Tacoma clear coat spaying issues new to me ???

Al you rock bro lol

Here in the northwest (Oregon), the Tacoma line was marketed in quite a few stores, so I had the opportunity to play a fair number of them. Seems like virtually every time one was in hand (usually a 9-series instrument), the tone would be noticeably rich & satisfying - and the build quality was consistently high.

I recall wondering if more conventional styling would have increased their acceptance & overall sales.

Martin had a short period of time in which they were experimenting with water based lacquer, but unfortunately, they sprayed it over pore filler that was oil based (i.e. desinged for NCL). The finish would peel off fairly reliably, and in large areas. One of my luthier buddies (who was a Martin warranty center) peeled the entire top off a Martin D-16 in one sheet. It had come in for a small peeling of the finish near the lower bout, and he grabbed the loose piece and started pulling and pretty much the entire top finish came off in one piece. He already knew of the problem of course.

kostask said:

Martin had a short period of time in which they were experimenting with water based lacquer, but unfortunately, they sprayed it over pore filler that was oil based (i.e. desinged for NCL). The finish would peel off fairly reliably, and in large areas. One of my luthier buddies (who was a Martin warranty center) peeled the entire top off a Martin D-16 in one sheet. It had come in for a small peeling of the finish near the lower bout, and he grabbed the loose piece and started pulling and pretty much the entire top finish came off in one piece. He already knew of the problem of course.

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Wow ! that would make for a good pic as long as no names were used lol .

Blows my mind that these issues could get past them . Where's the guys that say wait what !? Your using what again ? Nope ! No way it's incapable.
Were they allowed to drink on the job back then ? Lol

Rayk said:

Wow ! that would make for a good pic as long as no names were used lol .

Blows my mind that these issues could get past them . Where's the guys that say wait what !? Your using what again ? Nope ! No way it's incapable.
Were they allowed to drink on the job back then ? Lol

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Well the stuff was water-based.
:glee:
BTW Kostas that's one of the coolest and funniest stories I ever remember you telling here.
:friendly_wink:

The Martin factory was experimenting with water based lacquer in light of the possible environmental regulations, and possible ending of NCL lacquer (never happened). The environmental regulations were tightened up, but not to the extent that NCL was completely prohibited. NCL is still being produced, but much harder to get. I understand it is harder to get in the US than in Canada, but even in Canada, it takes some effort.

kostask said:

The Martin factory was experimenting with water based lacquer in light of the possible environmental regulations, and possible ending of NCL lacquer (never happened). The environmental regulations were tightened up, but not to the extent that NCL was completely prohibited. NCL is still being produced, but much harder to get. I understand it is harder to get in the US than in Canada, but even in Canada, it takes some effort.

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I keep seeing it in rattle-can units from places like Stew-Mac, but suspect maybe it's the industrial-strength/quantity put-ups that are harder to find, likely due to makers dropping out of the market?
And maybe that due to reduced overall demand?
Auto makers got away from it over 20 years ago, it started going acrylic (water-based) in CA in the '70's.
I do recall somebody mentioning that inter-state shipping of the rattle cans could be problematic but thought it was due to the flammable-substance-in-pressurized-can issue as opposed to potential pollutants needing CARB "permits".
One can still go to a hardware store and buy sprayable NCL lacquer paint here, so suspect CARB was primarily focused on industrial-sized polluters and has a different set of rules for "hobby" end-users.
And I have seen descriptions of water-base lacquers as well, but last time I looked the descriptions got vague about whether they were really NC lacquers.
Only said they were "comparable".
AFAIK genuine NCL is still the only one that constantly gets lighter/thinner by off-gassing and is re-soluble in new NCL, allowing great ease of touch-up or larger finish repairs.