Lacquer to thinner ratio for drop fill repairs.

[eliya]

I have a guitar that I have finished myself in black lacquer. Soon after I was done with it, I dropped it and got a deep gouge in the back of the body.

I mixed the material myself using a 1:1 lacquer to thinner ratio. The way I understand it, non-thinned lacquer would dry before it even hits the wood (when spraying). Since I won't be spraying it this time, I assume I don't need to thin it.

Am I correct or is the process more subtle and requires thinning?

(I know there are several threads about drop fill repairs using lacquer, but none is this specific. I figured it's better to start a new, specific thread than to bump another have it branch in two directions. Please let me know if that's not the correct protocol)

[Glen H]

 Well, you can spray non-thinned lacquer, although some brands/batches may flow out better than others when sprayed  unreduced.  I've never seen one that dries before hitting a surface.  For drop-fills, I put a little lacquer in a small container and leave it exposed to the air for a couple hours.  This thickens it. I use a small artist brush to drop fill. 

[Mike Kolb]

Glen's right, Eliya.... a thickened lacquer is what's needed for drop-fills. I keep a couple of very small jars of lacquer on the bench for months at a time (filled a month apart or so)... that way there's always one that's an appropriate thickness.  When one jar thickens too much, just pour a bit out and add some fresh lacquer to get the consistency.

[eliya]

Thank you Glen and Mike. I did just that and poured a bit of lacquer in a cup with black pigment. Even when the lacquer was still watery, there was no problem applying it to the gouges. The drops dried enough in a few hours for me to remove the guitar from my "bench" safely. I proceeded with two more drops (one a day), and indeed the lacquer (in the cup) thickened as the days passed. The guitar is drying now and I'll scrape, sand, and polish in a few weeks.