esppse Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 So i sanded my guitar.. I put sealer, color coats, and clear coats on my guitar and neck (all of em are the colortone spray from stew mac) I left it for 2 whole months. Then i wet sanded it up to 2000 grit, things were going okay... and then immediately buffed. I used the stewmac medium polishing compound and their buffing wheel thing that you put onto a drill. THE FINISH STARTED CRACKING EVERYWHERE!!!! Especially around the tuner holes and the screw holes. WHY?! it ruined the finish, all the hard work and the 2 months down the drain! can someone PLEASEEE tell me why the nitro finish started cracking like crazy when I buffed it? where did i go wrong?? I sanded out all the paint, but Im looking for an affordable place to have the guitar painted. Any recommendations would be awesome (located in NJ)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHowell Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 THE FINISH STARTED CRACKING EVERYWHERE!!!! Especially around the tuner holes and the screw holes. When you wet sanded you probably got water into the unsealed holes. Wood swelled cracking finish. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esppse Posted July 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 THE FINISH STARTED CRACKING EVERYWHERE!!!! Especially around the tuner holes and the screw holes. When you wet sanded you probably got water into the unsealed holes. Wood swelled cracking finish. Keith i actually washed the body and neck in water to clean the dust off.... oh god... im guessing thats a big mistake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 next time a damp cloth will do fine. now you know another thing not to do go ahead and try agian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esppse Posted July 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 next time a damp cloth will do fine. now you know another thing not to do go ahead and try agian. yeah ill try again!! thanks guys! another 2 months, here we go again lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 11, 2011 Report Share Posted July 11, 2011 lets have a pic, some people spend ages trying to get the perfect crazed finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esppse Posted July 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2011 lets have a pic, some people spend ages trying to get the perfect crazed finish i already removed the paint, i was too distraught to take pictures at the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Sorry to hear that. All I can say is welcome to the luthier school of hard knocks. I think everyone who goes thru these "trials" ends up building much nicer guitars in the future. Case in point: My first multi scale build. It had multiple problems from the start. Ultimately, it ended up being firewood. ahhh the memories: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esppse Posted July 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 Sorry to hear that. All I can say is welcome to the luthier school of hard knocks. I think everyone who goes thru these "trials" ends up building much nicer guitars in the future. Case in point: My first multi scale build. It had multiple problems from the start. Ultimately, it ended up being firewood. ahhh the memories: OMG!! what happened?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted July 18, 2011 Report Share Posted July 18, 2011 OMG!! what happened?? Looks like it caught on fire and fell onto a running bandsaw...hope you at least got to roast some marshmallows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 The main (and final) problem is when I realized the epoxy I used to glue the FB on was old. When I tried to adjust the TR, the board came loose in some places, and stuck well in others. Apparently when you buy "off the rack" at your local Ace Hardware store, there is no way to tell how old it is. Glues have a shelf life. And, you get what you pay for. Needless to say I only use the good stuff now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Why not just make a new neck? It would've saved you quite a bit of labor and the body looks quite nice. It seems to be a set neck, so why not just slice off the neck and route the pocket or wedge it out? Or why not scrape off the FB and reglue? Or did you just "Rage quit" the project? As for the OP, if you have excess dust, just use an air hose or a dry/damp cloth. How long did you wait between washing it with water and putting the poly on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Yeah guitars don't like a LOT of water. Generally I drill all before finishing so the finish seals the holes for wet sanding. Then when I'm ready to put together I'll clean the holes out with the same sized bit. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Also, one month cure for nitro is plenty. Two weeks if you build a fan powered airflow drying box. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuntinDoug Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) Why not just make a new neck? It would've saved you quite a bit of labor and the body looks quite nice. It seems to be a set neck, so why not just slice off the neck and route the pocket or wedge it out? Or why not scrape off the FB and reglue? Or did you just "Rage quit" the project? It was a set neck that was fretted & ready for finishing. Sometimes you are better off starting from scratch, than spending more time than a project is worth to fix. For me, working on a project that has been such a pain makes the time spent fixing it unenjoyable. It's like you are mad at the project even after it ends up finished. Although, a refinish is different. Most of the work is complete, so you can justify the extra work. In a situation like this, I would consider doing an "aged cracked" finish. Post some pics...it may make you feel better. Edited July 21, 2011 by HuntinDoug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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