Water-based lacquer
A lacquer whose carrier is largely water, used by makers who want a lower-solvent finish.
Water-based lacquers use water as the carrier and cure as it evaporates, which cuts the solvent load in the workshop and the fumes the finisher breathes. They are sprayed much like nitrocellulose, in several thin coats, and can be polished to a gloss or left satin. It is commonly described as sounding similar to a thin nitrocellulose finish, with the same sense of a body that still rings, because the film is thin. The problems are in the working: water-based films are fussier about humidity and drying time, they can raise the grain on the first coat, and they rarely blend as invisibly as a solvent lacquer.
Example: A small workshop spraying water-based lacquer can finish in a space with lighter extraction than a nitrocellulose setup, though the schedule is longer.
typical use: Bodies and necks, especially in smaller workshops.
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