The best lacquer for guitars
Short Summary
Choosing the best lacquer for a guitar depends on the balance between tone, durability, appearance, and maintenance. Popular finishes such as nitrocellulose lacquer, polyurethane, and polyester each have unique characteristics that influence how a guitar ages, feels, and withstands everyday use.
While the finish can have a subtle effect on resonance, its biggest impact is often on protection and long-term wear. Understanding the differences between these guitar finishes helps you make an informed decision when buying, refinishing, or restoring an electric or acoustic guitar.
This guide explains the advantages and disadvantages of the most common guitar lacquers so you can choose the finish that best suits your playing style and preferences.
What is the best lacquer for guitars?
This is a question that may be answered different by many people.
One will say that Nitrocellulose lacquer is the best, while another disagrees on that.
So, is there a “best lacquer” for guitar? Maybe, maybe not…
Mainly guitars will be sprayed in Polyurethane lacquer or Nitrocellulose lacquer. Both are different ways of lacquer.
Is there a difference between Polyurethane- or Nitrocellulose lacquer?
Yes absolutely, polyurethane lacquer is highly resistant to chemicals, moisture and wear, which makes it perfect for heavy use. It can be applied in thinner- or thicker lays. While a thin coat allows good resonance, a thicker coat can inhibit it.
Nitrocellulose lacquers aren’t resistant to a lot of chemicals, so you don’t want to use these lacquers when you need to protect your instrument to things from outside.
But when you need the guitar to look “new” for a long time, you should use these Polyurethane lacquers.
Is there a difference in sound between Polyurethane- or Nitrocellulose lacquer?
Yes, usually there is a difference in sound between these 2.
A Nitrocellulose finish mostly is softer and is usually sprayed in thin layers. This helps the guitar to sound more open, rich and more resonant.
Thick nitrocellulose finishes will choke the wood’s vibration more, which gives, let’s call it, a more neutral sound.
Pricewise
Polyurethane lacquers are typically cheaper than nitrocellulose lacquers due to its less labor-intensive apply.
Besides that, it cures faster and requires fewer coats.
According to this and definitely not willing to generalize, you may see cheaper guitars mostly with a Polyurethane finish, while more expensive guitar have Nitrocellulose finishes.
Verdict about the best lacquer for guitar
In general, if you want a great looking guitar and you want it to look it like new all the time and you play it “heavy use” style, you would choose a Polyurethane finish.
Well, looking for a great “open” sounding guitar, with lots of resonance and a scratch on it isn’t a problem? You would, in that case, choose for Nitrocellulose finish.
Other ways to make your guitar sound better.
How to make your guitar sound better is one of the things all guitar players deal with.
Whether you are new at guitar or an advanced player, everybody is on the search for better tone.
Especially for those who are new to guitar and want to know how to make the guitar sound better, we wrote a blog about “how to make your guitar sound better”.
And when you wonder why your guitar does not stay in tune, we have some tips for tuning.
Which frets are best for you
The right frets are very important for your style of playing. Learn more which frets are best for you in our special we wrote for you.
Why you should consider thick guitar picks for better sound and comfort
You might be overwhelmed by the amount of different guitar picks.
Should you choose a thin or thick guitar pick?
Even though you are a beginner at guitar.
In an easy to read blog we’ll let you know 9 reasons to consider thick guitar picks.
About ChickenPicks guitar picks
The reason for me to make my own picks was diverse.
Somewhere in the mid 80’s I played those famous red Nylon Scotty’s 0.60mm picks. But I needed a better tone, so there was the need for a thicker pick, that wasn’t flexible.
At that time you only could find black Gibson Heavy picks and Dunlop 2.0mm (the purple one).
They sounded OK to me but the playability was bad. I had to work too hard, because I missed a well balanced pick.
So I experimented with different materials and thicknesses with beveled edges etc. Read more about ChickenPicks guitar picks here.
More about picks in particular
Guitar pick sizes chart: compare different picks to each other
These picks are so easy to play and your sound will be awesome
The best boutique picks on the market
Which small guitar picks will be worth checking out
What others say about ChickenPicks guitar picks
Musikhaus Thomann
Chicago Music Exchange
Guitarpickreviews.com
Anatomy of guitar tone
F.A.Q.
There is no single “best” guitar lacquer. Nitrocellulose, polyurethane, and polyester all have advantages. Nitrocellulose is valued for its vintage feel and aging characteristics, while polyurethane and polyester are known for their durability and resistance to scratches and moisture.
The finish can have a subtle influence on a guitar’s resonance, particularly on acoustic guitars, but the effect is generally much smaller than factors such as the wood, construction, pickups, amplifier, strings, and playing technique.
Nitrocellulose lacquer is thinner, develops a natural vintage patina over time, and is easier to repair. Polyurethane is harder, more resistant to wear, chemicals, and humidity, and typically requires less maintenance.
Yes. Many guitars can be refinished with a different type of lacquer, although the process requires proper preparation and should often be performed by an experienced guitar technician or luthier for the best results.
In most cases, yes. While the guitar finish may have a subtle effect on resonance, your guitar pick has a much greater impact on attack, articulation, dynamics, and note definition. A high-quality, rigid, beveled pick provides consistent string release and allows you to hear more of your guitar’s natural character.
Guitar essentials:
In guitar essentials we write about interesting things every guitarist should know a bit of,
especially when you’re new to (electric) guitar.
We definitely don’t dig deep into theories or technical aspects.
You will find many scientific documents about anything somewhere on the internet.
About the author
Hi, my name is Eppo Franken and I started to make my own picks in the mid ’80’s.
In 2010 my wife Jolanda and I started ChickenPicks guitar picks, because we’d like to see if others would enjoy them as well.
I play guitar since 1980 and my favorite style is country chicken picking and some kinds of rockabilly and americana.
Send us an e-mail and let’s talk about guitar tone and picks
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