Well I got the color and clear on this weekend

I sprayed my body with black Krylon and Deft Clear Gloss. Had some orange peel when I layed down the clear so I wet sanded (with water) and got rid of most of it. Layed down some more Deft and It looks pretty good. Not a high gloss but more than a satin.

I must tell you though I nearly lost it when I wet sanded the clear and it turned that dull opaque white. I thought that I ruined it! I just finished up and put my trust in the process. Layed more clear on top of that and it came out fine. Thank goodness or I would have lost it. Only had one sand through on the upper horn so I think that wasn't too bad for a first timer.

So to my question here. How long do I wait for the final wet sand and polish? I have heard anywhere from 2 weeks to 3-4 months. What's the real deal? It is a pretty thin finish and I still see the grain of the pine which I like. Also, I want a low gloss to the finish. More than a Highway 1 but not a super duper wet look, just a nice even gloss that still shows some grain from the right angle. Should I just go up to 2000 grit and a light polish?

Thnks,
Mike

That is Jwells method of choice & I think he waits just a few days but I'm sure he'll turn up to answer himself. You did well with only one sand-through, it is REALLY easy to do. Remember the more you build up the clear the less chance of sanding into the colorcoats so a few extra won't hurt anything. With my pinecaster, I went to the Finesse compound fairly early & I would describe the finish as what you say you're after. Post some pics if you can. Good luck!

"I must tell you though I nearly lost it when I wet sanded the clear and it turned that dull opaque white. I thought that I ruined it!"

Been there Man. Just got the stains out of the Fruit of the Looms. But when I got past that and the next coats of gloss came up a treat, the rear end settled down again.

I'm with Tedecaster. leave it a couple of days and get to it with a light rub down with Autosol or Finesse, a wipe with a cloth and see how she goes.

But what the heck would I know....

For more of a satin finish, wet sanding to about 1000 grit works great or just taking some 0000 steel wool to the finish can also do it. I've also polished using just red rubbing compound (after wet sanding to 800)with good results. Deft comes in satin, too so if you wanted you could do a final coat in satin with it. I usually wait about a month to final sand and polish, but you can get good results after 2 weeks, especially in your case where you don't want the finish too glossy. I usually do these processes for my relics...:cool:

If you've got relatively mild temps (above 60), and low humidity, a few days is more than sufficeint cure time before lacquer can be buffed.

For the satin look, you'll probably need to experiment, since you are the only one who knows what look you want. If it were me, I'd buff to a high gloss, and knock it down with some scotchbrite.

One thing about the lacquer- it's easy to correct mistakes. Too dull? Buff again. Or spray on a couple more coats. You can't lose really.