Mohawk Stringed Instrument Lacquer 13 oz

I bought this to finish the soundboard of a harp I'm building. The can recommended 9-12 coats, but I didn't get that far with one can, which surprised me because the soundboard isn't that big. To be fair, I had some issues that required me to sand down and rebuild a couple small spots, so maybe I used up a lot more for that than I thought. I ordered another can and should be good from here. First, I applied the Mohawk vinyl sealer . Both products were great and made my bare aircraft birch soundboard very vibrant looking. I painted a design between the vinyl and lacquer with a water-based paint/stain and it looks great.

Does what it's supposed to do. I used this on an OM model acoustic guitar I built. It took just under two cans total for about 16-19 coats. I'd recommend 12 coats minimum. I ended up with a higher coat count because I burned through the finish while polish sanding and I had to go back and redo some sections. You're getting my best estimate coat count there as if I did the whole thing.Follow the directions on the can very carefully and be patient. It's easy to create runs and if you spray more than about 3 coats at a time without letting it rest between you'll end up with a mess. Recommend applying this at room temperature or a little higher. Colder temps will slow drying and make it easier to get runs. Too cold, and you're into finish defects etc.The nozzle can pick up small goobers of lacquer after a lot of use. Start spraying off your piece to knock the goobers off before you move to your piece.STRONGLY recommend use of a full respirator and safety goggles even if you're spraying the back yard. 3M makes a number of half respirators with replacement cartridges. Be sure to seal the cartridges in an airtight container when you're done to prolong their life.You will need to level and buff the finish when you're done like any other lacquer. I strongly recommend wet sanding with Micro Mesh if you aren't lucky enough to have a buffing wheel. Even by hand you can get up to a mirror finish without too much elbow work. If you were fortunate enough to not have any runs, start with a higher grit. It's easy to burn through the finish with anything less than 1000. And even 1000 I'd be careful.For rattle can - really impressed and happy with my results. Doesn't top a real spray gun setup, but we can't all be lucky enough to have one and this will do you in a pinch.

Spits like other reviewers mentioned. Didn’t use much, but the quality out of a new can wasn’t good enough. Oxford nitro is a superior performing product. Won’t be using any more of this, but sadly past the return window. Live and learn.

I don't know if I was sent lacquer that sat on the vendor's shelf for too long or if this Mohawk brand is just of exceptionally poor quality, but at normal room temperature and even warmed, the cans spit, badly and it's impossible to get any kind of reasonable coverage. I'm going to end up having to flat sand every other coat which is a huge waste of time and product. I'm now a few weeks outside of the return window because my project just got to the clear coat stage, and I'm now stuck with multiple cans of clear which are hardly worth the packaging it's contained within.I'm talking about right out of the gates, there's no chance that the valve should be clogged because it had never been sprayed before, brand new caps. The problem is the paint itself; I have plenty of finishing experience and the paint is fully agitated before I even begin to shoot because I'm looking to avoid issues exactly like this.What a waste of money. If you want to try Mohawk, purchase it locally so that you don't end up with someone's backstock and can easily return it if there's any issue. Nitro paint should last indefinitely if stored correctly so I don't know, maybe mohawk is just garbage. I had read things on the internet that stated favorable opinions, but I guess it just goes to show that until you see it with your own eyes, don't believe what you read online.

Often, products that claim to be specialized are just regular stuff with specialized marketing. Not so here - this clear worked great on my guitar. Fast drying, wet sandable, high gloss. Worth the dough.