Level Sanding Color Coat Before Clear Coats?

[Hydrogeoman]

Just finished spraying a white LP Jr. with McFaddens nitro colored with Stewmac white pigment and a bit of amber. The finish is fairly smooth but not perfect (a bit of dry overspray in the cutouts and not like glass everywhere on the flats).

I level sanded the white after the first round of spraying and fixed pinholes etc. However, I am not certain if I should level sand it again before beginning my clear coats. The Stewmac finishing book is not entirely clear on finishing at this stage, but indicates that a light scuff sand should be all that is needed at this point if at all.

My questions are:

1) If I go ahead and just give it a quick scuff sand and then shoot the clear nitro, will the clear melt the color smooth and flat enough to hide any imperfections i.e. slight orange peel? Then do a level sanding after about four coats of clear?

or

2) Should I level sand the color now because any clear on top at this stage will only magnify any slight uneveness in the color coat? Basically, level sand when done with color and then level sand again after sufficient build of clear has been laid down?

Thanks for any advice

Greg

[Hydrogeoman]

Anybody?

[Drak]

a light scuff sand should be all that is needed at this point if at all.

What grit were you planning on scuff sanding it with? If I was to do a scuffer, I would be using like 500 or 600 grit at this point. When he says light, he means light.

1) If I go ahead and just give it a quick scuff sand and then shoot the clear nitro, will the clear melt the color smooth and flat enough to hide any imperfections i.e. slight orange peel? Then do a level sanding after about four coats of clear?

or

2) Should I level sand the color now because any clear on top at this stage will only magnify any slight uneveness in the color coat? Basically, level sand when done with color and then level sand again after sufficient build of clear has been laid down?

Hmmm... the nice thing about lacquer is it's so forgiving, and there are always several ways to get to the finish line. If it were me, I would probably scuff sand, or better yet, let it dry and wetsand it, to a uniform appearance, then hit it with the clear.

But you could do it several other ways and come out OK too. You may be able to just shoot clear right now and be OK, it's hard to say really without seeing a really closeup pic of the peel/overspray and how serious it appears to be.

I'd guess that you have quite a bit of play here, that almost any way you chose to do it would wind up working out OK in the end.

Or, you could shoot your clear and see if it looks OK, if it doesn't, just level sand again, and shoot another coat or two of the pigment, then go back to clear, that's the great thing about lac, it's forgiving like that.

Really sweet looking job btw.

[Hydrogeoman]

Thanks Drak, I always appreciate your replies because I know I am getting a pro's advice.

I put the guitar in a warm room all of yesterday and I was surprised this morning as the finish appeared to continue to level itself. No orange peel to speak of, only the dry spray in the cutouts, and a few dust specks on the flats. This is my first attempt at spraying, but based on what I am seeing at this point, the McFaddens lacquer is great.

Based on your feedback, I think I am going to go with a light scuff sanding with 600 grit before shooting the clear option.

Cheers

Greg

[Acousticraft]

Thats the beauty of lacquer. As it shrinks the surface will often improve and smooth out a bit.

Is that an EMG select pickup?

Edited November 20, 2006 by Acousticraft

[Hydrogeoman]

Thats the beauty of lacquer. As it shrinks the surface will often improve and smooth out a bit.

Is that an EMG select pickup?

Yeah, I was really surprised at how much the paint "settled down" over the course of a day (considering I was using a $12 dollar Harbor Freight spray gun). I can't wait to see the results once I get better gun.

The pickup, BTW, is just the P-90 cover in the pic, but I have a Kent Armstrong one that is going into the guitar. It is one of the hand wound jobs from Kent himself (not the import ones you can get from WD Music), so I am really looking forward to how it will sound when completed. It was wound 10% hot with a coil tap to punch up the output with a switch when needed.

[Racer X]

That's a really nice looking project you have going. Can't wait to see the finished product. Kudos to ya!