Rattlecan lacquer recommendations

[RobL]

I need to do some touching up. Are there any brands of rattlecan lacquer people recommend (or recommend against)? Thanks.

[tbonesullivan]

Nikolas lacquer is what I have used in the past. I first heard it mentioned when going through Dan Oberloh's restorations on their website.

I lacquer all our horns and in our shop we only use Nicolas air dry lacquer as I find baked-on epoxy finishes to be costly in equipment and difficult to deal with should the instrument be damaged and need additional repair.

I believe it is an old school cellulose based lacquer, similar to what Bach instruments used for decades until recently.

Here's a video where it was being used to protect areas where the silver plating on a trumpet had worn through. I know it's not as durable as some other coatings but it is, IMHO, easier to work with for the novice. One thing I can say is SURFACE PREP IS EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. You want it utterly polished and clean if any type of lacquer is going to adhere properly.

[modelerdc]

I’ve used Tamiya clear in the aerosol can, works great can be found at some stores that sell plastic models such as Hobby Town

[Sniffynose]

Mohawk works great! Have used it on several horns now.

[greenbean]

Every tech I know uses Nicolas for spot lacquering.

[RobL]

Thank you for these recommendations!

[RobL]

tbonesullivan and greenbean, confirming this is the one you mean. Tx

https://www.ferreestoolsinc.com/product ... olas-clear

[hornbuilder]

Realize that the air dry lacquer is not terribly durable, and will need touch ups fairly regularly, especially in contact areas.

[tbonesullivan]

tbonesullivan and greenbean, confirming this is the one you mean. Tx

https://www.ferreestoolsinc.com/product ... olas-clear

That should be the one! I would go with clear.

[tbonesullivan]

Realize that the air dry lacquer is not terribly durable, and will need touch ups fairly regularly, especially in contact areas.

I put on a double coat years ago on the outer slide of my Bach 42, and it has held up. However I will also say that I am OCD as HELL. Every trombone gets the contact points wiped down after use with a microfiber cloth and/or a Conn Selmer / UMI lacquer cloth that has a bit of silicone impregnated into it. I also do not have acidic sweat, and tend to wash my hands a lot.

A lot of this comes from playing electric guitars with oiled necks, where if I play it with dirty hands, it gets sucked into the wood, and getting it back out is a pain.

[RobL]

Thank you, tbonesullivan, greenbean, and hornbuilder!