Official Luthiers Forum!

Is there a difference between brands of lacquer?
Isn't nitro cellulose nitro cellulose? Is the Seagrave lacquer that Stew-Mac sells really better than say in industrial lacquer from ML Campbell?
Is there one that cures faster so I don't have to wait 4-6 weeks to polish a finished guitar?

Lacquer made specifically for musical instruments has stuff to make it more flexible. Furniture lacquer is more likely to craze and check on musical instruments. If you're going to use nitro a 4 to 6 wait is pretty much necessary for a good finish.....at least IMO.

I no longer use nitro, but would recommend Behlens or Mohawk stringed instrument lacquer over the seagrave stuff. (Behlens and Mohawk are the same)

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At the Gibson factory they used a system that warmed the lacquer. They used much less solvent and the stuff got hard enough to buff quickly. This was normal furniture equipment in the old days.
With whatever brand of lacquer, you have to experiment to know what you can get away with. I use Hirsch, made for antique cars. It seems to work great.
I like to hang a guitar in the sun between coats. The more I do this, the quicker it stops smelling like solvent. But it still takes weeks, not days.
If you buff it too soon you can have old sandpaper scratches in the first layers reappear months after the buffing. You (or the customer) will be extremely upset.