Clear Coat

I did some minor touch-up to the paint job before applying my clear lacquer. There were areas on the front of the guitar that were blemished or where sloppy masking showed wood around the binding. I used a 000 brush and some green model paint to touch up these areas. It was not an exact match but close enough.

Model paint used for touch-up

A small brush was used to apply the paint

I knew I would be applying a lot of paint over the whole body. Rather than be forced to take long pauses while my air compressor recharged, I decided to use spay cans. I'm sure the Behlen Stringed Instrument Lacquer was really nice but it was $13.00. I chose to use Rust-Oleum Specialty clear lacquer for less than $4.00 per can. Not only was it substantially cheaper, it was readily available.

I quickly found that holding the trigger down on a spray can would make my finger tired. I added a spray grip to the can. This was a pistol grip with a trigger that fastened to the top of the spray can and made the can much more comfortable to hold. It got my finger tip away from the nozzle and gave me better control of the spray.

The spray grip attached to the can

I sprayed several light coats and then hung the guitar to dry for about an hour. I repeated this process a couple more times and let the guitar dry over night. 

The guitar dried overnight with the laundry