Hey Thanks for stopping by our home on the web. Rowyco Kustoms offers professional finishes for your guitar that meet and often exceed the quality of factory specifications. From traditional sunbursts, vintage correct “custom colors”, vividly stained figured maple tops, street rod inspired metallics/pearls, and eye popping metal flake Rowyco Kustoms has you, and your guitar covered.  We offer most of our finishes in nitrocellulose lacquer or catalyzed non lacquer finishes.  Click here for more info on the materials we use.

HERE It seems that anywhere you look regarding the topic of guitar finishes you will inevitably run into arguments debating the merits of nitrocellulose lacquer versus just about anything else which is usually lumped into one lone category simply referred to as “poly”. I have ZERO interest in furthering that debate BUT since Rowyco Kustoms offers both nitro and “poly” finishes I feel I can impartially describe the differences between the “two”. As a finisher and a player I strongly feel there is no perfect finish. They all have different characteristics that depending on the owner could be viewed as an asset or a liability. NITROCELLULOSE Most, if not all of the beloved vintage guitars from the 50’s and 60’s were finished with nitro. Most lacquers have a slightly lower level of gloss than it’s chemically cross linked counterparts. It’s usually slightly amber out of the can instead of water clear which can soften some colors. This is generally a good thing when you’re talking bursts but as it ages and yellows further it can change an opaque color to a totally different shade. Nitro is not the most durable finish which attributes to the patina and wear it can develop over time. It can also be very disagreeable with certain guitar stands/hangers, colognes, bug spray, stickers or sometimes even sweat. There are many folks who love the way nitro dulls, yellows, and checks but back when theses guitars were just considered “used” those characteristics were not as revered and finish manufacturers in turn “fixed” these issues. Lacquers were made clearer, more flexible, the solids content increased and in turn doesn’t age exactly like the old stuff. Now I’m not claiming to have a secret stash of NOS lacquer or a proprietary recipe to mix my own old school nitro because I don’t but there are lacquers available that are closer to what was used back then, they just aren’t used by the companies who have customers complaining about sticky necks. “POLY” Okay, I put poly in quotes because it’s come to be a somewhat (if not outright) derogatory catch all term for any finish that isn’t nitrocellulose lacquer. Doesn’t matter if it’s polyester, acrylic urethane, polyurethane enamel, UV curable acrylite, epoxy-it’s “poly” and it’s bad. Well like I said earlier there is NO perfect finish. Most of these finishes are water clear and stay that way. Some folks may want a white guitar to stay white or silver metal flake guitar to maintain its “bling” factor. These finishes maintain their gloss and since they fully cure much faster than lacquer they usually keep that “new” look whereas lacquer can shrink back (deteriorate) over time allowing the grain of the wood to telegraph through the finish. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a matter of personal preference. The most common complaint about non nitro finishes is that it’s too thick. Well it certainly can be applied thick and all those import guitars out there prove as much but with a little bit of care it can be applied as thinly as a good lacquer finish. In my years of production work my “poly” finishes averaged .009”-.012” give or take. Another misconception is that a nitro finish is automatically thin. This is not always case. I’ve stripped and resprayed a few factory nitro finishes that were easily double the thickness of the “poly” jobs I shoot. In actuality I usually use a few different products for a “poly” finish. Typically I start with UV curable sealer which allows me to level sand it the same day if need be. Epoxy and conventionally cured polyester sealers need more time to fully cure before they should be sanded. This step is followed by the color coat which is a very low solids (thin) acrylic urethane. This is followed by a few coats either a UV curable gloss topcoat or a clear acrylic urethane. HYBRID Another option is a mix. Using a catalyzed sealer underneath nitrocellulose is nothing new, ever heard of Fullerplast? It is NOT nitro. Using a catalyzed sealer is good for folks who like the look of lacquer (and it does look good) but don’t want it to shrink back much and have the wood grain telegraph through the finish. Once again this is not right or wrong, I just want to accommodate preferences on an individual basis. “Doesn’t nitro give you better tone?” I’m not going to offer an opinion one way or another on this subject. Just because I may not be able to for example hear the difference in different brands of batteries in my stomp boxes who am I to say that you can’t? If you believe you can hear a difference in different types of finishes then it would be stupid of me to tell you otherwise, I’m in business to finish guitars and I want to finish your guitar(s). This is why I offer a variety of finish options.