Hazey white after sanding clear gloss

[pryerguitars]

Hi guys,

It's my first time putting together a kit guitar and I've run into a problem regarding the finish.

So i stained the wood and followed that up by applying clear gloss with a brush and It's left me with this hazey white residue that's stuck to the finish. I tried sanding lightly and it just got worse. The gloss was bad anyway because you could see brush lines all over it - Have I ruined my first kit build?

[MiKro]

No what you are doing is removing the high spots of the gloss finish. this is normal when level sanding. Once it is all hazy so it is smooth, you should SPRAY some clear coat back on it. Use a rattle can if that is all you have. Put a few light coats on and level sand again with higher grit paper. Do this a few times increasing the the grit. once at 1200 or more then you can start to polish the finish. If need be use some mineral spirits with the higher grits (800 +) to slightly wet sand as you level and not load up the paper. keep it clean as possible.

MK

[Bizman62]

The beauty of working with wood is that you can go back and redo most anything. If you've applied a layer of finish that looks bumpy, simply sand it back to bare wood and start over.

It's possible to get a nice finish with a brush as well - or a poor finish with a spray gun! As @MiKro said, removing the high spots is the key. Apply a layer that's thick enough at the low spots and sand it back to the bottom of the "valleys" (or orange peel gaps if spraying) so everything is nice and flat. The closer you are to the bottom the finer grit you should use. When the matte finish is level, apply another layer and redo the sanding. When the finish is thick enough (which should be as thin as possible concerning durability), sand it with even finer grits up to the level where you'll start using polishing compounds and a buffer.

With a flat guitar like the Tele using a solid flat sanding block is essential. Ride that on the top of the ridges and - this is essential - don't put any pressure on the block. The weight of it is enough, let the paper work like myriads of tiny planes cutting the tops off. Extra pressure will only cause scratches.

[pryerguitars]

2 hours ago, MiKro said:

No what you are doing is removing the high spots of the gloss finish. this is normal when level sanding. Once it is all hazy so it is smooth, you should SPRAY some clear coat back on it. Use a rattle can if that is all you have. Put a few light coats on and level sand again with higher grit paper. Do this a few times increasing the the grit. once at 1200 or more then you can start to polish the finish. If need be use some mineral spirits with the higher grits (800 +) to slightly wet sand as you level and not load up the paper. keep it clean as possible.

MK

Thank you! I will give this a go.

[pryerguitars]

33 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

The beauty of working with wood is that you can go back and redo most anything. If you've applied a layer of finish that looks bumpy, simply sand it back to bare wood and start over.

It's possible to get a nice finish with a brush as well - or a poor finish with a spray gun! As @MiKro said, removing the high spots is the key. Apply a layer that's thick enough at the low spots and sand it back to the bottom of the "valleys" (or orange peel gaps if spraying) so everything is nice and flat. The closer you are to the bottom the finer grit you should use. When the matte finish is level, apply another layer and redo the sanding. When the finish is thick enough (which should be as thin as possible concerning durability), sand it with even finer grits up to the level where you'll start using polishing compounds and a buffer.

With a flat guitar like the Tele using a solid flat sanding block is essential. Ride that on the top of the ridges and - this is essential - don't put any pressure on the block. The weight of it is enough, let the paper work like myriads of tiny planes cutting the tops off. Extra pressure will only cause scratches.

Thank you! Love the way you both put it - Really appreciate the help.

[ADFinlayson]

You’re on track bud. Just need to sand off all the high spots from the brush, it’s good to put plenty on in the first coat. On my last build, I made the mistake of only putting a thin first coat which mean I had to go back to bare in order to lose the high spots. Gently scuff sand it all flat with 320/400 then apply another coat and repeat up the grits until you’re wet sanding.