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Well, I'm nearing the end of my first build. I've been working steadily since mid-November doing everything from scratch, including many of the tools and machines. I finished applying the lacquer coats on Saturday (it is now Wednesday) and I completed the bridge yesterday. Until last night, every hour of free time that I had was spent on this project and now suddenly I have nothing to keep my hands occupied! This curing period is going to drive me mad! Earlier this evening, a little voice inside my head was telling me to go ahead and get to work on polishing so I could get to gluing the bridge and the neck. My more reasonable side said no no no, I've been told to wait at least three weeks to let the finish cure. Then that little voice came back by saying that he also saw that two weeks was fine and that Stewmac's nitro finish schedule recommended only four days. These voices argued back and forth for a bit and finally came to a compromise by allowing me to post up a question here to the experts. Now, I'm fully aware that level sanding and polishing will be easier if I wait 3 or 4 weeks, but what would happen if I only waited the 4 days or one week or two weeks? Would it end disastrously? Would it just take some extra work/skill/time/ to achieve a quality result?

I'm pretty much hoping that someone will chime in and tell me to go ahead and get to work tomorrow morning, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen. I know I probably just don't understand something about the process, but theoretically wouldn't the finish still be curing while I'm doing the remaining work (scraping finish off for bridge/fingerboard placement, gluing, setup, etc)?

C'mon experts! Tell me what I wanna hear!

with nitro , there is drying and then there is curing. There is a difference. When I was a newbie I did the same thing. Here is what happened . I got on the lacquer and I thought it looked great .
Within a month the dips started to show and it looked terrible. Patience is one of the hardest parts of building. The process should be stain seal fill seal then the first spray , I like to build .016 to .020 on the first spray . This will thin down quite a bit when it cures. After 3 weeks I will level sand. I start with 400 and will sand till I am about 70% through the orange peel . Then I hit 600 till I just about bottom out ,then 800 to the bottom , and work to 1200. I then inspect very close to see if I have any sand through. I then hit 3 more finish coats .. let this set 2 weeks , level off with 600 wet to just about to the orange, all sanding is wet to this point ,then 800, just as I hit the bottom I use 1200 -1500 - 2000 then polish.
I know it sounds like a lot of work but this is the hardest part. Fit and Finish are the hardest part of building.
Building guitars looks hard but it is harder than it looks

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

The longer you wait the better as the lacquer keeps shrinking and hardening for a long time and if you level and buff too soon the finish will not be as smooth after a few more months. Start another guitar while you are waiting that's what I do.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Hi Ellison,

I'm sorry, I'm not an expert... I never applied any nitrocellulose lacquer (I stick with shellac and I am not an expert with this one either...)

But, in your place I'd just start to build the next guitar while waiting to cure the lacquer on the first one until feeling absolutely comfortable with it. Time will fly

P.S.
Oh yes, I am an expert on making time fly...

If you have not done this , I think you should make a detailed building log. I use this tool. It helps you learn the cause and effect of changes on different guitars. I also suggest not to do too many changes so you can identify what each change will do.
Also you can take notes to what you did and how you did it . Maybe down the road something may pop up and you can look at the log and diagnose problems and show what you did right. Most early guitars are more exercises in construction techniques and don't loose that learning opportunity.
Now with one you can also look at what tooling you think you need to migrate to and ID where you have the most problem and work to strengthen you skills.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Waiting for the paint to cure is very difficult, you will regret it if you don't wait the necessary three or four weeks. This is why I always have two going at the same time. I'm just about to paint a parlor, and while waiting for it to cure, start bending the sides for a second L-00. The front and rear plates are almost done.
That's why everyone says " ya can't build just one!" Its a disease I tell ya.............
Mikey

_________________
The Biggest Little City, Nevada
www.hammondguitars.com
I love building guitars!

Thanks for keeping me grounded guys! By nature I'm just a very impatient person, especially with projects like this. I prepared myself well from the start, but I guess my patience just finally came to an end here! Anyway, I suppose I can hold out a few weeks for polishing.

It's pretty funny how what all of you told me pretty much echoed what my head was telling me to do. I have been keeping a detailed written and photographed account of my entire build. And I actually ordered supplies for my next project earlier this morning! This next project will be a much larger undertaking, but somehow seems much more manageable at this point. I'm going to be building three guitars at once, all based on an L-00 design. I think it will give me good practice at improving each step of the build since I'll be able to try it three times over. My plan is to keep one for myself, and give the other two to my father and my uncle. Neither of them are guitar players, but they do both have a deep appreciation for music and for fine craftsmanship. They have both been a great source of inspiration as well as technical (and financial) support during this first project. So I thought I would build them each an instrument to show my appreciation. Hopefully they won't be disappointed!

Anyway, I'll report back in a few weeks when everything is finished up!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have not chimed-in in over a year about keeping a build journal for each build and place entries into it each and every day you work on it. It is absolutely amazing the information that a previous build will bring to your knowledge base on subsequent builds. I note every little issue I run into and every new success as well specifications and variables. I jot down notes before I start a process, take a break and add notable thoughts during the process and again after. Because you took the time to notate issues when you run into it again you will find yourself instantly recalling the time you face that issue and referring back the journal notion about it. Same is true for thickness, voicing, or any process or specification. Real knowledge is formed by collecting data and re-using it. If you don’t collect it, you can easily loose it. If you collect it; it is at your fingertips your forever.

Ellison forgive me if this has been said since I scanned all of the other posts but I found that there is a difference between a 3 week cured nitro finish and a 4 week cured nirto finish.

For folks with little guitar finishing experience waiting longer is far better AND safer too.

The reason is that buffing requires a bit of an acquired touch that can only be gained by experience. Prior to having this touch it's easier to buff right through your finish and end up in some trouble..... Waiting longer produces a harder finish that is more resistant, but not at all totally resistant...., to buffing through.

So my point is that it's also safer to wait longer. When I was finishing my own guitars in my condo.... it felt like it was killing me to wait the four weeks.... When I stared actually waiting that long I noticed the difference with all aspects of rubbing out and buffing the finish - it was more predictable, consistent and my results were clearly better.

Start building the next 1 or 3 of you like and put the guitar out of sight and out of mind to cure in a place that is not too dry RH wise or where the out gassing solvents would produce a health hazard for you or yours.

Good luck

I am with you man....

The "finishing" process is my Nemesis! It takes me longer to Finish a guitar than to Build the entire guitar!

I think I brushed on approximately 1 full quart of Varnish.... only to sand almost every drop of it back off... 13,000 times... and this one went FAR better than my last one....

Don't even get me started about what happens when you get impatient with finish.... Dog hair, bugs, Oak leaves, wool coat... I painted completely over 2 house flies, a Moth, and about 10,000 mosquitoes on my #1... only to have to Scrape the WHOLE THING BACK WHITE....

As others have wisely advised.... During the finishing process... Especially during finish cure... Laziness is heartily rewarded! Resist the Urge to get in there and sand a couple days too early.... Bad things happen...

Find yourself something else to do... Start coming up with ideas for the Next guitar... Go dig up the list of Honey-do projects... Take some weekend trips to visit family.... Waste a Month or two longer than planned..Go off hiking, fishing, hunting.. Paint the basement.. Remodel the Kitchen, Refinish your Kitchen table.... Just DON'T start building another guitar quite yet and DON'T rush this one and Viola... Your finish is nicely cured and the levelling and polishing work comes out Awesome...

Thanks

John

Just start another.