How many coats?

[Dave B]

Of lacquer for the top.
I have about 20 on the sides and back.
only about 4-5 on the top?
Thanks Dave

[tippie53]

it isn't the coats , it is the build , you need to have about 016 to 020 . Then allow 3 weeks of cure time , then it is all about leveling the finish. It is about not what you put on , it is what you let on. When you are done you are looking for about .008

[B. Howard]

There was a thread here this morning in regards to how much lacquer to put on the top of the guitar. John had posted an answer and I was typing out some advice. Sometime before I could submit my reply the thread disappeared....... don't know what happened, can only assume the author deleted it. I will post my reply anyway in hopes of helping the person with the original question and anyone else who may need it.
(The original post was made by a new member and required approval. The post was approved and subsequently, John hall replied to the post. When the new member edited his original post, approval was once again required and the post became invisible until that approval was granted. The post was re-approved and BHoward's post, under a new subject heading, was merged into the original thread. That clears it up, right? :?:
-tommy)


When just learning to spray finishes it is a good idea to spray some test panels at the same time with the same material and technique. By running a strip of masking tape on the panel before spraying a coat and then peeling it off after the coating has dried you can measure it with the tail of your caliper and see what your "green" build is. This should be done over a panel that has been sealed so the finish material does not soak into the grain and give false results. As John said about 0.020" green build should be good with a target of about 0.008" when cured and buffed. You can also measure how much more the coating will shrink when cured to the point of being ready to buff. You can also sand out the panel as if you were prepping to buff and see how much material must be removed to level the surface. make sure when you pull the tape to take a razor blade and scrape flat the edge where the coating butted up to the tape, this area will fill in slightly thicker due to surface tension and give a false reading.

[Dave B]

Thanks Brian, Sorry about the confusion. I didn't think about the approval.
Really good information. That will help me to know how much lacquer I have built up.
I have my test piece prepared and I sprayed 2 coats.
Thanks again Dave