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Gone and bought one of those Stew Mac mini guitars for the young one.

Mahogany.

Sealer and 3 nitro colour coats done (WPC rattle can). No filler - the grain depressions look great! Can’t be arsed with a clear coat. Colour coat looks good, but there’s a few overspray droplets here and there from spraying the edges (the WPC nozzle’s a little agricultural, and I forgot to heat the can beforehand).

What now? Light wet sand with 1200? Rag with cutting compound? Don’t own a proper buffer.

I'd just treat it like normal and give it a very light wet sanding then cutting compound... However, it won't take much to buff through 3 coats, hardly anything in fact, especially on the edges.

Synthetic 0000 steel wool?

Thanks guys. I’ve got some of that super fine 3m abrasive pad. Might try wet sanding with that.

How long ago did you paint it? You may need to wait a while before sanding, as nitro paint can take a while to fully harden. Grant will be able to advise you

murky wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 1:14 pm Thanks guys. I’ve got some of that super fine 3m abrasive pad. Might try wet sanding with that.

I'd still take it very easily - half the reason for the topcoat is to protect sand through... you haven't got a topcoat.

I’m doing between 8-15 coats of clear typically, as an indicator. And that’s on grain filled base.

Sand carefully. Colour coat will disappear quickly even with 1200.

I'll chip-in what I always chip-in...

3M Trizact pads. All the way to 5000 grit. Knock the nibs off and even things out without too much risk of breaking through.


Been a long time since I refinished a guitar. Well, a year or two anyway. Used to enjoy the sanding part. You could listen for the sound shifting from rough to smooth as you took all the overspray off. Pretty therapeutic.

Then I'd sell it.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Update: tested a patch with regular grade buffing paste - that was enough to take any roughness off, without any noticeable change in sheen.

Sprayed another couple of colour coats for good measure. Edges first, front and back last, so any overspray is mostly limited to the edges.

Have to say - soaked the can in some hot water before-hand. Made a HUGE difference to spray pattern and size of overspray droplets. Front and back probably won’t need any buffing.

Gonna let it sit for a week then re-visit.

murky wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:00 pm

Have to say - soaked the can in some hot water before-hand. Made a HUGE difference to spray pattern and size of overspray droplets. Front and back probably won’t need any buffing.

Gonna let it sit for a week then re-visit.

Warming the can

I used to find I'd have to go back to it after a few weeks as it takes a long time to gas-off.

Just remember that the edges are usually the first to rub through as unless you pay lots of attention to them, there is less paint there. And there is a natural tendency to rock on the edges unless you use a sanding block etc.

Molly wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:17 pm

murky wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 3:00 pm

Have to say - soaked the can in some hot water before-hand. Made a HUGE difference to spray pattern and size of overspray droplets. Front and back probably won’t need any buffing.

Gonna let it sit for a week then re-visit.

Warming the can

I used to find I'd have to go back to it after a few weeks as it takes a long time to gas-off.

+1

My current project looks great immediately after the last coat, but after a couple of weeks the imperfections start to show.