Sanding Questions

[The Fatalities]

i have a few sanding questions.

when prepping the body in its bare state, i have sanded to grade 1 grit, grade 0 grit, 400 grit and what do i go to next?

after sanded im supposed to rub with naptha and shoot a base then what grit do i sand at for in between coats?

wet or dry?

when painting the neck, what grit do i use to prep it? wet or dry? i have already sanded at 400 grit and it just keeps getting smoother. should i go for a rougher say 200 grit and then start painting?

im just asking these questions because i dont want to make soo many trips to the hardware store.

could someone make a list of how much and what grit sand paper i need.

i dont own a air gun so i cant clean off the dust that gets stuck to the paper.

[verhoevenc]

You don't need an air gun to clean off the paper. Sand next to your door mat! Those prickly things work great. Sand a bit, then rub it on your door mat, and sand some more

As for grits, sand the actual guitar like this (although it sounds like you have different grits in AUZ...)

120 (only if there's some bigger "issues" you need to get out of the wood), then 220, then 320, then 400, then 600 (minimum!! often guys will add 800, 1000, and 1200 to the mix, however I don't feel it's THAT warrented). Now you spray. Spray a couple thick coats and LIGHTLY sand with 400 to level those coats. Do acouple more heavy coats and 400 level lightly again. Do that as much as you want to get as thick a finish as you'd like. Now do your last two coats as kinda light, thin coats. (if it's nitro paint let it cure for a month here) then level sand with 600, then 800, and if you're using coarse buffing, here's where you'd switch to that, if you're using a lesser buffing compound, sand more with 1000 and 1200. However, I find the risk of sand through higher with sanding than buffing... so i stop sanding at 800 and go to coarse, then medium, and then fine buffing.

Chris

[Mattia]

Google on CAMI vs P grade paper; everything I mention is P grade, because that's all we have.

Buy good quality paper. Cheap paper gets expensive fast. I like the 3M gold FreCut stuff StewMac carries, and I've heard good stuff about Mirka's gold and silver papers as well (I like their abralon for final pre-buffing polishing).

I tend not to sand rougher than 80 grit, and then only if I'm shaping. Or 60 grit if I'm top carving with an angle grinder. Otherwise, 120 grit, finish up with 220 grit along the grain, which is as fine as you need to go for most finishes; I sometimes go to 320 grit or 400 grit just to finish up, but 220 is plenty fine most of the time. WITH THE GRAIN SANDING ONLY, though, because otherwise the scratches will be very visible. This is a rule to stick to with all final sanding of wood. What you can do, though, is alternate: circular sanding patterns with one grit, then straight with the next (you're done when all circular scratch patterns are gone), alternating, and finishing with straight sanding patterns.

If you're staining, keep sanding with 320 grit, finish with 400 grit or so; I haven't seen dramatic advantages of sanding finer than that with gloss finishes. Oil finishes, yes, but that's a different ballgame.

As for sanding between coats...I tend to scuff sand (very quick, very light) with 600 or 800 at the beginning of each day of shooting. I only level sand and/or use more agressive paper (down to 400 grit. At most) if there's a reason to; drips, runs, orange peel. Otherwise, scuff sanding is fine. I do level sand before shooting the final two coats (thin ones) fully using 800 grit (if possible, else 600 grit). Then let it all cure, how long depends on the finish, and level again with 800 or 1200 grit (depending on what's needed), follow with 1500 grit, then I go to abralon, but you can go straight to buffing.

[The Fatalities]

so im gunna need:

alot of 400grit

220

320

a bit of 600

800

but you still havent ansered how rough i want my neck to be in prep.

so far it is 400 grit with all the clear gone

[Mattia]

so im gunna need:

alot of 400grit

220

320

a bit of 600

800

but you still havent ansered how rough i want my neck to be in prep.

so far it is 400 grit with all the clear gone

Neck: 220 with the grain is fine, as is 320, as is 400. If you're doing an oil finish on the neck, go to 600, 800, finish with super-fine steel wool. That's my method, anyway.

There are a lot of ways of doing this stuff, and different folks have slightly different approaches. Test on scrap and figure out what works best for you.

[The Fatalities]

its going to get a flat black finish (laquer). Ill probly sand it to 220 so the paint will stick just a bit better.

i have also found out i can get free 1200 grit sand paper from my school