satin nitrocellulose lacquer finishes

JK

I have a question around satin nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. I have read stories of people putting their guitars on stands that ruin the finish, and even guitar straps that effect the colour. I am going to buy a new guitar stand, do I need to ask for something specific? Any help would be great. Thanks!

AlanRatcliffe

Foam rubber containing PVC is the culprit - it reacts with nitrocellulose and some oil finishes. I think if you stick to a known brand of stand you should be OK - the main manufacturers all avoid it like the plague.

JK

Excellent. Thanks for the help- ill stick to a brand name then.

MoJo-JoJoe

Ray

Just found this thread and thought I could maybe pop a question. I havent shopped around too much but I cant find a stand with one of those neck support thingies in which my classical nylon will fit. All seem a bit narrow and you have to force it in. So, I have been thinking I should just make something to whack into the wall. Is there any of this "good" foam available that I could use to wrap around the prongs of a garden fork or something? Also to line the wall with.

Thanx.

AlanRatcliffe

Ray wrote: So, I have been thinking I should just make something to whack into the wall. Is there any of this "good" foam available that I could use to wrap around the prongs of a garden fork or something? Also to line the wall with.

Not worth the effort - you can buy a Proel wall hanger from Bothner's for something like R70 or R80, and they fit a classic neck fine. The only guitar I don't use a wall hanger for is my headless bass (obviously). If you have a Telecaster headstock guitar, you should be very careful, as they are narrow enough to slip through most wall hangers if they are not positioned properly.

FatBoy

I bought 3 of those wall hangers a while back, they are cheap and works great, and yes, a Tele will slip through if you're not carefull, the ones I bought could be angled so the gap going downwards can be lessened, which works great for the tele. The pic doesn't show it clearly, but you can see the hook that the bass at the back is hanging on, the two "prongs" can tilt to fit the shape of the headstock.

Ray

Ya thanks guys. So my garden fork survives. I will scout around to see if there are any local shops with those.

Bob-Dubery

Ray wrote: Just found this thread and thought I could maybe pop a question. I havent shopped around too much but I cant find a stand with one of those neck support thingies in which my classical nylon will fit. All seem a bit narrow and you have to force it in. So, I have been thinking I should just make something to whack into the wall. Is there any of this "good" foam available that I could use to wrap around the prongs of a garden fork or something? Also to line the wall with.

There's stands available that support the guitar from the bottom, so the dimensions of your neck have no implications with that kind of stand.

Some of these fold up and thus are easily portable. I find these to be less top heavy than the floor stands that support the neck.

Here's an example of this kind of stand.

Winter is coming on the Highveld, so you don't want to leave your guitar on a stand for days on end anyway.

Ray

Bob Dubery wrote: Winter is coming on the Highveld, so you don't want to leave your guitar on a stand for days on end anyway.

Bob, you are so right. But this is quite a cheap Yamaha (ply) and as I understand it they are less susceptible to what the elements do to wood instruments. Nonetheless, it wont be spending plenty hours out, just when it needs to be and becomes a sweat having it lying on the couch or the bed or standing up against the wall. Just another q, is it not a problem for the back leaning against the support as in the pic you posted i.o.w. can that not leave some sort of impact?

AlanRatcliffe

I prefer the flat ones. The guitars take up more wallspace, but are nicely displayed: http://ratcliffe.co.za/gear/gear1.jpg (big pic, so I didn't embed it). The fact that they swivel is nice, in that they support both balanced 3-a side headstocks and Fender-style offset ones too. You can see the Tele hanger is turned a lot further than the ones on the other guitars. You'll also notice I use a floorstand like the one Bob mentions for my bass, but generally I prefer wall hangers as they get the guitar out of the way of dogs, small children and maids with vacuum cleaners (also clumsy guitarists).

Bob-Dubery

Ray wrote:
Bob Dubery wrote: Winter is coming on the Highveld, so you don't want to leave your guitar on a stand for days on end anyway.
Bob, you are so right. But this is quite a cheap Yamaha (ply) and as I understand it they are less susceptible to what the elements do to wood instruments. Nonetheless, it wont be spending plenty hours out, just when it needs to be and becomes a sweat having it lying on the couch or the bed or standing up against the wall. Just another q, is it not a problem for the back leaning against the support as in the pic you posted i.o.w. can that not leave some sort of impact?

I have 3 or 4 at home (close to the TV, on the stoep etc) similar to the one in that picture, but I can't say they're exactly the same. They have a piece of padding at the apex - the back of the guitar would rest against that. I haven't noticed any problems.

Just go along to your local music shop and ask what they have and inspect the goods for yourself.

It's a good thing to have even if you're just going to use it as an alternative to leaning it against a wall. The guitar will be more stable - less prone to fall over.