Micro Mesh Is Killing Me.....read To Go Another Way

[matthew bryan]

Hello all,

I am buffing out an Em6000 finish using Micro Mesh dry and with the supplied foam block that comes with the kit. I have gotten tips on other forums to try wet sanding with it using mineral spirits but I did not have very good luck doing that. .....probably due to practice issues because I have never done wet sanding before. May be with practice it will go better.

I have been using a tip that I got elsewhere to sand 90 degrees to the previous grit on every grit used and that has been working very well. I can see every scratch that I need to get out when held to a strong light so nothing is missed. I switch to a circular pattern during the last three grits.

Anyway, I have finished my neck using all the grits in the kit and it looks fantastic! It is the best looking gloss I have done to date (which has not been many by the way). I really can not ask for anything better than this, I am totally pleased. The issue is it took me about 5 hrs straight to get it to look this good using all of the grits! gaah I am working on the body now and my arms are about to fall off and I am only to 1200 grit!!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated (as I can not afford any more Aleve)

I understand that wet sanding is supposed to be more efficient. Providing a lubricant to a. let the paper last longer and b. help it cut better. I honestly did not notice that much difference at all when trying to sand out the previous grit using mineral spirits.

I am ready to switch gears because it will be next year before I get this done. I was thinking of going two ways. (also, I do not have an arbor and this is happening in my garage)

1. Trying to get a medium and fine liquid compound locally at one of the auto stores and dedicated foam pads I can attach to a hand drill to buff the rest of the way after using the micro mesh dry up to 1000 grit. Can anyone recommend any suppliers that would have this...Auto Zone, etc. Pro- can get it tomorrow and start, con-is not exactly formulated for guitar finishing....

2. Getting 2 foam pads from stew mac and using their medium and fine compounds after using micro mesh up to 1000. Pro-formulated for guitar, con- have to wait!!!

I am not sold on going to 1000 then to medium. I can use course first if that is recommend. That has to be faster than what I am doing.

I really would like to try to get some local products if I can to get started, but if there isn't any available then I will order what I need.

Again the finished product is really good.....I have no complaints....it just takes forever to get there (the way I am doing it).

Thanks for all the help so far guys!

Matthew

[John Abbett]

Matthew.

There are several ways to do this. Got to be hundreds of posts on this sytem talking about it.

You can use the polish with a pad and elbow grease.

You can use one of those buffing pads and the polish and a hand held drill (Watch for too much heat!) Woodcraft sells the pads with a drill chuck for under 20 bucks. (I've not used it, but it should work fine)

You can build a buffing wheel system with an old motor and some parts from the hardware store (Which is what I use, take just a few minutes to buff out a guitar from 1000 grit dry paper).

My finish is nice, but I prefer to have a thin, matte finish. I use semi-gloss. It doesn't show fingerprints as much.

[Woodenspoke]

I think most professionals use sand paper and buffing wheels.

There is no way to get around sanding out a finish. The EM6000 finish should only take abot 2 hrs to sand out. The 9000 at least 3 hrs due to its hardness.

If you want speed invest in a buffing wheel setup. You can stop sanding at lower grits and the buffing wheel polishes the surface in seconds

[matthew bryan]

Well what a difference a couple of questions and 24 hrs makes!!!!

I went to Lowes and picked up 3 of the Gator hook and loop 5" RO polishing pads. Then went to Auto Zone and picked up Meguires (sp) Ultimate compound and Scratch X 2.o.

From a post a while back I read that the order of largest (most aggressive) grit to smallest grit (least aggressive)is....Meguires Ultra Cut, Ultimate Compound, Scratch X 2.o, then lastly Swirl X. I only went to the 2.o to see what would happen.....anyway

I installed the pad on my Bosh RO sander and started with the ultimate compound....remember I only went to 3200 in the micro mesh grit...which from above is ~P900 I think. After applying the liquid to the pad, and running at the highest speed and ~3:00 min of sanding, wiped it off and what a shine!!!!! I did the entire guitar with that one pad......by the way the pad is not very well made at all, after buffing the back and front it fell off of the hook and loop sheet that was holding it onto the sander so I did the sides by hand with the pad.......After the Ultimate compound I used a cotton shirt and did the scratch X2.o by hand. I spent a total of 2 hrs doing this and I got a really great shine and gloss that I am totally happy with.

A few learning’s and/or procedure check....

1. sand between coats with 600 grit after first level with 400 on the EM6000 product

2. sand using micro mesh up to the P900 equivalent after 7 days cure time.....still go 90 degrees to every previous grit to check progress.....I can get the sheets I need in larger sizes and cut them down to cut costs on the micro mesh papers.

3. Buff with the products I listed above with a better pad on my RO sander. .....I want to find that Ultra cut and try that first and maybe also finish up with the swirl X.

4. find better cotton tee shirts......when wiping off the semi dry compound after sanding I noticed I was putting scratches back in the finish.....I guess the shirts I was using picked up dust from the garage and I was going backwards.

follow up questions are........

1. Do you know if they still sell the Ultra cut compound?......if not what would be the equivalent Meguire product in an aggressive grit?

2. Can I use a paper towel or blue shop towel to wipe off the compound to check my progress and not impart deeper scratches back into the finish?

3. This is a tele type guitar.....how do you guys handle the sides and cutaways with an RO type sander....do you just do it by hand?

Thanks for all your suggestions guys.....you all have been a great help......on to assembly!!!

Matthew