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I've been a FP finisher up to this point, but in the next couple of weeks, I'm going to spray my first finish. I'll be spraying outside with the Fuji Mini-Max 4 and have both nitro and EM6000...any recommendations on which to use?

I was reading the StewMac "Guitar Finishing" book and was a little surprised by the part on spraying water-based finish: spray 12-16 coats of sanding sealer, 3-4 coats per day, 2-3 hours apart. Then spray 9-12 top coats 2-3 coats per day, 2-3 hours apart. That sounds like a lot of sanding sealer...is that normal?

Alan: Todd has given you a good schedule for nitro but I think to do it this way you must have an excellent fill. Have never used water based finish so any comments will be based on nitro.Sanding sealer is named for what it is meant to do,to be sanded off. Builds fast and helps to be part of the fill.My feelings are that this number of coats is way too much.Sanding sealer tends to be weaker,softer and soak up more sound than a finish done without it.When I first started I used sanding sealer but stopped that a number of years ago for the fact it did have an affect on sound.But who am I to argue with Stew -Mac since I have never used water based finish. My finishing is very close to what Todd stated with a few more coats,maybe my coats are thinner. Since you used FP to this point I think you may be surprised if you follow Stew -Mac. Hope some folks with water based experience drop in. Good luck.
Tom.

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I'd go with Nitro. Todd and Tom both have good advice. I finished a couple guitars with EM6000 but it has gotten kinda dull after a year. Like Tom (westca) said, I'd stay away from the vinyl sealer reguardless of finish. I seal with 2 coats of shellac on the guitars I used EM6000 on(also when using Nitro). Spraying outside is OK, but temperature and humidity matter. Another problem is bugs.
If you use Nitro you'll need somewhere to hang the guitar for 4 to 6 weeks to cure. It will off gas some pretty bad stuff during this time, so it shouldn't be in your house. Use breathing protection when spraying reguardless of which finish you choose, even outside.

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Thanks Todd, Tom, and Woody. I was leaning toward the nitro, so will go that route. Not sure where I'll put it while it's gassing off....my garage isn't humidity controlled and is also under the second story living area with a door into the lower level. Sounds like that might not be a good idea. I do have a fairly large storage building that is located far enough from the house that the vapor won't be a problem, but again, it's not humidity controlled.

Woody...I expect some fairly nice weather (in the 70's) and there aren’t as many bugs this time of year, so think that spraying outside will work well. I did buy a respirator when I bought the nitro. I wouldn't dare spray that stuff without it.

Alan

Maybe you know this already, but you need specific filters on a respirator to make it effective for vapours. The ones for dust aren't adequate.

Hi Alan
I am NO expert (no really ) but would like to chime in here.
I have had huge problems trying to finish my instruments as a small hobby builder. I have had little success with brushing and have tried all sorts of finish.

However, I am currently test spraying an old guitar with the em6000 and I have to tell you this stuff is excellent for starting out with. It sprays on easy and flows out unbelievably well. Makes an idiot like me look like I know what I'm doing

As you already have it, I would seriously consider using it as your first attempt. You DO NOT need sanding sealer, forget about the Stewmac instructions. I have been given advice from people who know and they say that not only is the sealer unnecessary, it has been known to cause problems with some builders!! You can seal the wood with Shellac and spray over this. Hell, you can even spray directly onto the bare wood if you want to and it will work just fine.

The advise I was given was 12 - 16 coats em6000 and you're done. I'm just about to spray my 7 & 8 coats today. I really am enjoying using this stuff so far. It really is easy. I'm spraying each coat every 1 - 2 hrs depending on conditions, Max 4 in a day.

Good Luck

Mat