"Everything's Shiny, Captain!"

Pictured: Better living through chemistry

Can I get a "Hell Yeah?"
It's pretty amazing what old-fashioned chemistry can do.
The above picture is after four (technically five) coats of nitrocellulose lacquer sprayed on over two days.

Coats?  Lacquer? Sprayed?

"Let me explain."

[Pause]

"No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
.

"Say Hello to my little friend!"

Normally, guitars are finished using a spray rig, in a specific room with ventilation, using some type of poly-based finish.  At least that's how it's done on a modern production line.  At Jerry's house of guitars - we take a more basic approach.

The spray can above is full of nitrocellulose lacquer - which was a popular type of finish in the early to mid 20th century.  All those famous 1950's and 1960's Strats and Les Pauls were most likely to have a "Nitro" finish like this one.  This type of finish (especially in a can) has a lot of upsides.  It's super easy to apply (think spray paint), it makes things look fancy (see the below photos), each coat melts into the next (so mistakes get absorbed into the next coat), it's easy to buff and polish (Wax on! / Wax off!), and it is supposed to "breathe" more (meaning it doesn't wrap your guitar like a blanket and stifle the tone of the instrument).  

"Breathe, Breathe in the air"

It has some major down-sides as well.  It is stinky, not good for you, and considered a VOC.

It's also not great for the environment.  When applying it - it is highly (HIGHLY) flammable.  The nitro in nitrocellulose is in the same family as the nitro in nitroglycerine.  And finally, it can crack and check over time if not kept in the right environmental conditions.  So, while it looks fancy today - it might look less so in 20-30 years.  

Although none of the above reasons is why guitar manufacturers switched to Poly-based finishes.  They switched because the finish time with Poly is quicker (time = money) and Poly is more durable.  Which means they can ship guitars in thinner cardboard and they'll still look great at the other end (resources = money). 

"You're so money and you don't even know it."

But here's the thing...  I don't have a spray rig or a spray room.  I have a garage - with a garage door - that I open and spray out of.   

...when the weather permits.  

Maybe someday when money is no object I'll update my space.  But for now - when I'm making an average of one guitar every 2.5 years.  Spray cans seems like the way to go in the short term.

...and I'm having a hard time arguing with the results...

It's like a guitar shaped butterscotch lollipop.

Here's how it's done:  Like most spray paints - nitro in a can is easy to work with once you know how to best apply it.  I start out by submerging the cans in hot water (Not fully submerged - about an inch below the spray nozzle).  This warms up the lacquer and helps it flow better.  Shake the can like you would a spray paint can - for at least a minute to mix the components.  Just like with spray paint - don't get too close to the object you are spraying.  If you do you'll get runs in the finish.  Keep the can 10 to 12 inches from the guitar body.  Start spraying off to the side of the object you are spraying.  This avoids the can "spitting" finish onto the guitar.  Finally, go slow but keep the can moving.  If you stop moving you will get a run or a sag.  I did four coats like this and I'm happy with the resuts.

But before I did the four coats - I did a "tack" coat.  A tack coat is a super light coat that you put on so that all the other coats have something to "grab" onto.  It's light, it's quick, and it should not be shiny.

I see you...

After the 4th (5th) coat you sand the body with 400 or 600 grit sandpaper to knock down the high spots of finish.  Some people call it "orange peel" because that's what it looks like.  It is a very light sanding - using almost no hand pressure.  Then you spray another 4 to 8 coats.  For someone like myself (who is still a novice at this) 10 to 12 coats total is the goal.  It will make it easier for me to get good results as I'll be less likely to sand through the finish.  Once I get better at this - 8 to 10 coats will probably be fine.  Again, you can sand in between coats but I plan on doing it after each 4th coat unless I make a mistake along the line (what are the chances of that, eh?).

You can kind of see the place where I sanded through the shellac in the above picture.  It's semi-noticeable but not too bad.  Another great thing about Nitro is that I can mix it with dyes and shellac as you spray it.  So, if this doesn't get less noticeable - I'll give that a try.