A fantastic alternative to nitrocellulose lacquer is Crystalac Brite Tone. It is a non-toxic waterborne instrument finish that looks and sounds as good as traditional lacquer, without the toxic solvents and noxious fumes. Long term exposure to lacquer solvents is well known to cause serious health consequences. After becoming sensitive to lacquer fumes I was seriously considering outsourcing the finishing process until I discovered Crystalac. But the real question is, yes it is non-toxic, but is it as good as lacquer? I can state unequivocally, yes!
Most waterborne products have a bad reputation, because historically speaking, most alternative products marketed to luthiers have never quite lived up to the old standard of nitro lacquer, but Crystalac is a notable exception. Brite Tone is one of the best waterborne guitar ‘lacquers’ ever developed. It is crystal clear, dries hard, doesn’t turn blue, doesn’t fish-eye, doesn’t check, doesn’t hurt tone, and can be wet sanded without streaking or cracking. It has properties similar to lacquer in that each coat burns into the previous coat, shrinks while it dries, sounds great, and buffs to an exceptionally smooth high gloss that is nearly indistinguishable from lacquer.
While there are still some VOCs, it is far lower than lacquer—more on the level of household paint. I still wear a respirator while spraying, but afterwards, there are no lingering fumes anywhere near the way lacquer gasses off for days and weeks. The majority of the smell evaporates overnight.
Brite Tone is technically a type of acrylic-polyurethane, but not at all similar to the type of polyester resin that most people think of as ‘poly’. It is nowhere near as thick and bulletproof. More similar to lacquer in how thin the coats build and how scratch and dent resistant it is. Durability is slightly better than lacquer, but not nearly as super tough and deadening as polyester. When applied in moderation, it is tonally transparent, like lacquer. Unlike some water based products like Target which require mixing a cross-linker in order to harden, Brite Tone is already premixed and cures harder than lacquer when fully dried. One gallon of Brite Tone is generally enough to finish about 4 acoustic guitar size instruments.
Since there is very little technical info on the professional hvlp application of Brite Tone, and because switching to a viable non-toxic finishing process has been such a game changer for me personally, I am sharing my finishing schedule to hopefully advance the pool of shared knowledge among those who may be looking to move away from lacquer and toxic chemicals.
Relative to lacquer, the Brite Tone finishing process is essentially very similar. Building the clearcoat is a series of spraying and sanding sessions. Building up the surface, and then leveling the high points – each time becoming progressively smoother and flatter, until the final polished finish is as flat and smooth as glass.
A big plus is that Brite Tone is easier to sand than lacquer – no gummy pigtails – cuts to clean white powder. 3M Blue and Gold sandpaper works fantastic, and causes no fish-eye issues.
For all it’s amazing properties, there is a learning curve involved in switching to Crystalac. It is not as forgiving to spray as lacquer and drips easier. The sweet spot is narrower. It’s all about good spray-gun technique, and laying down smooth thin wet coats. Achieving a flawless professional finish on stringed instruments is not a quick and easy process.
Longer drying times between coats is necessary, as the water-base evaporates slower than solvent borne lacquer. 3- 4 hours between coats and 3 coats a day maximum in normal temperature and humidity ranges. It dries to the touch in less than 15 mins, but needs more time between coats and before final buffing. Ultimately, patience in slowly building up a beautiful top coat allows the final finish to dry faster with less shrinkage and take a perfect polish.
Blushing can occur in cool or humid weather but does not need any special treatment to free up the trapped moisture, unlike like lacquer which often does. The blush will simply evaporate and disappear as it dries. Hot weather and low humidity can impact proper flow out, but Crystalac makes a dedicated Viscosity Reducer/retarder. Recommended 3-5% reduction in hot and dry conditions (above 80F and or below 40% humidity), if the finish is drying too fast and powdery and not flowing out properly.
Brite Tone adheres beautifully to bare wood with minimal surface prep—just sand smooth and blow off the dust. Don’t use sanding sealer as it is too soft and can cause bonding issues. Use only Brite Tone itself as the sealer, as it dries much harder than sealer and contains higher solids, making it an all around better sealer. All-Brite-Tone-to-Brite-Tone contact promotes the best possible bond to wood and finish for demanding applications such as lutherie.
Apollo 7700 hvlp spray gun with 1.0 mm needle and Gold B air cap. Set the material flow knob low, opened about 3/4 turn, with the fan control set wide. Spray in slow, even, consistent, vertical overlapping passes from about 10 inches away while keeping a close eye on the flow-out. There should be just enough liquid material hitting the surface to flow out nicely without dripping. If you’re getting drips, move the gun faster or turn the flow knob down. Be sure to have enough turbine pressure to spray full strength without needing to thin, about 7psi 130 cfm.
Cleaning up is easy with just warm soapy water.
Sand all bare wood to 220 or finer, and blow off the dust and pores with compressed air. Optionally, you can clean all surfaces with acetone if you’re worried about possible contamination, but usually not necessary.
Seal with 2 coats of Brite Tone Instrument Finish, 3 hours apart, dry overnight.
Pore fill if needed with cyanoacrylate. (Not necessary on closed grain woods like maple and spruce; absolutely essential on porous woods like rosewood.)
Block sand with 400 and blow off the dust, then two more coats of Brite Tone, 3 hours apart, dry overnight.
Repeat till all surfaces are sanded completely flat and sealed, usually 2-3 sessions.
Mask and spray color. (Skip to clear coat if no color) For liquid dye concentrates, dilute with 90% isopropyl alcohol or un-denatured ethyl alcohol, 1/2oz concentrated dye per quart for example. Add 25% Brite Tone as a binder, so that the color bonds to the instrument and doesn’t bleed. Color can be added directly to Brite Tone as well, however thinning with alcohol is preferable to keep the color coat as thin as possible to avoid building up a ledge around masked areas. Also, you never want to be sanding colored finish – to avoid uneven spots. Same with not spraying color on bare wood — better to seal first. This promotes an even color coat that is more translucent — a glaze essentially.
For dry pigments, same as above, but add 50% Brite Tone and use a high solids air cap. The slightly thicker mixture creates more translucent space between pigment particles in order to avoid becoming too dense and opaque.
Pull tape and carefully detail, but do not sand the color coat.
Seal with one coat of Brite Tone and allow to dry overnight.2 coats of Brite Tone, 4 hours apart, dry overnight.
2 more coats the next day, allow to dry for 3 days.
Carefully and lightly cut down just the prickly high points with 320 sandpaper on flat and curved sanding blocks. Do not attempt to sand level yet, and do not go through into the color coat! You’re only smoothing the rough parts at this stage.
Blow off the dust and optionally wipe down the surface with Crystalac Surface Conditioner to prepare for the next coats.
2 more coats of Brite Tone, 4 hours apart, dry overnight.
2 more coats the next day, allow to dry for 3 days.
Block sand mostly level with 400 grit sandpaper, leaving any remaining pores and depressions that might still be present. These will fill-in during the final spraying sessions. Better to spray more coats and be conservative about leveling, rather than risk sanding too aggressively, which could result in a sand-through or burn through while buffing later.
3 to 4 more coats over a couple of days should have now built up enough of a surface to sand the entire instrument completely flat and level. Dry overnight.
Spray 3 final perfectly smooth thin wet coats by adding a splash of Crystalac Viscosity Reducer (3-5%). This enhances the smoothness, flowout, and burn-in of the final top coats. Be careful not to drip.
Hang and allow the instrument to fully dry for at least a month or longer. Patience in longer drying times ultimately equates to a harder finished surface that takes a better polish with less shrinkage over time.
Wet-sand the entire instrument with soapy water and 3M wetordry 1500 grit on hard flat and curved sanding blocks. Work small areas at a time with a very minimal amount of water, wiping up with a soft clean microfiber towel frequently. Do not allow water to run into f-holes, sound holes, tuner holes, or any unsealed surfaces! Water can swell bare wood and crack the finish, but all finished areas will be effectively sealed and waterproof. I like to stuff wads of paper towel into tuner holes and other critical areas for extra preventative. Now the entire surface should be sanded completely flat with a satin sheen.
With a random orbit palm sander on medium speed, wet polish the entire instrument with a 2000 grit Abralon pad backed by a soft interface. Don’t use too much water. The Abralon pad should be wet, but not dripping and splattering all over the place. It will need to be washed and wrung out frequently as finish residue builds up.
Carefully inspect for any remaining 1500 sandpaper scratches and keep polishing with the Abralon pad till they’re completely gone. Now the finish should be completely smooth, with a low gloss sheen.
1HP 1725 RMP buffer with two 12″ wheels. On one side is a hard 60/60 cotton wheel with pink Menzerna P-204 medium cut clay compound. On the other side is a soft bleached domet flannel wheel with yellow Menzerna W-16 fine wax.
Be especially careful around edges, corners, f-holes, and soundholes. Light controlled passes. Let the compound do the cutting. Not too much pressure. Keep moving, and don’t let the surface heat up! Also be sure to wear a respirator and eye protection.
A beautiful high gloss finish should easily be achieved with the medium buffing wheel by gently polishing all surfaces of the instrument in alternating directions. Wipe off the compound dust with a microfiber towel and inspect under bright lighting for any remaining scratches. The surface should be glossy and nearly flawless with just a slight texture from the medium wheel burnishing the surface.
The soft flannel wheel and fine compound then brings the finish up to a spectacular high gloss.
Final step, hand polish with Meguiars Ultimate liquid wax and a soft clean microfiber towel. This lends the ultimate deep ultra glossy shine and cleans up any remaining lint and compound dust. Also makes a great guitar polish for removing sweat and fingerprints.
Anyone looking for a viable lacquer alternative, or looking to rid their shop of toxic chemicals might want to take a serious look at Cyrstalac Brite Tone. It is a beautiful instrument finish that looks and sounds as great as traditional nitro lacquer, without the toxic solvents and associated health risks.
Cheers,
Tad R Brown
