Polishing Equipment And Compounds

[Johnny Foreigner]

just to price up some upcoming costs. I'm going to be using the stewmac waterbased lacquer on a couple guitars, and i'm assessing buffing / polishing options.

the stewmac route would suggest the foam drill pads at $14 each and polishing compound at $20 per grade.

Part of me thinks I could sand to 1200-grit and hand buff with just the fine grade compound.

The other part of me thinks i need to buy a couple of the drill pads and at least the medium and fine grades.

how realistic is hand buffing? are there better or cheaper alternatives on the compound front?

[ScottR]

Tom,

Have you read this one? It may not give you all the answers...but it'll get pretty close.

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=42539

SR

[Johnny Foreigner]

scott,

yeah, that pretty much answers it. man those compounds are expensive! ah well, suck it up.

[killemall8]

you will have a really hard time polishing after just 1200 grit. ESPECIALLY with buffing by hand.

I have had good results iwth just cheap buffing compound and high quality swirl remover.

Also, my local O'riley's auto parts has those buffing pads for 8 bucks.

Edited March 19, 2010 by killemall8

[ScottR]

After showing you that, I'm going to chime in with Kill. I micromesh up to 12,000 and then use the polish/swirl remover like Kill does and get a very good polished finish. I actually had a comment that my GOTM entry almost looked too shiny.

Give that a shot first and then spend the bucks if you think you need to. Well spend more buck if you think you need to, micromesh is not real cheap, but it lasts halfway to forever.

SR

Edited March 19, 2010 by ScottR

[Johnny Foreigner]

sounds like a plan. i was planning on buying some micromesh anyways, but I was really hoping it lasted at least five eighths of the way to forever....

I was basing the 1200 grit on stewmac instructions. probably foolhardy.

i'll give it a try with finer grits and micromesh and see where that gets me.

thanks all

[Kammo1]

About a month or so back I did some tests with a combination of pads and compounds and came up with varying results. I spent a fortune on different products and I have finally found a system that will deal with scratches and swirl marks on cellulose,acrylic single stage,polyurethane 2k and even the rock hard polyesters.I will stress one thing and that is don't read too much into the hype that some products tell you as the stuff that I bought will give you superior gloss and flawlessness for a fraction of the price some superior claim products have.The best products that I use cost less than £15 and that is with the pads as well. Do some of your own testing and come up with what works for you but like I say don't dismiss cheaper products they work just as well

[solomon684]

About a month or so back I did some tests with a combination of pads and compounds and came up with varying results. I spent a fortune on different products and I have finally found a system that will deal with scratches and swirl marks on cellulose,acrylic single stage,polyurethane 2k and even the rock hard polyesters.I will stress one thing and that is don't read too much into the hype that some products tell you as the stuff that I bought will give you superior gloss and flawlessness for a fraction of the price some superior claim products have.The best products that I use cost less than £15 and that is with the pads as well. Do some of your own testing and come up with what works for you but like I say don't dismiss cheaper products they work just as well

What combination of eeverything did you find works best from your experiments? Sounds interesting...

[Kammo1]

Hi, I finally came down to 3 products which produced absolutely excellent results T-Cut made by Colourplan and Menzerna compounding and polishing heads. After flatting down to 800 grit I used the white compounding head, followed by the orange and then the yellow pad with Farecla G10 and the finish was like glass. On flatting with 1200-1500 I followed it with the T-cut, orange pad and then Farecla G10 compound. When all the swirl and haze marks were removed I just give it a final rub with some 3M hand glaze by hand and the shine is a mile deep. In general I always flat down to 1500-2000 grit and then follow with the T-Cut with the orange pad and then the yellow finishing pad with the G10 and the results are consistent 100% everytime without fail. I use a cheap DA sander with a velcro base which I can attach the pads. Like I have said the Menzerna compounds are superb but the results I got with off the shelf products are just as good so if I ever run out I don't have to order the Menzerna stuff I just pop in the car to my local autoparts store and buy it there and then and I know it will work. I scuffed sanded a Polyester guitar body that was like 10 years old and the finish was as hard as nails and the same products and the same procedure produced a finish that you could of swore had just been sprayed it was amazing. I have been guitar making and repairing for the last 28+ years and this has always been a troublesome area which nobody would share their knowledge but I can tell you and guarantee 100% it will work, try it and if it doesn't then you must be doing something wrong let me know how you get on and others as well.

[supplebanana]

lol..... been using t-cut for 20+ years. always worked for me.

[Kammo1]

lol..... been using t-cut for 20+ years. always worked for me.

Exactly because it works. One of the top UK guitar refinishers who has since retired used nothing but T-cut for the removal of imperfections whether large scratches or small.Remember guys alot of stuff out there is all hype so try what works and stick with it