Clear Nail Polish-lacquer?

[multidon]

I am just really curious about something I read. I have read Dan Erlewine's Guitar Player Repair Guide several times, and refer to it often as well. I was re-reading the section on lacquer drop-fill repairs, and he says the following: "Clear nail polish is almost lacquer, and can be used in a pinch". Is this true? Chemically speaking, how close is it? I know thinner for nail polish is pure acetone, whereas nitro thinners all seem to have that and 2 or 3 other chemicals as well. Is nail polish a type of nitro, chemically? If you use it for a drop fill, will it melt in like real lacquer does?

[Audio Artillery]

It would appear that is a nitrocellulose lacquer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_polish#Constituents

Exactly how suitable it is for finish work... dunno, but Erlewine surely isn't 100% wrong. If you try it let me know how it goes, I just scored a cheap Harmony Sovereign acoustic that has a hole the size of a nickel near the tail.

[Brett Byers]

Clear nail polish is a suitable product for small drop fills, chip repairs, dings, etc. It comes in conveniently small amounts, usually with a built in applicator brush. I often recommend it to our customers who have dinged their mandolin and want to protect the exposed wood from the elements. I don't personally use it in the shop, but I did experiment with it years ago on some scrap wood to make sure it worked before suggesting it as an option to our customers. Go ahead and use it, it works fine.

[otterly2k]

I bought a nice little uke when I was in Hawaii that was reduced price due to some chips in the lacquer along the lower bout front edge (a customer had dropped it). I used clear nail polish to cover that, and to drop fill another ding. It didn't melt in perfectly... you can still see the edges where the nail polish overlaps the finish... but only if you are looking VERY closely and carefully. For my purposes, it worked fine... protects the wood and is virtually invisible.

Incidentally, the nail polishing tools that have various increments of emery board (e.g. sandpaper) and buffing surfaces can be very useful when working with drop fills or polishing frets, etc. And they're cheap and you can get them at any drug store. Just saying.

[kkmm]

I used it once to fill in a small ding on my mandolin top (the black colored part), it does fill it but ends up with a small bump.
I just leave that bump (very solid) there as it is shallow and smooth to the touch. I was afraid any sanding to level it down will cause more harm than good.