Hi Bill,

Naptha seems to be the fraction of crude oil that distills immediately prior to petroleum. There seem to be multiple sources on eBay and Fiddes do a naptha thinners which may be of interest. In the case of finishing I think its main purpose is to pre-wet the wood and give additional visual depth to the finish on account of it being less viscous and therefore soaking in more easily. You would need to check that the finish you are using is compatible though. A similar effect can be achieved by applying thinned down coats of lacquer as sealing and base coats but this is tricky if you are using spray cans, hence the need for manually wiped naptha. You are just putting the thinning agent on as a separate application rather than thinning the lacquer before spraying.

If you are looking for lacquer, I have been using Nitorlack (www.nitorlack.com) which comes in from Spain but with very low shipment costs. I've been very impressed with the clear lacquers and they also do a good range of stains and Nitro paints although I haven't used these products myself yet. Order now, before either the country or the borders are shut down!!

Darren

I have been watching videos of guitar finishing.  The ones from USA often mention Naphtha - used to wipe down wood before finishing - is this white spirit or lighter fluid?  

Do you only need to use it with sprayed lacquers?

It is lighter fluid - generally used for cleaning surfaces - you can do without it...or maybe use thinners?

White spirit is OK but can leave a residue so I don't it on bare wood any more

Thanks Mark and Darren.........

Loads of interesting videos out there but always the problem with translation needed with names of chemicals.....

 That said there is some really dodgy stuff going on - some really dangerous use of power tools - table saws, router tables - no control or protection from dust or chemicals.........

Its something I've often wondered about, the whole naptha thing. I think its used a lot because it doesnt cause problems on nitro or whatever.

If you just want a clean surface to start finishing..maybe use alcohol? Its completely volatile in that it completely evaporates quickly leaving the wood free from whatever.

Cheers @a-p-p-o ! Also - Always test whatever you intend using on a hidden area first (like under a cover plate)

If you want to just use something to wipe surfaces down with for cleaning and degreasing, use panel wipe/degreaser from car body shop supplies.