verhoevenc Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 I was watching the Bennedetto building video today. The end part about finishing, etc. And he buffed out the finish on this HUGE buffing machine with spinning buffers and compounds, etc. Now I'm not CERTAIN, but that doesn't seem like a machine all wood shops would have. Especially my college's one. It seems a very specialized machine. How does someone without access to something like that do their finish buffing and polishing, etc.? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 If you don't want to polish/buff by hand, you can get buffing pads from a hardware store for about$5 each and they chuck into your drill with a small attachment that sell for about the same price. For polishing compounds, I use auto grade scratch remover, swirl remover, and polishing compound made by 3M. It's availabe at Pep Boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 I run a surplus property operation, and I have stuff warehoused that I know I could use if I could get it out the door. I've had bandsaws, radial arm saws, drill presses, you name it. Right now there is a big buffing motor/arbor thing with a plate on it that says "plastics only." Maybe I can talk my boss into letting me ebay it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 there is nothing wrong with hand buffing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 there is nothing wrong with hand buffing. ← Yes there is. It's a major PITA to do, and kills your arms dead (or, well, gets you buff, as well as your finish). Foam pads goooood. ...oh, yeah mean in terms of results! Yeah, hand buffing can work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesj Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 there is nothing wrong with hand buffing. ← Yes there is. It's a major PITA to do, and kills your arms dead (or, well, gets you buff, as well as your finish). Foam pads goooood. ...oh, yeah mean in terms of results! Yeah, hand buffing can work fine. ← You can get arbors that will fit almost any plain old electric motor that you can put buffing wheels on. I saw them in an eastwood car restoration catalog for 6 or 7 dollars,also lowes and walmart sell small bench grinders for like 40 bucks, you just buy 6" buffing wheels for them. my buffer/polisher is actually a 10" bench grinder,If you have a grinder, just remove the gaurds and add pads. and wala you have a buffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 (edited) there is nothing wrong with hand buffing. ← Yes there is. It's a major PITA to do, and kills your arms dead (or, well, gets you buff, as well as your finish). Foam pads goooood. ...oh, yeah mean in terms of results! Yeah, hand buffing can work fine. ← You can get arbors that will fit almost any plain old electric motor that you can put buffing wheels on. I saw them in an eastwood car restoration catalog for 6 or 7 dollars,also lowes and walmart sell small bench grinders for like 40 bucks, you just buy 6" buffing wheels for them. my buffer/polisher is actually a 10" bench grinder,If you have a grinder, just remove the gaurds and add pads. and wala you have a buffer. ← I would think you need a variable speed grinder. My old Craftsman one runs at about 3,450 RPM. I think that's a little to fast for buffing. Check the RPM's of what you're going to buy before you do Personally I use the stew mac buffing pads on my variable speed drill. Works fine, but only reaches about 900 RPM's. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/AlG...er/DSC01331.jpg Even at 800 RPM you can get a pretty good gloss: The stewmac buffing pads are pretty cheap too. They last a while too if you can take care of them. Edited September 4, 2005 by AlGeeEater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 I had trouble getting good results with the drill + pad setup (partly because I can't find the right compound here, I figure). Probably I just don't know how to do it right --but it seems to me all you get is an edge to work with, when it'd be nicer to have a larger surface. I saw a polisher in the auto store today --will that work? I'm guessing it's geared toward waxing the car, but does it have the RPMs to handle a guitar? It's got that nice large surface too it... how about one of you drill/pad hotshots put up a tutorial on how you get your guitars to look so darned good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 I had trouble getting good results with the drill + pad setup (partly because I can't find the right compound here, I figure). Probably I just don't know how to do it right --but it seems to me all you get is an edge to work with, when it'd be nicer to have a larger surface. I saw a polisher in the auto store today --will that work? I'm guessing it's geared toward waxing the car, but does it have the RPMs to handle a guitar? It's got that nice large surface too it... how about one of you drill/pad hotshots put up a tutorial on how you get your guitars to look so darned good? ← If you mean the Stewmac pads, I use the flat, not the edge, except where the geometry dictates edge use. Mostly, I think it's practice, and getting a feel for your setup and compounds. Finish some test pieces, and practice buffing and polishing. That should teach you more than any tutorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 The drill and flap pad setup works great for me. Once you get your motions right, it's a piece 'o cake. I use 3M compounds designed for automotive clear coat scratch removing/buffing/polishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 It is very important to dedicate one pad for each grit size (cutting, polisher, swirl remover, etc) and to NEVER put the wrong grit on the wrong pad. If you get multiple grit sizes on a single pad, you'll end up with a shiny surface that has lots of small scratches in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Okay, I had a look at the Stewmac pad...completely different from the POS that I have here--only one I could find...I have to use the edge because there's a metal plate and screw on the top of it...the Stewmac's top is all pad right? Well, looks like I'll be ordering a nice big box of stuff from Stewmac soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yeap, Stew Mac pad is the best one that I have bought for a drill set up and under 20, you can't beat it. After that, you can buy a polisher sander, (skill, craftsman) and get the 3M foam pads, they are the same compound as the stew are but a bit more expensive at about 25 ea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethmetal Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yeap, Stew Mac pad is the best one that I have bought for a drill set up and under 20, you can't beat it. After that, you can buy a polisher sander, (skill, craftsman) and get the 3M foam pads, they are the same compound as the stew are but a bit more expensive at about 25 ea. ← Do you guys take any special precautions between grits? Do you rinse the body with water? or just a careful wipe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yeap, Stew Mac pad is the best one that I have bought for a drill set up and under 20, you can't beat it. After that, you can buy a polisher sander, (skill, craftsman) and get the 3M foam pads, they are the same compound as the stew are but a bit more expensive at about 25 ea. ← Do you guys take any special precautions between grits? Do you rinse the body with water? or just a careful wipe? ← Wipe it clean, thoroughly, with a soft, clean cloth. Or, y'know, kitchen paper. Honestly, the compound doesn't really load up on the surface much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Yeap, Stew Mac pad is the best one that I have bought for a drill set up and under 20, you can't beat it. After that, you can buy a polisher sander, (skill, craftsman) and get the 3M foam pads, they are the same compound as the stew are but a bit more expensive at about 25 ea. ← Do you guys take any special precautions between grits? Do you rinse the body with water? or just a careful wipe? ← Wipe it clean, thoroughly, with a soft, clean cloth. Or, y'know, kitchen paper. Honestly, the compound doesn't really load up on the surface much. ← Yep, you are just going to want to wait like 10 minutes for the clear to cool off or you will just scratch up the clear again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kench Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 I used Turtle Wax car polish to polish my guitar. And it gave me a great gloss. I didn't even used a buffing pad. I just followed the instructions on the bottle. I used it with a damp cloth and rub it on the guitar for a while... it leaves a white powder on the surface when it gets dry.. then you take a soft, dry, clean cloth the clean it up.. And you have a great gloss. 1) I used it on nitro-cellulose finish 2) I waited 1½ months after I sprayed the final coat of lacquer 3) I level sanded the finish from 600 grit to 1500 grit (wet sanded with only water, no soap or any lubricant) After the 1500 grit.. the finish looked all matte and I could see some sanding scratches. But they were gone after polishing. I didn't need any higher grit sanding. The product I used was: Turtle Wax, Safe Cut.. in a yellow plastic bottle. (its silicone-free too). I just checked Turtle Wax website to give you the link.. but I couldn't find that product. But it is available in hardware stores here in Turkey. Maybe it was for European market only. these sites have it: http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/product/jul05.html http://www.autoparts-online.co.uk/archives/prodapr00.htm (its red here but mine was in yellow bottle) http://www.trendparts.de/default.htm?d_595...Safe_Cut630.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 I found a polishing pad-like thing that should work --it's not a flat felt pad though, more like a bunchy type thing... but I should be able to polish flat on with it... I'll know next week, my carvecaster passes the sniff test! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 My neighbor used to do custom autobody and motorcylce paint, and he used a variable speed polisher with a dimpled pad for cutting and polishing. He said it helped decrease the load across the surface and reduced heat, thereby reducing the risk of 'burning' the finish by staying in one area too long. Of course, I assume that if you keep your RPMs low you'll be ok. Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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