Clear coat for guitar finishing?

[Dankma]

Hey there, newbie here! I make guitars, which of SPI's clears would you reccomend for this application? I also use Nitrocelulouse lacquer based base colors, would I have compatibility or adhesion issues? Thanks in advance

 

[crashtech]

I would suggest Universal Clear. It's available in quarts, and remains easy to polish for a long time.

 

[metalman]

Back in the day, before today's base/clear, the intermediate way was lacquer colors ( they called it a base) top-coated with urethane clear. The clear I remember using was a RM product. Any other old timers here correct me on that if necessary.

 

[crashtech]

Back in the day, before today's base/clear, the intermediate way was lacquer colors ( they called it a base) top-coated with urethane clear. The clear I remember using was a RM product. Any other old timers here correct me on that if necessary.

I know what you are talking about but I never used it, for some reason around that time I was using DAU82 on R-M lacquer, go figure.

 

[Lizer]

For a guitar you’d want the hardest clear you can get. I like universal for cars because it’s so soft but would be full of scratches real quick on a guitar.

 

[Slofut]

I used the clear polyester that Pedulla used back in the day, on my fretless bass fingerboard. Can't recall the brand, it was expensive and smelled like fiberglass resin. It's been 20yrs now and with round wound strings and a fair amount of regular play there is very little wear, more like marks from the strings that will catch a fingernail slightly. I'm amazed at the durability of this stuff. About that time is when a lot of makers started using polyester on guitars for that deep wet look. It takes a real beating.

 

[jcclark]

For a guitar you’d want the hardest clear you can get. I like universal for cars because it’s so soft but would be full of scratches real quick on a guitar.

I agree.
I use Conversion Varnish on all my wood cabinets, it's a 2K
product made for wood and gets rock hard in a day.
You can also get it in colors from Sherwin Williams.