Well that is just wierd...it takes me at least a couple of hours to do a body and another hour on a neck...and that is on soft woods...but I am very thorough...
Agree!
I could go from 80 to 2k in 30 minutes but it'd look like crap!
I think in general some of the body woods I use are denser and harder than many woods used in the west - take Burmese Ironwood - it's a lovely timber with a great fully bodied tone and sustain however it's like sanding granite (and blunts carbide router bits double quick!)! It's takes nearly 2 days of sanding on the body to get it to a mirror finish graduating from 80, 120, 180, 240, 320, 400, 600, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 . . . in total approx 20 sheets of paper per body! Where possible I avoid 80 grit with it due to the deep scratches being a bitch to get rid of.
In comparison an Afzelia Xylee or Red Padouk body would only take a day to get to 2000.
The old saying repeated ad nasum by wood work teachers is "when you think you've finished sanding, you've only just begun!".
Basically my aim at a 2000 grit finish is for it to be mirror finish and under whatever scrutiny of angling into light no scratching should be visible.