What if the last wetsand is good enough?

[dinkyguitar]

Hi All,

So I wet sanded last week and had very shallow shiny spots left.

I shot 3 more clear coats this past weekend. Prior to doing this I wondered if these additional clear coats would fill in those shiny spot. And as suggested by this forum, you should wet sand till all the shiny spots are gone, then do your final coat or coats.

So now I'm wet sanding in preparation for my final clear coats, but I'm finding out that all the shiny spots are sanding out nicely....and I'm using 600 & 800 grit.

Could I just wetsand the entire guitar and just leave it like that to dry for a month before buffing? Or will the shrinking of the paint cause issues?

It seems like shooting those final clear coats is just wasting paint, since all the shiny spots are sanding out now.

dinky,

 

[ARandall]

The purpose of the final coats and the wait is just to get some more depth to the clear....as it will shrink/settle with time. Now you have a flat surface, but this mightn't be the case in 6-8 weeks. Give it some depth and you lessen the risk later on of sand through during final buffing

 

[Happy Trees]

You definitely can run into problems with rubbing if your material is too thin.

 

[John Bauers]

I skimped on the clear coats and as a result I sanded through the top and had to strip it and do it all again. It's up to you, if you think there is enough finish to the standard you want, go for it. You don't loose much finish from buffing.

 

[dinkyguitar]

Thanks guys,

I'm not too worried about burning through my clear coats....although I should have given you more information..

I have about 12-14 coats of unthinned clear nitro. I've been spraying each week, about 3-4 coats each time, for the past 6 weeks.

So, if I wetsand my entire body and get all the shiny spots out what would happen if I just left it to dry like that and then buffed after a month or so? Would I need to wetsand again?

And I understand what ARandall said.....I don't have a problem with adding the finally thinned coats, but I'm trying to understand what exactly happens during the drying process and how long it should be....I've read anywhere from a month to 7 weeks.

dinky,

 

[ARandall]

Thats probably masses. Mostly the old paintjobs were about 8-10 coats AFAIK.

 

[Freddy G]

The purpose of the final, thinned wet coat is to fill in / melt / blend the previous sanding scratches from the leveling process. So after this final coat all you need to do is wetsand with very fine grit (1000+) as a final leveling/flattening before buffing.
How do you know what grit to use? The work dictates. Start out with a finer grit than you think you'll need and get progressively coarser until you find the grit that does the job.
If you try to buff out 400 or 600 grit scratches you have to buff very aggressively because they are deep. Chances are good you'll burn through.

 

[dinkyguitar]

Thanks Freddy,

I just bought 800 & 1000 grit....

So I'll continue with the level sanding and then spray my final coats as suggested.

I'm hoping the weather will be somewhat warm enough this weekend.

Is a month of drying enough? That puts me at 1 year build time since I first got the mahogany mid Dec. 2012.

BTW...I'm really starting to notice the paint getting more and more shiny as I add coats and wetsand . It's starting to look more like a guitar you'd see at the music store...

I can't help but think, when I look at it from time to time, that I actually built this thing .

dinky,

 

[FingerMullet]

I progressively went up to 2500 grit and after it cured well, I used 3m scratch remover and didn't even have to buff. Finish looks great.

 

[GrouchyDog]

FM, that looks great! If Gretsch built a Les Paul that'd be it - nicely done!

 

[fatdaddypreacher]

nice indeed....if you like superbly crafted, gorgeous guitars and that sort of stuff.

 

[Bristol Posse]

Is a month of drying enough? That puts me at 1 year build time since I first got the mahogany mid Dec. 2012.

I think it depends to a good degree on the conditions where you are. Here in southern Cal it's still 87 degrees and 17% humidity and when the Santa Anas start kicking up we'll be down to single digit humidity.

My spray project in an open to the air (during daylight) workshop seems to gas off really fast in these conditions. If I were to go by the smell test alone, I'd be buffing and polishing after about three days curing

If you're in the north east with lower temps and higher humidity it'd take a lot longer to cure off.

but I think wherever you are four weeks or so should leave you well cured

 

[FingerMullet]

BP, you can buy retarder (Sherman Williams) for the lacquer which will help with that problem. you mix it with the lacquer.

 

[dinkyguitar]

Thanks...

The humidty in my garage while spraying is usually between 50-60%. And after I'm done spraying I usually let it sit there for an hour or two till the smell somewhat calms down. Then I bring it to the basement where it's 67 deg and my dehumidifier running 24x7.

If I were to guess, the humidity would be about 40-50%.

dinky,