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Poly From A Rattle Can Over Stain... Tips Please!


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About to start the clearing phase on my unending RG7421 refinish!!! yeah!!!

i stained the body green using a minwax color stain. i'm thinking the next step should be to use a Minwax spray gloss poly on top.

what are some tips you all could share for getting a strong, durable, and shiny finish?? Or is there some other product i should try? Thanks!

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About to start the clearing phase on my unending RG7421 refinish!!! yeah!!!

i stained the body green using a minwax color stain. i'm thinking the next step should be to use a Minwax spray gloss poly on top.

what are some tips you all could share for getting a strong, durable, and shiny finish?? Or is there some other product i should try? Thanks!

Here is a link that may help..

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...l=minwax+granpa

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thanks for the link!

read through it, and i'm afraid a lot of it is lost on me. Lots of technical jargon that i'm just not that familiar with. what i really need is a clear explanation of how to get a good shiny clear on my guitar in total n00b terms, as this is the first time i've done this. there's lots of dudes on here who have done tons of great work, i just need to know what i need to do.

thanks!!

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To be completely fair with you Ben, you would be far better of actually reading into the "jargon" on the basis that not understanding these points, knowing what is and is not adequate preparation, or indeed how to deal with possible issues will be a huge problem when carrying out the work. It would probably be far more difficult and definitely impractical "babying" you through each individual step, as ideally you need to be in control and have an understanding of what's going down on your side of the fence. Seriously, the hour or two's pre-emptive reading and research will be far less work (and cheaper too) than reacting to a problem which occurs whilst finishing that you don't know how to deal with and don't fully understand because the knowledge isn't there. Grab the Search button and do as much reading as you can, and by all means if you have specific questions (other than "what do I need to do?") then that's all cool.

For what it's worth.....

- Rattlecans by their shelf product style and nature of delivery are far higher in solvent content than dedicated setups. This will mean softer paint and far longer curing times.

- Rattlecans deliver the "best" they can during the first half of the contents. The last half you might as well just throw away, as it's more solvent than paint.

- Cans spit when engaging and disengaging, so start away from the target and overshoot.

- Don't zig-zag.

- Don't blink.

- Don't cross the streams.

- Don't feed them after midnight.

- Jim Lahey is a drunk ******d.

This is not an exhaustive list of course. Read read read, and don't jump in feet first. PG members in general will help you with specifically directed questions, but all the information you need has been covered on the board already and is searchable. If you want to know what "orange peel" is for example, do a search. These are a few useful threads from that search:

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=38917

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=37744

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=38973

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=39389

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=40030

Some platitude about setting somebody on fire whilst they're fishing seems to spring to mind :-D

I wish you the best on this, so don't get me wrong. You will achieve far better results through educating yourself on how to do it, as you'll be the one pulling the trigger dude.

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I dont want to get into too much here, but I just started doing this since I am doing a death march on my 15 fixer upper guitars.

I have done 4 this way now and I am very happy with it.

The poly stuff I dont like, it has flaked off on me in 3 years.

I use lacquer in a rattle can.

First and foremost, like with everything I have read on the net, and I have several hobbies. you read enough to get some info. the real process is practice. I have spent a while reading all sorts of stuff and often it never really added up to me. I took a different approach. I am that guy who jumps in head first. it is the only way to get somewhere quick. Being once you have an idea of what you are doing.

For me, I said F-it and my LP copy just refinished with clear red got the lacquer treatment. I did not even test it. lol.

So here is the basics that no would ever tell me. this is really all it is. give it a shot. practice on a piece of wood if you want.

I sprayed 3 seperate coats (allow a little dry time between like 3 hours) of lacquer from a can (gasp) and let it dry a day or 2. wet sand lightly with 400

Spray 3 more coats, dry a day or 2, wet sand 400 again.

Spray 3 more coats, let dry a few days.

wet sand 400 again.

Now wet sand 600, could go upto 1000 or 1200, I stop at 600 just fine.

Polish. I used a drill with a 5" disk and a simple polishing bonnet used on cars (My other hobby)

I used 3m rubbing compound found at most auto chains. then swirl remover. then turttle wax polish.

all these on a drill. keep the pad a little damp, dont stay in one place too long and you wont burn the finish. the damp pad cools the finish from burning. Not soaking wet, just lightly damp.

The amount of time spent sanding will remove the orange peel. you do a half ass job, your results will show.

polish simply removes the scratch marks.

if you totally make a mistake like a drip, Just stop, let it dry, sand it smooth, restart.

Caution about sanding the curves/edges. Curves and edges are very easy to sand through. I did not even sand my edges. I just used rubbing compound on them. I start this off by hand and see how it is going. yes I did use the drill on it. very quickly. spend as much time on the edge as the front and you will tear the whole clear off.

This is my process. I would not do this on a valued guitar of mine.

Just project guitars, or home built guitars. I would want me valued guitars taken care of by a pro.

I have done 3 others, my med/dark wood stained flying V copy looks awesome. It looks wet just sitting there.

For anyone who says I am doing ti wrong. Prove it! lol

Edited by billm90
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haha awesome, thanks for the advice!!!

a few quick questions for you.... what brand of laq did you use, and where did you get it? i live in a tiny little town, so home depot and lowes are my only choices....

also, when wet sanding, do i just basiclly dip the sandpaper in water and then do to town on the body? seems like all that water on the finish could be bad...

thanks!!!!

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