How do you keep lacquer from cracking?

Spray a full wet coat of lacquer on the door, using either a compressed air spray gun or an aerosol can. The coat should be thick enough to be visibly liquid and to stay wet for several minutes. As the fresh lacquer softens and combines with the old, the finish will flow and level out, and the cracks should disappear.

What is crazing on a guitar?

Crazing is cracks in the finish, but generally in some sort of uniform fashion rather than a random crack or three here or there. Rapid temperature chance is the most commonly cited cause, but it’s not the only thing that causes crazing.

Can you apply lacquer over lacquer?

Lacquer can be used over lacquer-base, non-grain-raising (NGR) and water-base stains and over lacquer-base fillers. Thinned lacquer or shellac or a compatible lacquer-base sanding sealer should be used as a sealer under a lacquer finish.

Can you spray lacquer over lacquer?

There are risks to spraying any type of solvent lacquer over any existing, and older, paint or finish. The problem is the lacquer thinner in the lacquer. But a fully wet coat of lacquer, especially if it has been retarded (lacquer retarder added to slow the drying), can still dissolve through and cause a problem.

Can you put lacquer over lacquer?

Why does guitar lacquer crack?

The problems occur when the guitar is quickly brought indoors – perhaps into a hot club, under hotter stage lights. The rapid change in temperature causing the finish to crack; effectively the wood expands more quickly than the finish.

Why does lacquer crack?

Some of the most common mistakes that lead to cracking include applying the finish too thick (common with conversion varnish), using a hard/brittle finish over a softer/flexible finish, or using the wrong finish for the job.

Will my guitar finish crack or craze?

More sharing options… If you keep your guitar in a controlled environment for its lifetime, the finish would probably never crack or craze. It is the constant movement of the wood, the guitar swelling and contracting, over years that cause the finish to craze.

How can I Make my Guitar crack?

Put a stiff coat on a soft, moving object and the stiff material is going to snap rather than give. At least that’s how I understand it. You could make your newer guitar crack and craze by leaving it out in the cold and then bringing it into a warm house over and over. In a week you might have some checking happening.

What makes a good finish on a guitar?

It is the constant movement of the wood, the guitar swelling and contracting, over years that cause the finish to craze. Put a stiff coat on a soft, moving object and the stiff material is going to snap rather than give. At least that’s how I understand it.

Why does the lacquer on my Gibson Les Paul lose its thickness?

Yeah, basically just a result of the stress put on the lacquer as the guitar body reacts to its surroundings. At one time, the folks at Gibson actually used to heat the Forbes/PPG lacquer they used to get it on in very thick and even coats as the finish would lose about 1/2 its thickness in the course of a year.