Nitrocellulose lacquer, the finish that is both loved and hated at the same time.<\/p>\n
Nitro is loved because it makes wood grain really “pop” and brings out that liquid-like smoothness of paint color wonderfully. And if the instrument is played regularly, the finish “checks” where it cracks and flakes off over time, giving that oh-so desired used, worn look.<\/p>\n
Nitro is hated for several reasons. When newly applied, it has an odor that while not offensive does cause nausea for some. This odor eventually goes away, but it takes time before it does. New nitro does cause skin irritation for some players, particularly on the forearm where the instrument is plucked, and on the fret hand palm if the neck has been coated (this irritation eventually goes away once the finish has been worn down sufficiently with regular play.) <\/p>\n
But those annoyances are minor compared to the #1 complaint about nitro, which is that it’s a high maintenance finish.<\/p>\n
There is great debate as to how to clean wood finished with nitrocellulose lacquer. We carry maintenance products that can do the job<\/a>, but some argue that nitro should only be cleaned dry, some say to use warm water only with same-direction drying technique, some say certain waxes are okay to use, and so on.<\/p>\n An unofficial standard to get nitro to have that showroom luster finish is the car detailer’s method. Namely, Meguiar’s M7 Show Car Glaze followed by Meguiar’s M34 Glaze Final Inspection. Yes, those are the real names for both products, and both are highly praised by those who use them…<\/p>\n …but bear in mind the car detailer’s method is for showcasing. It is certainly not appropriate for an instrument that’s used regularly.<\/p>\n It’s almost a certainty some of you would reply to this with, “If you gig regularly, don’t bother cleaning it. Just play your bass, let the finish deteriorate, check naturally and let nature dictate how it looks.”<\/p>\n That’s certainly an option, but you do have to clean your bass sometimes<\/i>, if for no other reason than to keep the electronics working properly.<\/p>\n How do you clean your nitro finish bass to keep it working like it should? Dry? Wet? What solutions do you use, if any? Do you use specific cleaning cloths?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nitrocellulose lacquer, the finish that is both loved and hated at the same time. Nitro is loved because it makes wood grain really “pop” and brings out that liquid-like smoothness of paint color wonderfully. And if the instrument is played regularly, the finish “checks” where it cracks and flakes off over time, giving that oh-so … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11543"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What do the pros use?<\/h3>\n
What is the best way to clean nitro for those who play regularly?<\/h3>\n