All modern Martin's have a nitrocellulose finish, shellac hasn't been used since the early 1920's. Not sure how Martin does it, but a flattening agent can be added to gloss lacquer to make it satin. martin uses a product called chem sheen , it is a satin finished lacquer.

Are Martin Guitars Nitro?

yes Martin uses Nitro on the standard series , The X series uses a poly wipe on finish . The satin finishes are also nitro with an additive to kill the gloss.

What guitars have nitro finishes?

Which Guitars Have Nitro Finishes? These days, this type of guitar finish is used almost exclusively by Gibson and Fender's Custom Shop divisions. As these departments mostly produce premium time-honoured instruments, they therefore use nitro finishes to recapture the essence of their older vintage models.

What is the finish on a Martin d28?

According to the 1935 Martin catalog both style 45 (000-45) and 28 models (000-28 and D-28) received 'hand polished lacquer finish' (full gloss), whereas style 18 came with a 'hand rubbed lacquer finish' and style 17 came with a 'semi gloss lacquer finish' .

What guitars use nitrocellulose lacquer?

Nitrocellulose is a century old lacquer used by guitar companies such as Gibson, Fender, Martin and many others. In the '50s and '60s nitrocellulose lacquer was almost exclusively used to finish guitars, but it is still in use today, well after the “golden era” of guitar building.

The Finish

Does Gibson use nitrocellulose lacquer?

Gibson instruments are finished with several coats of a high-quality nitro-cellulose lacquer. This finish is hand-buffed to a high-gloss, mirror-like surface. Unlike other less expensive finishes, nitro-cellulose does not detract from the tone of the instrument and ages beautifully.

Why are Martin guitars so hard to play?

The problem is that every Martin I've played has been orders of magnitude more difficult to play than the comparable Taylors. The person at the music shop says that it's because Martin ships their guitars with high action and heavy strings opposed to Taylor who ships them with lower action and lighter strings.

Why are Martin guitars so good?

In terms of recording, it has a full and deep lower end, which makes a very good bass sound. Martin makes wonderful acoustic guitars, and they are definitely an investment. They are a bit on the expensive end of the price range, but it is said that with age Martin guitars sound better and better.

Is nitrocellulose the same as lacquer?

Nitrocellulose was adopted quickly by the car industry and remained the finish of choice through to the late-1950s. Furniture and musical instrument manufacturers also switched to nitrocellulose lacquer, and mostly it was referred to simply as 'lacquer'.

How can you tell if a Martin guitar is real?

Martin guitars have rounded off corners with the bridge saddle fitting tight, a counterfeit model will have sharp edges which have been crudely cut. The bridge plate of an authentic Martin has a solid piece of wood right underneath the bridge.

What is aging toner on Martin Guitars?

Also called vintage toner, this is a special blend of lacquers applied to certain acoustic guitars. It starts out with a nice warm yellowish hue and quickly darkens to a deep, rich amber, giving the appearance of a true pre-war vintage instrument.

Can you brush on nitrocellulose lacquer?

brushing is not the best way to apply lacquer you will feel it grabing pretty quickly , there is a brushing lacquer but it isn't great for guitars. If you mask the area the you don't want over spray you will be better off than brushing.

Does nitrocellulose lacquer yellow?

Nitrocellulose lacquers are notorious for yellowing, if at all possible you may want to consider using a cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) acrylic blend. These types of lacquers have been used in the automotive paint industry for many, many years with minimal color change.

What does D stand for in Martin guitars?

In the example above, it's a “D” which stands for Dreadnought and that indicates the size and shape of the guitar All of our prefixes, in order from smallest to largest, are: LX = Little Martin. DJr = Dreadnought Junior. 0 = Concert. 00 = Grand Concert.

What does HD stand for on Martin guitar?

Originally all 28 Series guitars had Herringbone inlays. The H in HD actually stands for Herringbone. Originally the herringbone binding was taken off of the D-28 as a cost saving measure to keep the guitar affordable to everyday players.

What does 000 mean in Martin guitars?

000 = Auditorium. The 14-fret version introduced 1934 (see below.) 0000 = Grand Auditorium aka size M. Introduced in 1977 as a flattop guitar that uses the body shape from Martin's Size F archtop Jazz guitar from the 1930s.

Do all Gibsons have nitrocellulose?

Yet despite the advantages of Poly, Gibson continue to only use Nitro as the finish on all their USA made electric guitars including the iconic Les Pauls, SGs and 335 / 339s. Given strict EPA controls in the USA, steadfastly sticking to Nitro must pose some significant challenges for the Gibson factories.

Can you put polyurethane over nitrocellulose?

Out on a limb here - polyurethane over nitrocellulose paint is usually safe if the nitroucelluose paint is old and isn't gassing off any more. (Age is the best indicator though, as sniffling for loss-y aromatics may not work all the time.)