Why does Fender Lacquer smell so good?

Gotta love that fresh lacquer smell!

 

You picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

 

I picked up a car from the body shop once and said to the receptionist, "Is it wrong that I love that smell?" She said, "Yes, it is." Not lacquer-related, but makes me smile about things I say out loud and probably shouldn't.

 

I’m new to the phenomenon. I thought it was the case.

 

Those G&G cases smell really nice. And new Fender amps!

 

You know what smell knocks my socks off? A brand new mahogany Martin.

 

For me, Fender's is ok, but I would burn a candle that smelled like a new Gibson.

 

I must agree My new BJ, AVRI Tele, 57 Deluxe reissue, 2016 Les Paul Special and friends 2000 AS Strat, they all smell this amazing vanilla sweet smell After lot of googling i think it´s nitro or rather glue used in guitar cases and combos

 

Taste good too.

 

My HD-28 still smells great after twenty-two years.

 

It must be the twang oil.

 

Bought a strat in '96 and oh that smell is still in the case. Mmmmm

 

Only nitro guitar I have is les paul . I think it smells like playdough from the 60s.
Which makes me wonder what they put in it back then.

 

If you can smell the finish you need new filters in your respirator.

Oh, wait, you mean after the fact.

Well I am not a fan of nitro finishes so I don't share the feeling, but I saw mahagony Martins menitoned. I got one a few years back and yeah, every time I walked into the room I coudl smell it. The scent has since calmed down so it doens't fill the room anymore, but yeah I like that smell.

 

I'm going with the case glue, not the NC lacquer. The reason I say it's not the NC finish is because I've worked around NC solutions for around 35 years, and I can tell you that the smell being described, and the smell I get from new NC lacquered guitars I've owned, does not smell like any solvent used to dissolve NC that I've ever encountered... not any ester, acetone/ketone, alcohol, or glycol ether, or any diluent used in NC coatings that I am familiar with. Plus, dry nitrocellulose has zero odor of its own. That said, it is entirely possible that the NC lacquer could be modified with another material, like a plasticizer, that has this pleasant odor, though not likely.

BUT, the smell I get could very easily come from the case glue, and in fact, it could come from residual melamine or urea formaldehyde. It is a common formulating technique to make glue used from starch or protein (like a protein derived from milk called "casein," or soy protein, which can have an odor, and often, a not too pleasant one) and react it with a form of formaldehyde, in glues for guitar cases. Any unreacted formaldehyde will have a sweet odor. It is also possible the scent could be added into the glue, itself, to mask the odor of the glue, but this is an added expense.

I am only making a guess... an educated one... but a guess, nevertheless.

 

The finishing compound maybe?

 

It's the lacquer. It smells like cake.

 

It doesn't have have to be new, I just got a partscaster put together with a Hod Rod 50's neck that's spent the last 3 years incarcerated in the shipping tube.
It still had it when I finally pulled it out...