I watched a well know guitar manufacturer built a custom shop guitar. It was a beautiful instrument that was mostly made by power tools. Unless they just glossed over the hand sanding, it was nearly all tool sanding. Thank you Chris.✌️✌️🙏🙏🙏
Very valuable information. Thank you. I'm about to leap into the clears from oil finishes. You saved me some mistakes that would have been learned the hard way otherwise.
Even if I do really like crystalac finish (I use it since a very long time), your video confirm what I do now... Using oil finish. I still make from time to time some Water Based finsih but I have a better feeling and even result with oil. I like the SutherlandWells tung oil, but I still have the best result with true oil. Epoxy pore filling, than many true oil apply, slghtly dry sand 1500, 2000, and buffing!
It's funny how sandpaper is relative to a surface. When flattening wood, 600 grit won't get you anywhere, but when it comes to a clear coat (or even color coat), 600 grit is *extremely* aggressive! As for pattern imprint, I've actually had that happen -- more so with solvent-based finishes. i had a guitar I was working on about a year and a half ago. I had let the solvent based finish dry for six weeks (it was a new clear coat I was testing). According to the manufacturer, that was a couple of weeks longer than necessary, but unknown to me it still wasn't fully cured even after six weeks. Unfortunately I didn't notice it until it was fully polished. I had installed the pickups and then flipped it over to install the controls, and there, clear as day, were towel fiber impressions in the freshly polished back side. And it was inconsistent -- like some part had cured and some had not. Ugh!
Interesting video! Thanks for the explanation and rationale for dry sanding. I'd really love to see a video about using a drill or hand polisher, instead of an industrial-sized buffing machine. If you already have a video like that, would you please put up a link? I was not able to find it using YT's search feature.
It may have been for naught but it was still a great lesson Chris. I'm curious, because so much sanding has already been done on the guitar, would it be possible/practical to spray some more clear coat layers to build it back up again? I'm guessing it will be even easier to sand through the finish now?
Thanks for this video, Chris! So now you basically have to start again with the sand leveling process, in order to level the texture impressed by the towel. But now you have already removed some of the coat that you sprayed on, therefore now the clear coat is thinner than when you started wet sanding it. Don't you think that you may incur the risk of sanding through more easily now? Could it be safer to spray again one or more coats before proceeding with dry sanding or do you think it doesn't worth it?
In auto body when they started switch to water base they had to run it under this intense red lights to bake it. Not sure if that's changed since I worked in Industry guessing forcing evaporation on wood wouldn't go well. Just a thought on drying it quicker.
@HighlineGuitars yeah typically in auto body it's 3/4 coats, bake it, block it, and coat again. Least for show cars regular daily got 3 coats and usually left with orange peel. Maybe that would help as I'm switching from autobody/fiberglass work to guitars. I'm wondering what all techniques will stay the same and will change watching videos. I keep thinking about my auto body steps.
Oh man.. ;) What would happen if you tried to use that same paper dry? Is clogging the issue? I wonder if there are good ways to keep it from clogging like a brush or compressed air, etc.
Instant clogging is an issue that can't be fixed reliably with a brush or compressed air. The second the paper clogs, it can deeply scratch the finish and that is next to impossible to fix.
Great video! One of the questions I had regarding the circular sanding technique you use is how to determine when all the scratches from the previous grit are gone. If I were to start with 1500 and move vertically, and then move to 2000 horizontally, I could see when all the vertical scratches are gone, and replaced with horizontal. How do you make this determination that all the sanding scratches from the previous grit are gone with the circular technique?
I can tell by looking at the surface at a low angle against a bright light. With each progressively finer grit, the reflection of the light becomes clearer.
That settles it, I'm going to dry sanding instead of wet. How long do you let the Sutherland PTO cure before level sanding? 24 hours between coats, but it's not fully cured for up to 30 days they say, so how long do you wait after the final top coat of PTO??
I watched a well know guitar manufacturer built a custom shop guitar. It was a beautiful instrument that was mostly made by power tools. Unless they just glossed over the hand sanding, it was nearly all tool sanding. Thank you Chris.✌️✌️🙏🙏🙏
Very valuable information. Thank you. I'm about to leap into the clears from oil finishes. You saved me some mistakes that would have been learned the hard way otherwise.
Glad it was helpful!
Even if I do really like crystalac finish (I use it since a very long time), your video confirm what I do now... Using oil finish. I still make from time to time some Water Based finsih but I have a better feeling and even result with oil. I like the SutherlandWells tung oil, but I still have the best result with true oil. Epoxy pore filling, than many true oil apply, slghtly dry sand 1500, 2000, and buffing!
It's funny how sandpaper is relative to a surface. When flattening wood, 600 grit won't get you anywhere, but when it comes to a clear coat (or even color coat), 600 grit is *extremely* aggressive!
As for pattern imprint, I've actually had that happen -- more so with solvent-based finishes. i had a guitar I was working on about a year and a half ago. I had let the solvent based finish dry for six weeks (it was a new clear coat I was testing). According to the manufacturer, that was a couple of weeks longer than necessary, but unknown to me it still wasn't fully cured even after six weeks.
Unfortunately I didn't notice it until it was fully polished. I had installed the pickups and then flipped it over to install the controls, and there, clear as day, were towel fiber impressions in the freshly polished back side. And it was inconsistent -- like some part had cured and some had not.
Ugh!
Interesting video! Thanks for the explanation and rationale for dry sanding. I'd really love to see a video about using a drill or hand polisher, instead of an industrial-sized buffing machine. If you already have a video like that, would you please put up a link? I was not able to find it using YT's search feature.
Sorry, I don't have one.
It may have been for naught but it was still a great lesson Chris. I'm curious, because so much sanding has already been done on the guitar, would it be possible/practical to spray some more clear coat layers to build it back up again? I'm guessing it will be even easier to sand through the finish now?
Thanks for this video, Chris!
So now you basically have to start again with the sand leveling process, in order to level the texture impressed by the towel. But now you have already removed some of the coat that you sprayed on, therefore now the clear coat is thinner than when you started wet sanding it.
Don't you think that you may incur the risk of sanding through more easily now? Could it be safer to spray again one or more coats before proceeding with dry sanding or do you think it doesn't worth it?
Watch the video that will premier on Friday, July 26, 2024 at 12pm MST. All will be explained.
@@HighlineGuitars , sure I'll watch it, I never miss one! 😉
In auto body when they started switch to water base they had to run it under this intense red lights to bake it. Not sure if that's changed since I worked in Industry guessing forcing evaporation on wood wouldn't go well. Just a thought on drying it quicker.
I think my problem was using heat (hair dryer) to force each coat to dry. I did 11 coats in about an hour. I think that's not the way to go.
@HighlineGuitars yeah typically in auto body it's 3/4 coats, bake it, block it, and coat again. Least for show cars regular daily got 3 coats and usually left with orange peel. Maybe that would help as I'm switching from autobody/fiberglass work to guitars. I'm wondering what all techniques will stay the same and will change watching videos. I keep thinking about my auto body steps.
After all this tim, I'll ask. Did you play and record the intro riff? I like it! :)
No. It's a clip provided by RUclips.
Oh man.. ;) What would happen if you tried to use that same paper dry? Is clogging the issue? I wonder if there are good ways to keep it from clogging like a brush or compressed air, etc.
Instant clogging is an issue that can't be fixed reliably with a brush or compressed air. The second the paper clogs, it can deeply scratch the finish and that is next to impossible to fix.
Great video!
One of the questions I had regarding the circular sanding technique you use is how to determine when all the scratches from the previous grit are gone.
If I were to start with 1500 and move vertically, and then move to 2000 horizontally, I could see when all the vertical scratches are gone, and replaced with horizontal. How do you make this determination that all the sanding scratches from the previous grit are gone with the circular technique?
I can tell by looking at the surface at a low angle against a bright light. With each progressively finer grit, the reflection of the light becomes clearer.
Where can I get templates for this build?
I am hoping to make them available on both eguitarplans.com and my merch store after I finish the guitar.
That settles it, I'm going to dry sanding instead of wet. How long do you let the Sutherland PTO cure before level sanding? 24 hours between coats, but it's not fully cured for up to 30 days they say, so how long do you wait after the final top coat of PTO??
If you're dry sanding, give it 4-5 days.
Why on earth did you wet sand in the first place?
ruclips.net/video/_LNMF5geW9s/видео.htmlsi=XlSXSrdIAuHGZ6-1&t=94