Thinking of a refin on my '85 Love Rock. Any opinions?

[JohnA]

You could always book a course of sessions for it at the local tanning salon?

Or just hang about outside and give it to people as they go in! You could make some new friends too... or get locked up

 

[AlanN]

Nitrocellulose lacquer is banned in the EU as it's an anti-androgen, and potentially harmful to kids. You can still buy it in the UK though, so I'm not sure what the exact mechanics of the ban are...

I expect that like most bans there are exemptions, such as guitars (in this case). If there wasn't it would be illegal to sell half the world wide stock of guitars in Europe.

It's a crock anyway that nitro is more harmful than poly, it isn't, just takes much longer to completely dry, and while either finish is not completely dry they are both toxic and very flammable.

Ah, I don't think it's a ban on goods already finished with it - it's the application that's the problem (the solvent as you probably know is very nasty indeed - and much worse (toxicity, volatility) than the poly equivalent). When I say it's still available in the UK, I mean in spray and "raw" form (solvent/resin).

 

[JVsearch]

Nitrocellulose lacquer is banned in the EU as it's an anti-androgen, and potentially harmful to kids. You can still buy it in the UK though, so I'm not sure what the exact mechanics of the ban are...

I expect that like most bans there are exemptions, such as guitars (in this case). If there wasn't it would be illegal to sell half the world wide stock of guitars in Europe.

It's a crock anyway that nitro is more harmful than poly, it isn't, just takes much longer to completely dry, and while either finish is not completely dry they are both toxic and very flammable.

Ah, I don't think it's a ban on goods already finished with it - it's the application that's the problem (the solvent as you probably know is very nasty indeed - and much worse (toxicity, volatility) than the poly equivalent). When I say it's still available in the UK, I mean in spray and "raw" form (solvent/resin).

Ah, gotcha.
The information I have is that the nitro of today and poly use similar and quite toxic solvents to carry the finish but poly dries to a safe finish much faster. One guitar maker I spoke to said he would never use poly because it was easier to get a thin finish using nitro, and he personally believed some poly was just as toxic as the nitro he was using. Obviously a finish that takes ages to become safe is not a good choice for large volume production of crappy consumer goods like kids toys, but it's fine for guitars if the customers want it and will pay for the extra labour.

Looks like the ban might be a workplace safety kind of thing - an employer can't make an employee use nitro, but he can certainly spray it himself (if he can get it!), as long as it doesn't affect others. So small builders doing custom orders should still be ok, or the Euro luthiers will have to send their bodies/necks outside the EU for nitro finishes!

 

[jacco]

I know 2 luthiers and I've never heard about a nitro ban, I will ask..

 

[AlanN]

Just to say that I've seen no official evidence for it either, but there's been a whole slew of threads about it on the (obsessively many) guitar forums I visit. Could be hysteria yet!

 

[AlanN]

Looks like the ban might be a workplace safety kind of thing - an employer can't make an employee use nitro, but he can certainly spray it himself (if he can get it!), as long as it doesn't affect others. So small builders doing custom orders should still be ok, or the Euro luthiers will have to send their bodies/necks outside the EU for nitro finishes!

That'd make sense!

 

[PhilB]

The luthier I spoke to about the inlays said that the cellulose material that was used in the 50's is now banned, but what he was eluding to is that it is banned from being shipped in large quantities as it's highly volatile. Apparently this came into force after 9/11 which would probably explain why a big manufacturer like Gibson no longer uses it. I suppose if it was in small quantities like the inlay sets on the crazyparts site it's OK? He didn't mention anything about nitro finishes being banned, but I suppose that's only a matter of time with health and safety regulations and the bureaucrats that make these decisions trying their best to be seen as PC.

 

[Leif]

I read a post somewhere from a small UK guitar maker who said that applying nitro was either banned, or that it would soon be banned. There is no ban on importing nitro guitars of course.