I’ve completed my first attempt at guitar lacquering. My hands may have trembled, but I had a plan straight from the custom shop. The base was black acrylic, topped with white pearl, and finally a hypershift layer for that chameleon effect. The finish: polyester clear coat.
The temperature in the workshop hovered around 15°C, which I now realize was the main issue. Each painting phase went smoothly: epoxy primer to seal the body, then the black acrylic base, followed by a light pearl mist in a binder, then the shift layer.
Problems arose with the polyester clear. I used the 100:50:2 mixing ratio (a common polyester system), which turned out to be incorrect for the specific Tekron lacquer I used. After 24 hours, the clear coat was still tacky. The surface felt like it never stopped “working.”
The culprits:
Temperature too low – the polyester reaction never truly began.
Incorrect catalyst ratio – Tekron requires a 100:2:2 mix.
Possibly too thick of a layer, delaying solvent evaporation.
Lessons learned:
Polyester is highly sensitive to temperature. Never spray below 18°C.
Always check the specific tech sheet of your system before mixing.
Only mix as much clear coat as you can spray within 5 minutes.
Still – an essential learning experience. First mistakes out of the gun!