order to soften it up before scraping? I have a guitar that I sprayed a year ago and the lacquer on the sides has aged to the point of having fine cracks in it. I'm thinking of trying a pure lacquer spray to see if it "melts" a bit and the cracks disappear? The soundboard and back have not exhibited this behavior. I would like to avoid having to scrape and sand the sides, a much more intense job than on the soundboard and back. Cheers -Ross