handling fresh lacquer

[jartzh]

I stripped my guitar down and resprayed lacquer sealer and lacquer over the last week. (last coat last night). I next plan on refretting it. how long before I can handle the guitar without hurting the new lacquer. I dont plan on buffing it out for a month but still want to refret it and play it.
I have heard 1 day, 1 week, 1 month,...

[MaineGeezer]

Define "handle." If you mean "handle with total disregard for what I'm doing" I'd say at least a week, maybe more. You could probably "handle gingerly" in a day, but I can tell you that sanding it down again to get rid of fingerprints in the new finish is a real bore. I'm doing shellac, not lacquer, so my time estimates may be somewhat off.

[tippie53]

It will depend on the brand and how it was applied. If you used a rattle can about 2 weeks if you used thinners about 2 weeks if you brushed it about 2 weeks
see the drift ??
about 2 weeks
if you handle the lacquer before it cures , that isn't good.

[jartzh]

So the answer is 2 weeks. if I want to handle it enough to refret it, is there anything I can do to speed it up (low humidity, warm heat,...)
I am not impatient (well actually I am) but I have a jam in about 2 weeks so it needs to be cured by then.


to protect an uncured finish, while I refret it, do I wrap it in something that will not stick to the finish (if so , what?)

[tippie53]

not much really allow good air flow.

[B. Howard]

Airflow will help with drying greatly. I generally consider 2 weeks a minimum before any further work on the instrument like fretting or setting necks with good airflow over the finished pieces. Different lacquers can vary a good bit in this respect with some hardening faster than others.

to protect an uncured finish, while I re fret it, do I wrap it in something that will not stick to the finish (if so , what?)

It is a really bad idea to try and preform any work until the lacquer has cured enough to cut and buff. you will likely cause yourself more grief and work. Anything you use to try and "protect" the uncured finish stands a real chance of becoming embedded in the finish while putting in the frets or at the very least marring the finish to the point where it cannot be buffed out.

Spray finishing is a process that works to it's own schedule, it does not care about yours......You can sweet talk it or scream at it and it will not work any faster. Spray finishing is bursts of intense activity in tight time windows separated by sometimes long periods of waiting. My shop is always full of guitars that are waiting.Patience is the hardest part to teach novices......Rushing leads to ruin and will cost you more in time and effort in the end every time.

My advice is take a different guitar to the jam and be patient with the one you are working on. So close to the end is no time to go back to square one.

[jartzh]

ok, you guys have convinced me to be patient.
How do I tell when the lacquer is cured enough to handle? I wont buff it out for a couple months but I need to refret it.

[jartzh]

June 14th is the date it would need to be fretted. is that long enough (its 3 weeks actually)? I dont want to mess up this finish!

[B. Howard]

You should be fine at 3 weeks. It is tough to tell by looking or feeling how hard the lacquer really is. If you have masked off your FB you should have a full finish build up by the headstock over the tape. Use a finger nail to make an impression in the finish there and see how much effort it takes to mar it. This will give an idea of how hard the coating is, it should be very tough to mar this way when it is ready. Just as you would find on any lacquered instrument you own.

As you gain experience you will come to know these things. I know that with my materials and process my nitro needs to set 3 weeks on average. Spring and fall have the longest dry times in my shop while AC in the summer and heat in winter shorten them up a bit.