What grit after lacquer?

[Musicman1]

Deft lacquer body, ready for final sanding!
What grit paper should I start with?

Thanks

[Ironwolf]

Start with 600 grit and go up from there.

[Musicman1]

thanks, I am about to give it a try,
a little scared!

[boris bubbanov]

Depends on how nice the result you got was.

Defects here and there? 400 and work your way up.

Nirvana? Start with 1,200, then 1,500, 2,000, micromeshes, etc.

[Musicman1]

Thanks guys.
How long for each grit?
I am green on this stuff.
The finish turned out pretty nice (for my first) pretty smooth and shiny!
A little "gritty" to the touch.

[Axis29]

Use the paper/mesh, whatever, until the level of dullness/shine is completely even across the surface of the finish. But be careful around the edges, remember they go quick!

Also, make sure you keep it lubricated to keep any particles that come loose floating out away from the finish.

Check your progress OFTEN! Finish cna get cut through quick as quick can be!

[mlp-mx6]

The thing you're trying to avoid by going up a progression of ever finer grits is to have ALL of the surface sanded to your "current" grit. That way all of the scratches in the finish are (approximately) the same depth.

Start with as fine as you can, and work your way up. You should DEFINITELY be practicing this on scrap pieces - do not be foolish enough to do your very first finish sanding on the actual guitar.

I use mineral spirits as my wet-sanding lubricant. I know others have had good success with water/detergent and wet sanding, but I almost always had problems with the water getting under the lacquer around holes. This is not an issue with mineral spirits. You still need to wipe the surface clean and dry frequently to check your progress.

If you were level sanding between coats with, say, 400-600 grit, you can start with 1000 grit for wet sanding. Just remember that you will HAVE to work your way up through the grits, otherwise you will leave deeper scratches when you skip from 400 to 1000. It is a LOT more work to get the 400 grit scratches out with 1000 grit paper. Go up 400-600-800-1000-1200-1500-2000. I know it sounds like a lot, but you don't spend THAT much time in each grit. Use fresh lubricant for each grit - otherwise some of the larger grit could be floating in your lubricant and set you back when you inadvertently scratch that loose grit into the lacquer. Get the surface completely sanded with each grit, then move on to the next. As mentioned, be EXTRA careful on the edges. I'd suggest leaving them alone until you're nearly done, and just work harder with the finer grit to get the edges smoothed out. It is very difficult to keep from sanding through on the edges.

Be careful, and especially be patient! Good luck.

[Musicman1]

Do you do these "wet" finish sanding steps by hand?
Use a sand block?
Electric palm sander?

Thanks again

[Axis29]

Originally Posted by Musicman1

Do you do these "wet" finish sanding steps by hand?
Use a sand block?
Electric palm sander?

Thanks again

Yes, by hand!

You can use a block, if your surface is block flat to begin with.

NO PALM SANDER! You'll go through that thin finish before you get the switch all the way on!!!!!

In big production work or on large surfaces, like cars, they use machine polishers with machine polish. But this is really not for a beginner. It's something you need to work into.

[Musicman1]

Well, did it by hand, and what do you know!
Sand through on two different edges. (Yikes)
Don't really know what to do now.
It sanded through so fast, but I really don't think I oversanded?
Maybe the clear was just to thin?
I had probably 10 coats of Deft on it.
Does this mean repaint and re-clear the whole thing?
Darn, maybe I will chalk this up to a practice piece and use it in the future for a relic?

[jwells393]

Another option is to use Abralon pads on a random orbit sander.

http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/ht...abrasives2.htm

Rule Number 1 for wet sanding: Stay away from the edges.

[Axis29]

Originally Posted by Musicman1

Well, did it by hand, and what do you know!
Sand through on two different edges. (Yikes)
Don't really know what to do now.
It sanded through so fast, but I really don't think I oversanded?
Maybe the clear was just to thin?
I had probably 10 coats of Deft on it.
Does this mean repaint and re-clear the whole thing?
Darn, maybe I will chalk this up to a practice piece and use it in the future for a relic?

You can try feathering the clear back a little further, touching up the paint and then shooting clear over it again. They do it on cars all the time.

If you try it and it doesn't work, it's not like you have messed anything up, right?

10 coats is thin... although I guess it depends on the thickness of the coats. If you laid it on real wet, than 10 might be plenty!


Although I like relics.... Like Bob Ross said, "If you've painted before you know that we don't make mistakes -- we have happy accidents."

[Musicman1]

Bob Ross, LOL, I used to watch his show every Sat morning on public tv.

Yeah, after more and more research, I realized 10 coats was a little thin.
I think I will try to fix it.