Starting out in guitar building - There will be questions!

SteveF · October 2023

Oh absolutely! And one where you could easily sink a load more money if you want to.

I could try oil type finishes, but the guitars I like the look of are more often than not gloss lacquered. I will persevere.

I thought about stripping it back now and redoing the finish before continuing with the build, but given the likelihood that I won't be able to do that for a number of months, I want to start on something else. I don't want to build another guitar until I have been through all the processes at least once and see if the guitar actually works though. Hence my decision to go ahead and build it in the current state for now.

davros · October 2023

I bet that's annoying. I love the woodwork and hate the finishing but a good finish is often what differentiates something that looks proper professional.

I don't think I've done a single guitar hasn't had some kind of finishing issue.

How many cans of clear did you use? I now use at least 4 full cans of MGT clear on a set neck and have still had sand throughs.

GoldenEraGuitars · October 2023

@SteveF i must be honest, I haven’t really read any of this but I’m just nosying at your last few pics.

One thing about nitrocellulose and single pack paints and lacquers is, while easy to “mess up” they’re also very easy to fix.

I’m not sure if you have a random orbital sander but I’d get one with an interface pad and a few different grades of wet and dry discs (400 up to 1500).

Use the 400 and interface pad to go over all the finish (do not add water during any of this), this’ll let you see the high and low spots. Any areas you’ve burned through to the primer can be dusted in first with the blue before adding another few coats to the entire body for evenness. The first clear coat should be a dust/mist coat, this will allow the metallic in the paint to remain standing up. Laying a wet coat could force the metallics down flat which isn’t something you want.

After this you can add 3 - 4 coats of clear, allow to gas out and add another 1-2 before hitting the body with the sander again but this time use an 800 disc. You can then add another few coats of clear, at this point you’ll see how flat the finish lays down. Based on this method the end result is a smoother and flatter surface to do a final sand on. You might deem it good enough to avoid a final sanding altogether. However, if you want you can sand it again with 1000-1500 and add a final wet coat.

Don’t be scared or intimidated by painting, it’s all repairable to the point you’d never know a mistake is there.

For reference I use a Makita 125mm sander for scuffing the lacquer between coats. Avoid hand sanding, believe it or not a power sander with interface pad isn’t as harsh as hand sanding and gets a more uniform finish.

davros · October 2023

Good advice from the expert! I might try these tips on my next build!

SteveF · October 2023

Thanks Scott, really useful knowledge here.

I have one of these sanders - hopefully should be suitable: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-PEX-Random-Orbit-Sander/dp/B0002KHIN0/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=284MC7SU02CXY&keywords=bosch%2Borbital%2Bsander&qid=1696153455&sprefix=bosch%2Borbi%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

These the type of pads you mean? https://www.amazon.co.uk/SI-FANG-Interface-Resistant-Reduction/dp/B0B93P8LWG/ref=sr_1_10?crid=25Y84QQHVW1W3&keywords=orbit%2Bsander%2Binterface%2Bpad&qid=1696153413&sprefix=orbit%2Bsander%2Binterface%2Bpa%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-10&th=1

So to confirm, you don't wet sand at all in any of this? After flattening all down with the sander etc, you just (sometimes) put on a final wet coat of clear and then buff it once hardened?

SteveF · October 2023

davros said:

I bet that's annoying. I love the woodwork and hate the finishing but a good finish is often what differentiates something that looks proper professional.

I don't think I've done a single guitar hasn't had some kind of finishing issue.

How many cans of clear did you use? I now use at least 4 full cans of MGT clear on a set neck and have still had sand throughs.

Oh wow. I used a can and a bit of blue and then about a can and a half of clear. I had used half a can on the neck and then used the remainder of that plus another full can.

davros · October 2023

When I say set neck i mean the neck and body together. That's still a really thin finish too, when I mask bridge post holes, the thickness of paint on the tape when I take it off is fractions of a mm.

GoldenEraGuitars · October 2023

If you use water with the sander the interface pad and Velcro pad on the sander will get knackered, you should be able to dry sand using wet and dry discs.

That sander and pad look fine.

If you want to sand and machine polish at the end use a 1500-2000 disc followed by Abralon pads from 2000-7000. Honestly, this will blow your mind as machine polishing would take no time at all.

I don’t really do the final part of the process anymore because it takes away from the effect I need to create. But if I was doing a batch of gloss “factory” finish bodies then I’d use the method with the abralon pads. You really need to minimise the risk of burn through which most people fall victim to because they’re trying to get rid of deep scratches caused by hand sanding. The simple advise is, avoid hand sanding and your life will be easier.

For the sides of the body you’ll still need to hand sand and at this point a touch of water is fine. But for the sides start at 800 paper. If you use 400 paper while hand sanding you’ll probably never get rid of the scratches.

davros · October 2023

Scott, what abrasives do you recommend? I assume you're using dust extraction on the sander too, right?

For hand sanding I've found the mirka gold pads relatively resistant to gumming up, and the abranet with a sander.

SteveF · October 2023

Thanks so much Scott - will definitely give it a go. Can't argue with your results!!! I knew there was a lot of skill involved in what you do, but this has taken my level of respect for it to a new level.

SteveF · October 2023

Meant to ask - do you (or would you if you did that stage) use any kind of polishing compound with the abralon pads at the end?

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Starting out in guitar building - There will be questions!

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