Sticky Lacquer

[atomicwash]

I recently got a '79 Sunburst and the lacquer seems "sticky," especially on the neck. Is there something that treats that symptom or does it require a specialist? I' ve taken the guitar in for a setup, and my luthier has not seen this before.

Please discuss...

[crunchee]

It hasn't been around anything made of vinyl, has it? Nitro finishes and vinyl don't get along.

[atomicwash]

It hasn't been around anything made of vinyl, has it? Nitro finishes and vinyl don't get along.

No idea of previous life... therapy maybe?

[crunchee]

Old-fashioned vinyl (like that found on ancient vinyl-based guitar straps) tends to 'un-cure' a nitro finish. If left together for too long in close proximity, the nitro finish turns into sticky goo and won't re-cure/harden. I once found that out the hard way from having a nitro-finished Harmony guitar that came with an old Ovation guitar case with a vinyl pull tab on the case compartment, it only created a small amount of goo on the back of the neck, but it was enough to where I finally had to scrape off the gooed up spot of paint off of the neck). Hope that isn't the problem here.

[zenmindbeginner]

You need to clean the crap out of it with Naptha and then re-almagamate the lacquer with butyl-cellosolve so it can re-cure. It's a retarder, so a slower initial cure on a re-almagamation can actually make old lacquer hard again.

You can get a can of Behlen's Qualalacq lacquer retarder from a fine woodworking shop and a small Preval sprayer from an autoparts store or a paint supply store. Fill up the Preval with the Qualalacq and spray it lightly on the sticky areas. It will liquify so you don't want it to run by spraying too much or letting gravity cause a run because you are holding it wrong. It will liquify and then harden. it will get shinier and harder with the Qualalacq.

Warning... Butyl-Cellosolve is the brain cell killer equivalent of a nuclear bomb. You want to do it on a well ventilated area and wear a respirator.

You can get some 2400 grit sandpaper and re-sand the lacquer after it fully cures. Follow this up with a swirl remover from 3M or similar brand and voila, your lacquer is brand new again.

This can fix checking as well.

[Ting Ho Dung]

Zen's The Man.