Water Based Finishes
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I have shifted my finish work over to almost exclusively water-based products for a variety of reasons. The environmental impact of our guitar industry over the years has included discharging an enormous amount of solvent fumes into our environment. I saw that first hand during my time at Guild Guitars in the 1990's in Westerly, RI. I assume that one driving factor pushing manufacturing overseas in general is to avoid our higher standard of environmental protections in daily operations. Chinese products may be very good but they are produced in corrupt settings with very few protections for people or the environment.
As a home-based small shop my immediate environment is also very important. I can not use fume-producing products or store/use solvents comfortably at home. The water based products have virtually no odor and the "fumes" are water vapor. I use shellac for a sealer (denatured alcohol is the solvent) and I am moving to a water based pore filler.
On performance grounds this shift would have been impossible a decade or so ago. If there was a competitive water-based system out there it was a well kept secret. Now there are several viable options for producing a hard, glassy finish in a small home shop environment. Many of the instruments pictured on this site were finished with these water based products and I am proud of how they look.
Unfortunately, none of these products will set and cure as hard as the acrylic lacquers used in factory production. They can not safely be buffed on a mechanical buffer and will not build up the thickness or final shine of a nitrocellulose lacquer. However, they are much easier to touch up, they are hard and durable to their own standard, and the hand-rubbed process brings up a lovely shine. I think water based systems are in the near future for our industry overall as solvent-based systems are clearly not desirable or sustainable.