Sticky Nitro Lacquer Necks - Polish recommendations ?

[lepard]

Got one that's driving me crazy, makes it difficult to play. There's got to be a safe-for-nitro-lacquer polish that will smooth out a sticky lacquer neck ???

[sully]

By 'sticky' do you mean tacky, as in things like lint etc. tend to affix themselves to the finish, or do you mean it isn't as easy to slide your hand across the finish as the finish tends to 'grip' your skin?

Sully

[LaoWai]

I found that just giving the old girl a rub down with a micro fiber cloth after each session goes a long way. YMMV

[leftykingv2]

Got one that's driving me crazy, makes it difficult to play. There's got to be a safe-for-nitro-lacquer polish that will smooth out a sticky lacquer neck ???

Regular Ernie Ball polish is safe for Nitro and Nitro Cellulose. I have a newer highway one strat I got off a friend and it has the nitro cellulose laquer and the Ernie Ball was what my Fender dealer at Lawrence Music recommended. I have been using it on the nitro finish and I haven't had any issues.

[j2379]

Don't know about nitro but sometimes a couple swipes with a scotchbrite or steel wool scuffs the finish just enough to make it nice. Back in the day I did that to many a neck especially fenders.

[sully]

If the finish has gone soft (is tacky, you can put a fingerprint in it) which can happen, you can't polish that out. Needs to be cleaned and reshot. If you're just talking about hand drag, then there are a ton of options.

[Axewielder]

I've been down all these "sticky nitro neck" paths, and at the end of the day you'll need to trade that bitch for something else.

[Chad]

And the whole nitro thing continues to elude me. Truly a case of following tradition for no other rational reason than...following tradition.

Give me thin poly instead of nitro on any day.

[leftykingv2]

And the whole nitro thing continues to elude me. Truly a case of following tradition for no other rational reason than...following tradition.

Give me thin poly instead of nitro on any day.

+1 I really agree because I don't see,feel or hear the benefit at all.

[Chad]

+1 I really agree because I don't see,feel or hear the benefit at all.

I agree. I don't buy the tone difference. The feel, if anything, is worse because of the sticky thing. I've heard one good thing is that it's easier to repair than poly. But it's ironic because another reason people give is that it wears/relics easier. If they want that to happen, why be concerned about how easy it is to repair?

[DonP]

Nitro can be shot hard as glass.

The problem is companies are cheap and lazy and want to take the easiest way out. They add chemicals that let the nitro flow better (less orange peal), so that they can spend less time wet sanding, rubbing, buffing, etc. But the side effect is the nitro can be rubbery if they use too much.

[leftykingv2]

Nitro can be shot hard as glass.

The problem is companies are cheap and lazy and want to take the easiest way out. They add chemicals that let the nitro flow better (less orange peal), so that they can spend less time wet sanding, rubbing, buffing, etc. But the side effect is the nitro can be rubbery if they use too much.

+1

[sully]

Nitro doesn't really exist anymore, and hasn't for years, due to EPA regulations. It can be a nice finish, for sure, but you can run into issues with the finish softening over the years. Solvents, sweat, smoke, all kinds of things can impact that.

Sully

[warlok]

Sully - now you got me confused.. I used the Lawrence McFadden nitro lacquer on my Model 6 a few years ago which is now under the Seagrave name.. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishin...g_Lacquer.html Not nitro lacquer??

And BTW, It is a nice hard non sticky finish now..

[sully]

It's accepted as nitro, but true nitro hasn't existed for a lonnnnnng time. I made this thread from a post by Bruce Bennett, who's a member of a Luthier's forum I belong to. It's long, but has some great info in there about nitro and the dreaded "polys."

Sully