Butterscotch Problem

[jtmullet]

ok guys I have ben finishing a tele butterscotch since it seem like forever I have done 9 coats of laquer and gone through a can and and a half of it and I am still having sand throughs not just on the edges but all over the damn thing I keep having to respay and fix it and every time I try to sand it so you can see the grain the spot just keeps getting bigger and itn looks like helkl what am I doing wrong and how can I prevent this in the future.

[mikhailgtrski]

Those must be really light coats if you're getting 9 coats out of a can and a half of lacquer. You'll need to build quite a bit more finish to avoid sand-throughs, especially if you didn't seal it first. Nitrocellulose finishing schedule

I recommend you check out this tutorial for finishing with rattlecan lacquer: Dan Erlewine spray can finishing (clearcoating starts on page 3).

Mike

[ihocky2]

If your using laquer you don't need to be sanding that much. Laquer melts into the previous coats and there is no need to sand until you are pretty close to done unless you have runs or high spots. Rattle cans apply a lot thinner than a spray gun and 9 coats from 1-1/2 cans means your spraying them really lightly. You should go through at least 3 cans until you have enough build.

[Mattia]

I scuff sand (LIGHTLY) at the beginning of each day of spraying, and only level sand right before shooting two final light-ish coats. Unless, of course, I've had sags, etc. at which point I level as needed.

Can't comment on the spray can thing, as I've never used aersols for guitar finishing.

[jtmullet]

I followed the the steps from reranch and he said that 2 cans were plenty for a body and neck.

[ihocky2]

I followed the the steps from reranch and he said that 2 cans were plenty for a body and neck.

Did you use the laquer from reranch or did you buy it somewhere else. All the different companies have differing amounts of thinner and solids. If reranch says that two cans is enough when using their product, then that should be fine. But if you are using someone elses you may need a little more or a lot more depending on the brand. It also depends how heavy you lay your coats. Like previously said, 9 coats from 1-1/2 cans is laying it on pretty thin. How many passes are you making per coat? What grit are you sanding with and how often are you sanding? How hard are you sanding? Is it a level sanding or just a very light scuff sanding?

[jtmullet]

I followed the the steps from reranch and he said that 2 cans were plenty for a body and neck.

Did you use the laquer from reranch or did you buy it somewhere else. All the different companies have differing amounts of thinner and solids. If reranch says that two cans is enough when using their product, then that should be fine. But if you are using someone elses you may need a little more or a lot more depending on the brand. It also depends how heavy you lay your coats. Like previously said, 9 coats from 1-1/2 cans is laying it on pretty thin. How many passes are you making per coat? What grit are you sanding with and how often are you sanding? How hard are you sanding? Is it a level sanding or just a very light scuff sanding?

Yah I am using there laquer and am doing as they sugestesed using 3 passes for one coat and I am sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper I don't know how I can be burning through.

[mikhailgtrski]

Yah I am using there laquer and am doing as they sugestesed using 3 passes for one coat and I am sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper I don't know how I can be burning through.

I know you said you're following the ReRanch instructions, but...

It depends on what you're doing for a "pass"... if you move the can too quickly you won't be putting much lacquer on there at all. Are you getting a medium-wet coat on the 3rd pass? Did you skip all the other grits and start with 2000? Really, I think you should try to get at least 8-9 good coats on there before you even think of level sanding with 400 grit. Otherwise you'll be chasing sand-throughs for days.

[ihocky2]

Mik has good advice. I also wouldn't be trying to level sand with 200o grit unless your enjoy pain. Once you get above 600 grit you are not cutting material as much as your a polishing. 2000 grit is one of the final grits people will use before switching to micro-mesh or polishing. You may be sanding through by building up too much heat by trying to sand with such a fine grit. 2000 is also going to load up real fast if your not wetsanding and those build ups will make the 2000 work like a much coarser grit. If you want to light scuff sand I would stay around 400 to 600 grit and apply almost no pressure. Once you have 8-9 coats on then carefully level sand.