Hitone

Sorry wrong section. I have also added it to the new build section! I finished my first guitar and I'm pretty proud of it. It's a solid ash body with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. I learned quickly that solid ash makes a guitar very heavy, but solid. The body and neck are sprayed with a vintage amber base and a red modern mahogany fade. I used Mohawk tone sprays for the color and finished it with a Component Poly Urethane for the top. Check out my build site Here are a few pics:

I'm in the same boat. I was wondering if the wet sanding could have helped. I went to 2000 grit on the wet sand, because not even the professional auto paint shops carry anything higher. I have the tiny scatches. Can a rubbing compound get those out? Do I need to find different levels of compound to use?

Thanks Brian, "Sand after the the third or fourth coat" That sounds like a good idea. I really like the look of the Poly over the Laquer. It's real purti, I tell u what!

Okay, I just did a wonderful Cherry Burst on my Mosrite replica and started to top coat it with the 2 part poly. I put the first couple of coats on and let it dry and started to wet sand. 600 and then to the 800 grit. I noticed a small sand through on the back and was horrorified. I tried to touch it up with my Red fade coat. That was a big mistake! It seems that the aerosol can of stain likes to eat the poly finish. This went from a small, non-noticeable sand through to having to repaint the entire thing. To my question. Once I realized the only way out was to start over I took a blade a started scrapping off some of the paint. To my surprise it flaked off like nothing. It hadn't even penetrated the wood! Does this happen with sanding sealer? It felt like it did when I put the sealer on. Can this cause issues later on? It seemed to be on there good, but the fact that it came off easily concerns me. Can the catalistic poly make the finish strong enough not to flake? Is this common or should I stain and then sand and seal? Since I'm going through the trouble of refinishing it, I just want to be sure I get it right this time. Sorry for the novel. I have been weeping for my finish. May it rest in peace.

I used Mohawks Pre-Catalyzed Laquer. It seems to be a good product and the price is much less than Stewart MacDonalds. They even sell a Classic Instrument Lacquer . I'm not sure how good it is, but for me it's sold at the local hardware store (Elliots). The stain colors seem to work well, too.

I am about to paint two guitars (one cherry burst and one silver burst). I have done a three color burst before and I used Laquer for the entire project. On these guitars I really want to do the Component Poly Urethane. The question I have is, do I shoot Component Poly Urethane between the solid color and the burst or can I use Laquer to this and just top it with Component Poly Urethane? You can check out my build at My First Mosrite

I am building a Mosrite and really want to finish it in a retro silver glitter. Here is a sample of a Gretch Silver Jet that uses the glitter finish. Does anyone know how to do this? Is there a paint I can buy? Any books on the subject matter?