A few months ago I began restoration on a 1966 Silvertone bass. I took on the project simply because - though the instrument appeared to have been dragged through the trenches - the tone was remarkable. When I got the instrument it had been banged, scratched, cratered, dinged AND spray-painted all over with crap black off-the-shelf paint. They even had painted over the white bindings. While researching products to make the piece presentable a friend recommended I contact Stewart-MacDonald and I'm glad I did! I spoke to someone on the phone and ordered this ColorTone Black Aerosol nitrocellulose lacquer. I read the instructions very carefully - several times - and when using the product as instructed had NO problems with sputter or splatter at all. I didn't have to soak the can in hot water - I merely shook the can for a full 60 seconds, test sprayed on some spare cardboard and then, over the course of 2 months applied multiple coats of this great product to the neck and body. What has emerged from the restoration is a remarkable instrument that plays as good as it looks! Follow the instructions and it works perfectly!

The colortone line has left a lot to be desired.. if you like your aerosol to spit and sputter these are for you. Stew Mac has a lot of great products but these are not. i will need to buy a spray gun.

After sanding down my old beat up Lotus LP and attempting to stain it tobacco brown, it looked really bad because of all the wood filling I had to do to level out the dents and crap. I was about to scrap it when I saw this black lacquer spray and gave it a try. I was pleased with how it came out. Now I have a black beauty that looks and sounds pretty good. Tried to get it close to 50s ventage look and sound.

The first time I tried it, I did as directed and put the can in warm water and kept it there for ten minutes. When I did a test spray, I still had some spitting so I soaked the can for 30 minutes and didn't have any problems, the paint came out smooth and evenly.
A good tip is to also buy one of those spray handles that attach to the top of the can from your local hardware store, it cost a couple bucks and gives you easier control of spraying and you have a trigger to squeeze instead of a button to push.

I bought the black lacquer to try out on a strat that had been pretty beat up. I did some sanding to level the surface and started spraying. I sprayed several "dry coats" to help avoid runs and it's building up nicely. I'm very surprised how well it covers. I started this not expecting it to look pro, but it's a lot closer than I originally thought.

I have had good luck matching Gibson black with this. Wish it came in quarts for big jobs. AlReid Guitars 13

Awesome stuff. I just finished my first body and it looks great. I covered it with a few cans of clear gloss and am looking forward to buffing it out in a few weeks.

This is now my third project with the ColorTone Lacquer. I used the sealer, Black Lacquer, Amber Lacquer and Clear Lacquer. Very Happy with the results

Goes on smooth and flows out evenly,does a great job,dries hard and quickly

I must echo the comments that either the nozzle system or solids-to-solvent ratio needs work. I bought the black aerosol lacquer can for an SG refinish project. I warmed the lacquer and still got significant spits and runs which must be sanded out, while I wait for the weather to provide another spray-able day. The nozzle sits too low to the can top so a portion of the spray hits the lip of the can which interferes with the stream. The nozzle is also very clumsy, its barely attached, wobbly, and hard to vary pressure consistently. At full pressure, the coat goes on smooth but runs very easily requiring sanding. At medium pressure, the coat is rough and not heavy enough to opaque sealed mahogany in one pass. I know its not an airbrush, but compared to other aerosol lacquer on the market this is mediocre, its just hard to find black. My topcoat of choice is another brand of aeresol cans which have a vastly superior nozzle mechanism where you can easily vary pressure with no stream issues and is much more forgiving of variations in the spray pattern.