Venom300 Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 I just started the wetsanding process on my guitar! AAAHHH i feel like pulling my hair out. From what i have read on project guitar forum you just wetsand until the surface is dull, flat and smooth. I have parts in my guitar that have speckles of shine in them and when i try to sand it away i wind up sanding through my clear coat!!! (luckily only in one spot). Does any one have any advice that may help me? steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 19, 2006 Report Share Posted January 19, 2006 (edited) It all depends on what sort of clearcoat you are using. If its clear lacquer then those little spots are an easy fix and can be blended in. Polyurethane is a bit more difficult and less forgiving in the repair area because it lays down as a separate layer. Very noticeable afterwards. For lacquer you simply scuff the dimples and then spot fill with drops of lacquer. The spot fills should fuse with the lacquer already laid down. As you can see in the picture there are a few areas that needed attention. This was a lacquer clearcoat applied by rattlecan. This particular guitar was one I used for many experimental techniques and finishes. I must have stripped and recoated it at least a dozen times! The usual orange peel and what I call "golfball" dimples are evident. The trick is to get enough clear on and get it smooth enough so that very little sanding is required. Any highs and lows should be dealt with prior to adding more coats. You can't very well spot fill orange peel and yes, you are taking a chance on breaking thru when trying to sand it down. It gets really nasty when you accidentally tap that beautiful stain job underneath. If that is the case then there is no way to get it right aside from stripping it all down and starting over. When sanding use a hard, rigid block of wood as a backing for your sandpaper for the flat areas. Rounded outside and inside corners should be dealt with very carefully. I prefer a piece of firm sponge for backing or just my fingers and I use finer grits to start as compared to the flat areas. Edited January 19, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 It gets really nasty when you accidentally tap that beautiful stain job underneath. If that is the case then there is no way to get it right aside from stripping it all down and starting over. Actaully, there is a technique to fix a stain job on a sand through. I've done it before and its invisible. Its described in one of the stew mac tutorials. I'll update this post when I get a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom300 Posted January 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2006 Actaully, there is a technique to fix a stain job on a sand through. I've done it before and its invisible. Its described in one of the stew mac tutorials. I'll update this post when I get a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Also I have some questions about buffing and polishing. Is it necessary to have a orbital buffer to buff the guitar or is there a hand compound I can use?so far the idea is to wetsand, and i have meguiars scratch x that i was going to use to remove the small scratches at the end. But i need to know how and what i can use on my project for buffing. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks again for your help Get a Foam polishing Pad for your drill if you cant get access to a "Real" buffer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 It gets really nasty when you accidentally tap that beautiful stain job underneath. If that is the case then there is no way to get it right aside from stripping it all down and starting over. Actually, there is a technique to fix a stain job on a sand through. I've done it before and its invisible. Its described in one of the stew mac tutorials. I'll update this post when I get a chance. http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/bridge...e_guitar04.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom300 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Is it better to dry sand first and then wet sand like the guy in the stew mac tutorial or should i wet sand the entire thing? steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesj Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 I was wet sanding my brothers Tele and water got in the screw holes, it raised a couple Streaks/strips down the body about 8" long. I guess the wood swelled.... any way I had to strip it all back down and start over, I am now pluging the holes with screws and I will do my best to sand around them. Has anyone else ran into this and if so what was your cure? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 (edited) The dry sanding portion is being done with coarser grits of sandpaper. Its just a general levelling process. Finer grit dry sanding does not work as well because the paper clogs quickly. The sanding process generates a great deal of heat, the finish melts and is picked up by the paper. You don't get as much paper clogging with coarser grits because there is more air space between the grit particles. So long as dust is cleared out regularly, sanding pressure is light (don't press too hard) and movement is not too rapid, the heat should be kept at a minimum. When you wet sand you are basically making a muddy slurry, very messy when using coarser grits as a lot of material is being removed. So its just not necessary at that stage. Wet sanding keeps the fine grit paper clean because the dust is held in suspension by the water. The water also keeps the sanding process cooled down. The fine paper doesn't clog and lasts much longer. jamesj, When I'm painting/clearcoating I make sure all the holes get sprayed as well. This seals up the insides of the holes and sometimes even fills them. Its a good preventative measure for all that mushy sanding later on. Edited January 27, 2006 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom300 Posted January 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 I wanna thank everybody that helped me on this. I am still not done but i think it will take only 4 or 5 more days and i will be through.. most of my problem arrised from the fact that i had not put enought clear coat on and was accidentally sanding through. Thanx to the stew mac tutorial and south pa's picture i have determined a way to get the problem fixed and will be not painfully time consuming. Thanks steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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