Tinting a poly neck with nitro

I really dig my '69 Thinline reissue neck, but it can use a little tan, so to speak.

I was thinking of trying this:

1) Scuffing it with 220 for bite

2) Lightly tinting the entire neck with a few passes of Mohawk toner, including going right over the decal (I don't foresee a problem there...the decal is black and buried under the poly)

3) 4-6 coats of clear or satin nitro

I know that nitro isn't compatible with poly, but it seems to me that a well cured poly neck with just a delicate amount of trans nitro and clear might work without damaging the poly.

Thoughts?

Tom

Tom

I know that nitro isn't compatible with poly, but it seems to me that a well cured poly neck with just a delicate amount of trans nitro and clear might work without damaging the poly.



Nitro IS compatible with poly. AVRI strats, for instance, have a poly undercoat, with nitro coats over the top.

I am not knowledgeable enough to say much more in answer to your question, someone else will be along shortly to do that!

I really dig my '69 Thinline reissue neck, but it can use a little tan, so to speak.

I was thinking of trying this:

1) Scuffing it with 220 for bite

2) Lightly tinting the entire neck with a few passes of Mohawk toner, including going right over the decal (I don't foresee a problem there...the decal is black and buried under the poly)

3) 4-6 coats of clear or satin nitro

I know that nitro isn't compatible with poly, but it seems to me that a well cured poly neck with just a delicate amount of trans nitro and clear might work without damaging the poly.

Thoughts?

Tom

Tom
Tom here is my take on this.I have finished 100s of vintage guitars,all with lacquer.The Poly finish is catalyzed and when it dries the lacquer will not penetrate it.The 220 grit is a good idea and will give it some bite for a lacquer top coat.It will probably look Ok.The long term issue is it will chip very easily as the lacquer is just sitting on the poly.PS :Fender use to seal there bodies with a light coat of poly before the lacquer just so the lacquer would build up faster and not continue to soak into the wood.But they sprayed the lacquer on when the Poly was still wet so it would stick.That works good,I still do it that way.Just my 2cents.....Chris

Fender use to seal there bodies with a light coat of poly before the lacquer just so the lacquer would build up faster and not continue to soak into the wood.But they sprayed the lacquer on when the Poly was still wet so it would stick.That works good,I still do it that way.Just my 2cents.....Chris

To me, this is sort of like shooting from the hip gunslinger style, and not something I would be giving out as a recommend for someone who doesn't do a lot of finishing.

I have had many deep discussions with my finishing supplier who supplies industrial finish supplies to all the local commercial trades about proper procedures and application techniques for over 15 years now, in this particular case because a long time ago I tried the exact same thing and when I told him about doing that, he looked at me like I grew three heads, and explained to me that you should never ever apply two dissimiliar finishes on top of each other while the first one is still curing, it is just begging for trouble and is not the proper application method for any type of finish and goes against just about every finishing technique rule out there.

You may 'get away' with it, but it is not the proper way to apply finishes, especially two dissimiliar finishes, and not information I would be passing out on the internet as a recommended procedure.

PS, I have also shot hundreds of lacquer finishes as well and am well versed with it.

Not preachin', just sayin'...

I gave it a shot last nite and it seems to have worked well. I scuffed the entire neck with 320 as opposed to 220, masked off the nut and 60th Anniversary medallion, and shot 3 passes with Mohawk Dark Golden Oak dye based nitro toner. The color is very nice....less orange than amber and it went on very evenly and smooth. It still needs some clear but the results are very encouraging so far.

In fact, I'm awaiting a nicely grained Alder Strat body and may consider shooting it in the same color. I tested the color on some scrap wood and it seemed to pop the grain a bit.

Once the neck is done I'll post pics.

Tom