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GlensGuitars

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  1. Hello, I have been building guitars for years and found I struggle to get the best results after leveling and polishing frets. After crowning, I've gone from 320/400 to 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000. I have some Stew Mac polishing papers that go up to about 8000. For some reason, I find that there are scratches left when I go on to the above 1000 grits. I cut off little squares for each grit about 1" b 3" and they cut aggressively for about 5 frets and it seems like they get dull and don't remove all the scratches. Is it best to just keep using new sandpaper every 3-5 frets? Every increase in grit I sand 90 degrees or perpendicular to the last. When I finally get done criss crossing through all the grits up to 2000, I have no idea what grit the scratches that are still there are.. It's hard to tell as there is smoothness as well. I've tried looking with a magnifier.. It is a tedious process and feel like there is a better way. Anyone have any pointers? Thanks guys, Glen
  2. I now understand you, Bizman62. I hand finished the neck and there was less poly on the frets, a little, but not enough to shield them from the abrasiveness. It took me a minute to see what you were saying, I think I didn't read the whole thing. So I appreciate your advice! The other guitars I did. I sprayed, which caused a quite thick layer of finish on the frets. This one I hand finished, purposely avoiding the frets. I wonder maybe at this point if I can even apply enough finish to frets by hand to create a barrier. I tried polishing the fingerboard by hand, it just does not shine at all like the rest of the neck. Maybe use a very small polishing wheel and carefully buff the wood and avoid the frets. You guys rock!
  3. Hi, Thanks for the quick responses. I actually meant I am polishing the fingerboard wood with the wheel. It is a maple fingerboard. The frets are unexposed. During the polishing, it is impossible not to have frets being polished at the same time as the wood, so all the black dirt from the frets spread alll over the fingerboard, making it look terrible. I was able to wipe that off. So, yes of course, when I do polish frets, I always mask the wood. I tried 2 different polish and had the same problem of the wood getting dirty. I tried: Meguiar's Swirl Remover 2.0 (which says cutting number 3, light) And Howard Feed N Wax: https://www.google.com/shopping/product/349299748191985815?lsf=seller:1135568,store:17659923137995067923,lsfqd:0&prds=oid:12833318350763213953&q=furniture+cleaners+and+polish&hl=en&ei=o1IrZKGaHo-h5NoPqIOtqAM&sts=14&lsft=gclid:Cj0KCQjw8qmhBhClARIsANAtboe01JUmjj2kx_G3tlPAamd65MjTY1KxgEcjEE6mVoWKGRh20oPMZykaAuzJEALw_wcB Is the type of polish the issue? Or am I not using enough polish? Glen
  4. Hello, I am a somewhat intermediate builder and I have a strange problem with a new neck that I am polishing on a standard cotton wheel. THe results are great when I was polishing the back and any area not touched by the frets. As soon as polished the fretboard, the polishign compound reacted with the frets and spread this grey residue all over the neck and the wheel. I have never had this happen. I used a beeswax/orange oil conditioner that is used by woodturners. Later, I was tryign to hand polish the fretboard that I had since cleaned the residue off (grey) and the polishign compound is touching the frets as I do the fretboard and more of this grey/black residue is coming off on the rag. How do I get rid of this residue so that when I polish using a wheel or by hand that the residue does not spread and get on everything? Thanks, Glen
  5. Very cool. I have never thought of a floor product on a guitar but they must be strong. What do you mean by outlet?
  6. Hi Bizman62, What sort of finish is on this guitar? It looks more natural.
  7. Outstanding tips. I did lather on the epoxy so thick it left drips. I should have masked it off but it was so thick I thought it would not drip. The tricky part is after sanding down, I sanded the finish/stain off surrounding areas and I'm trying to match the stain color which never looks the same. It could be too late and it will have to do. If you had to fix small areas where stain and finish wore off, would you sand down the entire neck again and start over? It has crossed my mind but I don't want to make the neck any thinner. I finished this neck by hand wiping water based polyurethane from Stew Mac. I was afraid of fumes so I didn't want to spray or use lacquer. The result - if you're not careful, you can easily sand through and it's best to put like 20 coats. I'm not kidding, this stuff is so thin. I don't know if all water based lacquers are so thin. Learned many lessons from this neck.
  8. That's an interesting idea I had not thought of. I found when I was mixing and applying a lot of bubbles were in the epoxy. Do you know how to get rid of the bubbles when mixing? It is a short setting (5 minutes) epoxy. I think I'll just let it be epoxy this time. But you can see the oval area that is where I sanded down too far. I'll let you know how it turns out.
  9. Sorry, I mean to say can I apply the polyurethane over epoxy (no lacquer for this project..yet.
  10. Thank you for the very thorough answer. Your'e right, the area is "2 by 1/2" and the depth is at 1/16". I learned the hard way that sanding sealer is like rubber. It does not harden when you put on 20-30 coats. I actually am going to try epoxy, and maybe it will fill in the gap. Is it ok to apply a water based poly or oil based poly over lacquer? A final thought was using turquoise powder or another colored powder. Since it's on the back of the neck it would rarely be seen, but would give the guitar a unique accent. Ever seen turned bowls with turquoise?
  11. Hello, I need help building up finish on a guitar neck that I have sanded through too many times. The stain wasn't matching so I tried many different combinations and have created a big divot in the back of the guitar neck about 2" long by 1/2" tall. I have tried adding coat after coat of finish (water based poly and now oil based poly) but it barely seems to make a difference. does anyone have any other recommendations to build up 1/16" to level out this neck? I thought about gluing more wood down but don't want it to look unmatched and even have "edges" created by difference in wood being glued on. Should I try epoxy? It needs to be as hard as the maple neck. Thanks. I can give a photo if needed. Glen
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