I'm looking for a water based clearcoat that can be applied without spray equipment, the tonetech seems to be one of the few marketed to guitar makers that is available in the UK.
But I haven't found any reviews of it, so was wondering if anyone here had tried it?

@jonhodgson Have a look at this stuff. 

https://pokolimited.co.uk/eco-revolution-clear-water-based-clear-coat-p-50.html

@Boo That looks interesting,

"Lacquer without aggressive odor, environmentally and human friendly.", like the sound of that/

have you tried it?

have you tried it?

@jonhodgson No I haven’t tried it but I’m gonna. Sounds good doesn’t it? 

I have not but I just heard about a great product from the states (sorry!) called CrystaLac...

Oooops... they have a full range of products and I heard from Temple guitars that he started to wet sand before it was even done curing and he had a difficult time rubbing through for a relic finish, sounds almost idiot proof! I’ll be ordering some when the time comes!

@mattbeels Oh yeah I forgot about CrysaLac. Temple Guitars is a great reliable source for info, he makes quality guitars. I watched a couple of his videos on Mirka products, sanders and discs etc. He certainly does a good job of advertising products, I love the way he works. 

@matt beels
I know about Crystalac, I watch a lot of Highline Guitar videos.
Solarez also looks very good (Near instant cure when exposed to ordinary sunlight rather than waiting a week before you can level sand is so appealing).
Unfortunately without UK distributors, getting hold of these finishes is either expensive or impossible. I think water based are a bit more accessible (due to rules on shipping hazardous materials) but for Brite Tone you'll pay more in shipping for that quart tub on your picture than for the tub.

I don't know why there is such a dearth of finishes available in the UK. You can get every colour of nitro of course, but this isn't the sixties, finishes have moved on.

@boo

Yeah his youtube vids are like guided meditation, I put one on when I have trouble sleeping 😂

@jonhodgson

The lack of distribution sux! Apparently Amazon.de previously had it but not now🤬🤬🤬

I don’t have any spray equipment nor a place to spray so I’m really into having something that can be applied with a brush or a rag. Like you said: finishes have evolved, let’s go!

@matt beels

The situation is probably even worse now than it was two months ago because of Brexit affecting the few options from the EU. I don't know the regulations but when you consider that vanilla essence is classed as a hazardous load (due to being flammable) I imagine that some finishes may need too much paperwork to be worth sending in singles or even small batches.

There are some options available in the UK, there's the tonetech I asked about here, General Finishes products are available through Eurofinishes (based in Scotland, so no customs issues). Also a number of products which aren't specifically targeted at guitar makers that may work well (I found a thread where a guy absolutely swears by what is ostensibly a floor finish for his guitars, and looking at his results I can't disagree, unfortunately, it too is not available here). But there is practically no information available from people who've actually tried them.

We need some tests and reviews of stuff we can actually get where we are (obviously for you and me it's the UK). I think it would be a very useful adjunct to Mark's new finishing course. It's all very well him showing the techniques, but very few of us have spray equipment (let alone a UV curing setup). And quite frankly in 2021 I don't think my practical choices should be limited to oil, nitro and rattle can poly.

I'm planning to get hold of some Rustins' Plastic coating and do some experiments. Rustins' own info suggests it's pretty much incompatible with everything (colours, sealers etc), but I've found quite a few posts from people (including guitar builders, but also woodturners and carpenters) that suggest it's actually compatible with quite a lot. It apparently is pretty nasty smelling when it goes on though, so I may have to wait for warmer weather when I can do it in my garage.

I'll post my results if and when they are done.

Crimson have some new finishes that look interesting, particularly interested to see if their melamine lacquer can produce a quality tough finish.. and indeed if it is any different from Chestnut's, which is cheaper (but marketed more at wood turners). So maybe I'll have to give those a test.