Sanded And Waxed Before Paint Has Cured

[ianlange11]

I just cleared a tele with Krylon. However, I sanded, used rubbing and polishing compound, and waxxed it, all before it has cured. I just read in the tutorials that you are suppose to wait to do these. What will happen now that I have done this? Or what are the effects of doing so? Will it cure properly? How long will it take to cure? Will it ever cure to be hard now? It sanded and and took the rubbing and polishing compound fine, and wax, it looks great, but I put a nail print into the finish where the pickguard would go so I know it has not hardened, I did all this only a day after clearing it. Thanks.

[Southpa]

It will cure eventually. Your main concern right now is how you plan to store it. If you are wondering what I mean just lay the guitar down on a towel or some other type of patterned surface for a few hours and then take a look at what it does. At this stage ANYTHING that is in contact with your guitar for more than an hour will leave its imprint.

[ianlange11]

I have it hanging right now. Should I take the wax off, or will it cure the same either way? I know exactly what you are talking about because the last clear I used never cured, it was over a year and was still soft. It was American Traditions by Valspar.

[Southpa]

Maybe to speed up the drying process you could give the body a quick solvent wipedown to remove the wax. Make sure the solvent doesn't stay on very long. Then I would hang it for about a month.

[ihocky2]

The sanding and polishing shouldn't be too big of a deal on it, you'll just have to do it again after it fully cures since the finish is going to shrink back and create new imperfections. I am not sure how the wax is going to affect it. It will definitely slow the curing process. What type of wax did you use? Does it have any silicone in it? If you managed to rub any of the wax into the finish you may get areas that don't cure right.

[ianlange11]

I used Nufinish, which actually doesn't have any wax in it, I'm pretty sure it contains silicone.

[Southpa]

Lets get something straight here. Here is a quote from a guitar maintenance source: "Avoid any wax or polish that contains silicone. Silicone resists lacquer adhesion and complicates any finish repair in the future." Now that said, are we talking about actual "silicone" or "silicon"? Silicon is a common abrasive used in sandpapers and, in its finer form, many polishes. That is good to use on your guitar, silicone is not.

[ianlange11]

This is from the Nufinish FAQ on their website, which is how I am assuming it contains silicone

Are car polishes that contain silicone bad for my car's paint?

No, absolutely not. In fact, automotive paints worldwide actually contain silicone as a key ingredient for lubricity purposes. Silicone in car polishes will not cause "fish eyes," wihch are small circular craters that appear in the finish of new applications of paint. Applying fresh paint to the surface of your car that was recently waxed or polished may cause fish eyes in the paint if the proper steps weren't taken to remove the silicone or wax prior to repainting the car. But fish eyes don't appear in your paint's surface if you are polishing a dry, painted surface.

[Mattia]

Silicone (ie, lubricant), not silicon-carbide paper (although: non-streated stuff is better than streated paper) is evil and should not be allowed anywhere near any of your wood, finish, guitars, or tools used to work on anything guitar related. Sure, it lubes great, but it also gets through everything and is near impossible to get rid of.

[ihocky2]

I think I read that an amonia mix will remove silicone. But I would rather just not deal with it, so I keep anything that may have touched silicone away from my lumber.