Smooth out a bit of orange peel?

[Freeman Keller]

And automotive, Meguiars, if I was to tackle some fairly fine compound, #7 or #9, would that stuff be safe on the nitrocellulose lacquer?
No prior experience with using lacquer, always used stain, usually a hand rubbed finish afterwards..

I think it looks horrible as is, but that adding more lacquer before sanding would be the best course pf action. Nothing finer than 800 will get rid of the orange peel, but it still looks like " a sand-through waiting to happen" because of the coarseness of the grain. Rubbing compound would probably go through the lacquer before really addressing the orange peel.

You could try spraying some thinner, amalgamator, blush-out, or blender to re-flow it a bit and see if that helps.

Are you positive that it's lacquer and not shellac?

OK, the fine automotive polishing compounds are designed to start where papers leave off - typically 2000 or so grit. They are either formulated for application by hand (coarser grit) or machine (either a lambs wool bonnet or a foam buffing pad). They take your finish from smooth to glossy. They will not remove that orange peel. Compounds are also very hard to get out of cracks and the pores themself - think about when you wax your car and you have to get the wax out of little crevices.

If you want to level the orange peel you will need more aggressive sanding - probably around 320 grit. You will probably sand thru so you will need more film thickness, which means more coats.

If you simply want to knock off the finish gloss you can use a scotch bright pad, micro mess or 0000 steel wool. Don't be aggressive, just lightly go over it.

Or, you can consider taking to bare wood and starting over........

 

[Muttly]

Almost sounds like spraying on more laquer might be the path of least resistance..
Patience probably the hardest part to embrace...
So, a question, probably followed by more ..
I have a little Wagner 590, has the big and little pots.. Seemed like a good idea for five minutes when I bought it, ( lot of indoor house painting on the horizon at the time ), but in practice, too small for large scale spraying. Rented a sprayer that would do the job.
Would that be any good for spraying laquer, or just a lot of frustration?
Have a little Rolair compressor, the bull, think it is supposed to be good for a constant 4.1 c f m at 90 lbs...
Would I be better off picking up an air gun, and if so, what is a good start for an occasional weekend warrior?

 

[eallen]

Almost sounds like spraying on more laquer might be the path of least resistance..
Patience probably the hardest part to embrace...
So, a question, probably followed by more ..
I have a little Wagner 590, has the big and little pots.. Seemed like a good idea for five minutes when I bought it, ( lot of indoor house painting on the horizon at the time ), but in practice, too small for large scale spraying. Rented a sprayer that would do the job.
Would that be any good for spraying laquer, or just a lot of frustration?
Have a little Rolair compressor, the bull, think it is supposed to be good for a constant 4.1 c f m at 90 lbs...
Would I be better off picking up an air gun, and if so, what is a good start for an occasional weekend warrior?

Your wagner is more of a home paint products rather than a fine finish gun. Your little compressor will get you by for a guitar. For a affordable periodic use gun I would go with a harbor freight purple gravity feed. I buy them on sale for $9. Grab some clear nitro and practice on scraps. Light thin coats rather than thick ones that will delay drying.

Eric

 

[Freeman Keller]

What Eric says, but another option if you are only going to do one nitrocellulose guitar in your entire life is rattle cans. StewMac, Reranch, several other options, I recommend the StewMac replacement nozzles. I did my first several guitars that way, then bought a second hand compressor, small gun and haven't looked back. Current thread on LPLV setups has some discussion of options.

 

[Muttly]

Took a little check in town this morning, closest thing I, m seeing local is Deft spray on semi gloss laquer...
So at this point, looks like shipping it up is the option..not sure yet if Stewmac will ship the rattle cans here..
Will mention that I live on an island in SE Alaska.. most stuff comes in quick enough, air freight via the 3 main suspects.
Anything hazmat, however, slow boat in, freight fees, etc..
So spraying, if I go that route, prefer to err on the surplus side. To cover a guitar 15-20 coats, would I be looking at a couple quarts, a gallon?

 

[Sea Devil]

If you use rattle-cans, one can of sander-sealer and two cans of clear should do it.

 

[Muttly]

What Eric says, but another option if you are only going to do one nitrocellulose guitar in your entire life is rattle cans. StewMac, Reranch, several other options, I recommend the StewMac replacement nozzles. I did my first several guitars that way, then bought a second hand compressor, small gun and haven't looked back. Current thread on LPLV setups has some discussion of options.

Got a respirator en route, figure I,ve done enough damage over the years, better start there. Shipping in a few rattle cans seems like a more practical approach at this point, find out if I can handle spraying laquer more than one guitar before goin whole hog..

 

[Muttly]

And appreciate all the replies, total newby at this!

 

[Silverface]

More lacquer will NOT fill the grain!

Each properly-applied coat of lacquer dries to about .003" thick - you'd need a hundred coats to fill that.

Who finished it? It looks like the applied no sanding sealer and certainly no grain filler. It looks like a bunch of coats of clear - which is not how to achieve a smooth finish.

If you want it smooth IMO it will require stripping and a professional finishing job. But the cut of wood really isn't appropriate for a smooth finish unless you have someone do an epoxy resin fill job on it. I'm not quite clear on what you're expecting - but the existing finish cn't e "smoothed out" without extensive reworking.

 

[Muttly]

So not there by any stretch, but this is closer to the direction I was looking for.
Hit it in a fairly gentle manner with 0000 steel wool last night..

 

[Muttly]

Still seeing that funky shimmer..

 

[Muttly]

Steel wool tamed it down a fair bit..
That overhead light doesn't do it any favors, but that's probably for the best.
Still pondering the possibility of spraying more coats on the existing one. Steel wool caught a splinter on the upper bout, will hafta secure that wild hair prior.
Couple thoughts, occurs to me if I spray on more laquer, and that doesn't do the trick, can always strip it down and start over.
Says a guy with the patience of a 3 year old..
The other thought, strip it, pore filler, few of the crevices just might be better tackled with resin epoxy. Sand it down like I would have if I had done the body myself.
Then stain, seal, and spray on the laquer...

 

[Muttly]

 

[Muttly]

And FWIW, couple pics with the hardware going on it.
Going a slightly different direction with the tuners, switching out the chrome for nickel, do a little relic on those...

 

[Sea Devil]

It does look much better! Good luck with whatever approach you take; it’s your guitar, and all that matters is whether you’re happy with it.