I have a guitar with a nitro finish. I recently read that nitro “cures” over time and becomes less susceptible to damage from various materials. Does anyone know if this is true? Motivation for the question: my hubby gave me a new Hercules stand for Christmas. I understand it is nitro-safe, but of course it came with the warning that some finishes might be marred by contact with the foam. My old floor stand was not nitro safe, and I draped it with an old bedsheet. I keep this guitar on a wall hanger (different manufacturer) and have not noticed any issues from that. Thanks!
I don’t know the finish details, but I can make a guess. Hopefully someone with authoritative knowledge will answer.
Paints, plastics, foams, and the like all outgas. Nitro-safe means that the foam chemicals won’t interact with the nitro finish.
I have had many cases of chemical interaction causing stuff to soften:
- “rubber” feet on an external hard drive turned to sticky goo after a couple years in a rubbermaid tote in my very hot garage (over 115F for days on end during summer)
- Worked for a comapany that used stickers on a plastic part of their product. The sticker chemical outgassing reacted with the plastic and softened the plastic to destruction. Big recall nightmare.
- Used a protective mat on my desk to keep the wood from getting scratched or dinged. The mat itself reacted with the wood finish leaving a pattern in the surface that I cannot get out without a re-finish. I use a towel now between the desk and work mat.
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Hercules make a big thing of their ‘nitro safe’ foam. I’ve used them for years and they’ve not damaged the finish on my guitars.
The other thing to watch out for are guitar straps. The chemicals used in the leather tanning/staining process can damage nitro finishes. I always make sure the straps don’t lie across the guitars when not in use.
Also don’t leave your clip on guitar tuner on your guitar.
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I quite like a bit of wear and tear on my guitars.
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Two Gibson guitars with nito finish. One is 78 years old the other is 12 years old and have been on Hercules hangers or stands for 12 years. No damage or marks from the hangers or stands.
To add to what Gordon said about guitar straps, never use a cheap vinyl strap. The vinyl is used as fake leather on nylon straps.
Keep bug spray away from nito it will react with the finish in a very ugly way. Even if it’s on your skin or clothes.
Do Not use polish to clean nito, use water or very mild cleaning products. You can polish nito after it is cleaned but it is not necessary. Polishing to much will dull the gloss finish.
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Thanks everyone, I’m feeling much better now. And thanks for the additional advice! I won’t even let my (leather) strap touch my guitar when it’s not being actively played. Never thought about bug spray though…As for cleaning, I’ve only wiped it with a dry microfiber cloth so far…will only use water when I need to clean the neck.
@gregba: I totally respect the worn look, and this one will probably get there eventually. For now, I want to keep it looking sharp. 
You could just throw a piece of cloth on the stand, if you’re worried
Thanks Alexey, that’s what I’ve done in the past. Hoping to avoid that, especially with this style of stand.
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I looked into this pretty deeply after I bought my first guitar, a PRS with a nitro finish. What I learned is that nitro finishes never cure; they always remain soluble, and materials known to cause them to “melt” include rubber, leather, vinyl, and some plastics (a broad and vague category).
I also read a lot of discussion of Hercules stands and wall hangers and found lots of people who said they’d used them for years with nitro and never seen any problems. I figured I’d probably go ahead and get a Hercules stand. Then I got a Strandberg, eliminating that problem and replacing it with another.
So, while I can’t say you’re guaranteed to be safe, I can say that it’s a risk I decided I felt comfortable taking.
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Leather isn’t the problem. Poorly dyed and cheap leather is. Good leather guitar strap without heavy dye are fine. I have friends that have used good leather guitar straps for decades on nitro finishes and never had a problem.
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How do you know what the finish on your guitar is? I have no idea what mine are.
If it is a high end Gibson, Martin or boutique builder it’s nitro.
If it’s a Taylor or inexpensive guitar it’s most likely polyurethane or some other plastic finish. The website of the manufacturer should tell you what finishes they use.
Bob Taylor of Taylor guitars recommends Turtle Wax for the UV(fancy name for Poly) finishes on their guitars. I would recommend running them though a car wash tho.
What’s the advantage of nitro? It sure seems like a pain to take care of.
I can think of three reasons people like it…
It’s typically thinner than poly. Technically you get more resonance from the wood. Not sure how much this really makes a difference on an electric.
It’s more ‘authentic’. Although I think Fender stopped using it on their mainline guitars around1969 as it’s more expensive and dangerous to the environment / sprayers.
It ‘relics’ better. If you want that old cracked / crazed look on your electric guitar then you’re going to need nitro.
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I’m quite sure how much difference it makes: none! We’ve all seen the videos by Jim Lill showing how pretty much nothing affects electric guitar tone, aside from pickups and the distance from the pickups to the strings. (I may be forgetting something, but finish is definitely not one of them.)
Well, this would solve the problem of the care and maintenance. 
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That look makes me wonder if the guitar was owned by someone real clumsy instead of making me think it was played and loved a lot.
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Are you sure it’s nitrocellulose Judi? I think most guitar manufacturers stopped using true ‘nitro’ decades ago.
They are but they age nice and it feels more natural than a poly finish which feels more plastic.
Any talk of resonance or sound is utterly irrelevant with electrics tho.
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@jacksprat Chris, I’m glad you asked! When I bought it, the dealer made a big deal about the nitro finish. I never thought to confirm that. As you know, it can difficult to ascertain exactly what finish is used on many guitars, even from the manufacturer’s website. Anyway, your question prompted me to do some research, I’m now fairly sure that the dealer’s info was inaccurate. Indeed, I found a quote (from 1999) from the CEO that the company stopped using nitro in the late 50’s! I’ll continue to be cautious (I really love how it looks!), but will a bit less persnickety about this from now on. Thank you!!! Much ado about nothing, it seems…
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