Buffing vs. Wet Sanding

About three months ago I put the last coat of Deft over Reranch Lake Placid Blue on a Tele I have.

There is a small amount of orange peel in the finish visible upon close inspection but nothing too serious. Given that I figure I'm probably more likely to screw up the wet sanding, I was considering just trying to buff it to a satisfactory finish and skip wet sanding altogether. I'd be doing the buffing with a random-orbit polisher.

Will this be an exercise in futility or is it a reasonable approach? I figure, there's nothing to stop me from doing wet sanding later if I'm not happy.

I recently tried that approach on a headstock and all I did was polish the orange peel. If you want the finish to be truly glassy, you've gotta wet sand it first (which will make the finish truly flat). I'm by no means an expert and there are users here who have finished a lot more guitars than I have, so that's just my two cents.

You're right though, I don't think any harm will come if you buff it out....maybe you'll be happy with that, maybe you'll find that you'll only be satisfied if you go back and wet sand first. I'm too OCD to live with orange peel if I was patient enough to wait three whole months for Deft to cure.

Just sand it flat with 1000... then rub by hand with automotive rubbing compound. You can go through the whole progression ftom 600 to 2000 paper... I don't find neccesary.

An orbital will do nothing for this (seriously) except possibly burn through your edges. Just use an old t shirt, and the "arm-strong" method. When you start to see the shine you like, don't add more compound, just spit on the rag, and keep rubbing.

Right. It's a process, not a one-or-the-other approach. From my experience with cars and guitars, even if it looks perfect and you think you can go right to buffing, you'll be missing out on a glassy finish if you skip sanding. It's like that allergy medicine commercial where you're wacthing a happy summer day and then they flip a filter and the picture is even better. Unless you do all the steps you don't know what you're missing.

Where I work at Victor Baker Guitars he does this ( note he has a buffing wheel coarse and fine sides to it ) . He sprays the finish as neat as he can , Than he wet sands with 600 to 800 . After 800 he coarse buffs it to a coarse shine, Than 1000 1200 grit , Than he coarse again and Fine buff. Than we polish with a similar substance to turtle wax car shiner.

Why buff it after the 800 and then sand again?

Why buff it after the 800 and then sand again?
Yes, I'm curious as well.

Yes, I'm curious as well.

The coarse compound probably sits right between 800 and 1000. Does the job of sanding faster.

We do 600 than 800 grits Than we buff it with coarse. The main reason we buff with coarse after sanding because when you wetsand a guitar the finish gets milky colored, So we buff it to give it shine and gloss so we can see more of the little bumps and 800 scratches we are trying to sand out. Than after the coarse buff we do 1000 grit than to get 1000 grit scratches out we use 1200 than after 1200 back again coarse buff than fine buff. Its one way to get one of those super crazy factory finishes. the 1200 grit is usually not always necessary.

The main reason we buff with coarse after sanding because when you wetsand a guitar the finish gets milky colored, So we buff it to give it shine and gloss so we can see more of the little bumps and 800 scratches we are trying to sand out.
Thanks for the info. I have indeed noticed that it's not always easy to see the scratches after fine sanding stages. I'll give your approach a try.

the first step in wet sanding is the hardest and takes the longest.

400 wet sanding is a chore.

but the rest go fast when the 400 is done corrrectly.

ps. change your water after every grit and never touch the corners with sandpaper (any grit).

tootles - jb

And PS, never touch the corners with sandpaper......

Yeah sometimes we use 400 grit to get heavy stuff out. But after 600 or 800 grit wetsanding, Its great to give your guitar a shine again to see more little details you can sand out.

Yes , you can go ahead without sanding .
If your work is good enough to this point , there is no reason that you must sand .
When I was given instruction on nitro , I was shown the process where you never sand after the first coat of clear is shot .
I do accept the fact that I was only shown one method . There are others .
My point is that there is truly nothing making you sand unless you have runs , etc.
Try to keep your RPM's between 300-600 . Certainly , lower would be better .
Of course , you will use no products with Silicone or ending in cone around your work or on you while doing this .