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just thought i'd throw that out there.... 45 mins into the 800 grit on my nitro finish and i've got almost the entire back done... im sure once the fist one is done the others are easier since everything is already flat though.

Finishing in general is not fun. Unless you're one of those drips like in school "I dunno fellas, I think geometry is pretty sweet".

No it is not. It is relaxing and enjoyable.

I don't mind wetsanding. I put on a movie and just get to sanding.

I have used water, mineral oil, and baby oil. Baby oil is way the best. But it does have a strange smell.

Level with 800, smooth with 1200, buff with 1500, shine with 2000. Gloss with car polish and a tee shirt. I don't know if those are the best terms, but that's what I do. 800 takes out the dips.

I don't love it. But sometimes it can hit the spot. I wouldn't mind skipping it, but it's the money shot for the paintjob.

HNB wrote:I don't mind wetsanding. I put on a movie and just get to sanding.

I've only refinished a guitar once, with my bronco. But this is exactly what I did, and I didn't mind it. I was in the middle of a re-watch of Arrested Development, and just hit play all on the dvd and worked on the wetsanding. no big deal.

In fact every part of refinishing that bronco was so spread out and one thing at a time, that it wasn't that bad. I actually really liked it. There's a lot of steps to it, to the point where if everything was done back to back to back then yes it would be quite annoying and painstaking. But there's so many steps in the process where there is only so much that can be done at one time that it's really not that bad. I was also going through a horrible breakup at the time that I was refinishing that guitar, so the whole process actually helped me keep my mind off of it.

i didn't think of a movie... i sat at my kitchen table in silence. for 4 hours. screaming kids running around. I did 800, 1200 then 1500. Then used some medium polishing compound from stewmac. I'm going to get some finesse it or something to finish it off. i'm not a huge fan of super high gloss finishes, i like a more broken in look. looks great so far though i'm completely happy even though it isn't perfect. for my first try i'm stoked.

Not to wax poetic, but sanding is the fingerpicking of guitar work. If you can sand, you can control the outcome. Sawing is at the macro level, then routing, then chiseling, then sanding. If you can sand, you can fix wood, plastic, metal, bone, and paint.

DGNR8 wrote:I have used water, mineral oil, and baby oil. Baby oil is way the best. But it does have a strange smell.

Level with 800, smooth with 1200, buff with 1500, shine with 2000. Gloss with car polish and a tee shirt. I don't know if those are the best terms, but that's what I do. 800 takes out the dips.

I don't love it. But sometimes it can hit the spot. I wouldn't mind skipping it, but it's the money shot for the paintjob.

This is extremely helpful to me, a fledgling sand-a-teer (proper term for a sander? Maybe it is just "sander").

The big benefit with oil is that you avoid swelling the wood in screw holes and other exposed wood.

I just sprayed over all of the screw holes and stuffed making tape into the ferrel holes and painted and coated with clear. when i did the wet sanding around the holes i just kind of went lightly around and over with more of the "paste" wet sanding created and it was fine. no swelling. I did have to sand out the peg head holes and ferrel holes so they would go in properly. Everything else just screwed right in.

To wet sand do you soak paper in said wetness? or add water on the body as you go? or oil?

cobascis wrote:To wet sand do you soak paper in said wetness? or add water on the body as you go? or oil?

I normally have a bowl of water and dip the sandpaper in the water. I also keep some water on the body. Every so often I wipe off the water and look to see if it is flat. You can tell when you need to sand more because parts will still look shiney. It needs to be all matte before you move on.

HNB wrote:

cobascis wrote:To wet sand do you soak paper in said wetness? or add water on the body as you go? or oil?

I normally have a bowl of water and dip the sandpaper in the water. I also keep some water on the body. Every so often I wipe off the water and look to see if it is flat. You can tell when you need to sand more because parts will still look shiney. It needs to be all matte before you move on.

Yeah me too. The experts recommend soaking your fine grits over night but I've never actually goe to that extent and had fine results.

I think one thing to be super aware of and that's wet sanding over the curved edges. It is so easy to sand through to primer, or even wood, as keeping an even pressure is much harder. I'd recommend layering the paint thicker over these areas and being extra gentle with your sanding. It takes longer but it's much less hassle than constant spot painting. I have learnt the hard way on this. Even with total care it can still happen.

Also are you guys wrapping paper around a block of wood to sand? or just holding it?

cobascis wrote:Also are you guys wrapping paper around a block of wood to sand? or just holding it?

Always use something solid and flat or you're opening yourself up to a world of hurt.

I find it relaxing until I fuck it up. Fortunately I'm in no hurry either as I'd rather work on guitars than play them.