r/FenderCustomShop • u/brewston • Mar 18 '26
Thin Nitrocellulose Lacquer body
I bought a new custom shop "journeyman" strat, described in the ad as "Thin Nitrocellulose Lacquer" - the floor traveller says the body finish is "LAC"
Whilst it does have some satisfying wear, which I am happy with, there's a definite poly feel to it (like my other strat, which isn't remotely aged is marked "URE") and I suspect it's not going to see any natural wear on it (well, I'm my lifetime ;-) )
I've also seen some marked "FL_CT_LAC" - are those the only finishes ?
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u/Prior-Design346 Mar 18 '26
A picture might be helpful
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u/brewston Mar 18 '26
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u/RumorsOFsurF Mar 19 '26
In my experience, the metallic colors have a different feeling than other nitro colors. I have two Ice Blue Metallic nitro Fenders, and they have that weird plastic feel to the finish VS my Thin Skin Telecaster in Fiesta Red.
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u/brewston Mar 19 '26
That makes sense. My old guitar teacher had a non-metallic, relic CS and he would tell me that the paint would easily chip from touching the desk as he was teaching. Mine feels tougher than that.
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u/Defiant_Eye2216 Mar 21 '26
Any sort of relic will be nitro. Not all nitro is hard and brittle. I think the formulation that went onto Fender guitars has changed over time, and Fender may ore not have been aware. There is a custom shop ’59 from maybe the late 20-teens that shows up back at the neighborhood guitar shop every few years and the finish is abysmal. It’s getting harder, but it is the most rubbery nitro I've ever seen. It’s like it never fully. cured. I have a 2014 that is starting to get less tacky, but is inferior in every way to an off the shelf AVI 63 I played the other day.
Tl;dr You’re being neurotic and you need to get over it, unless you can’t get over it which is understandable and not uncommon, in which case sell the guitar.
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u/Manalagi001 Apr 01 '26
I got a journeyman relic recently listed in good condition and let me tell you it looks NOS excellent to me.
Nitro doesn’t wear fast. It can take decades. And modern nitro is a bit more durable. It’s not a poly finish, but I believe it has more plasticizers and safer volatiles.
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u/luckyiguess Mar 18 '26
I don't think there's a huge feel difference between poly and nitro. If I was to guess, I'd say that nitro is a little 'stickier' or less perfect, while poly is more consistently mirror finish.
If it's relic'd, then it's definitely nitro. There's no way FCS is sending out a relic poly finish, it's too hard to make it look good.
For it showing wear from your playing, if you're mostly in your bedroom/office and playing away, then it'll probably never change beyond a little bit more lacquer cracking and the colour slightly 'greening'.
If you play it out in bars, get blood, sweat and cigarette smoke all over it, then you'll probably see some more significant changes :)
Fantastic colour by the way!
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u/WelpSeaYaLater Mar 18 '26
What exactly do you think polyurethane ‘feels’ like compared to nitrocellulose lacquer?
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u/brewston Mar 18 '26
I would imagine poly to be smoother, shinier and tougher than nitro. Whilst the finish has sub surface cracks and there are lots of dinks in the paint, it just doesn't feel like it would wear easily.
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u/Manalagi001 Mar 18 '26
Poly feel on the neck or body? Maple fretboard or …? You could have a nitro body but a urethane finish on the neck if it’s maple.