Polishing dull guitar finish cracks

Do you think the methods you guys mentioned above would also work on a poly finish. Outperforms normal guitar polishes with a total finish restore this is the one people are talking about. Here, michael greenfield, one of the best builders of acoustic guitars, explains how he approaches sanding the guitar. Let it dry, then lightly sand with a fine grit sanding sponge to knock down raised grain and to even out the color a bit. Checking cracking a nitro guitar finish nitrocellulose relic tutorial. The kind of issues that we all experience with a nitro cellulose finish on a guitar are generally thus. Take advantage of the soft bristles to get into little cracks and crevices.

While steel wool certainly cleans fingerboards and brightens up dull nickel it does little to. Keep in mind, if you are using a buffing wheel, you really only. It was decided to retain the highgloss finish and let it dull over time. Shiny or dull, colored or clear, the first thing you see when you look at a guitar is its finish. If you prefer, you can start the process by rubbing the body with a micromesh cloth, but its surprising how a well relicd guitar will age naturally. Polishing the surface is the harder of the two options here and not one id recommend a firsttimer try on a completed piece of furniture. Most boats these days are made from fiberglass, along with pickup truck caps, motorhomes, even bathtubs. But its also an easy way to ruin the finish of the guitar and worse. On some guitars, it never really did and the finish is still soft, but if you look at many a 50s or early 60s fender today, the finish is often extremely thin and almost as one with the wood. Because the clouding is in the finish, buffing and polishing have no effect. To learn more about johns repair and restoration workshops for players. The first step in making a repair is to clean the surface with mineral spirits.

Hand buff these using sandpaper or a similar automotive product, then rebuff them until they blend in smoothly with the rest of the paint. It is generally known as finish checking and it is typical on slightly older instruments that have a lacquer finish but can arise on new. Seymour duncan high gloss finishes on our guitars guitar. This is the fastest most efficient method to achieve a shine where you have no shine. The previous owner tried to clean something off the front of the guitar and scratched a spot about 3 square in the finish. How to buff and polish your guitars finish youtube. I find this works really good on new goldtops, and fender necks for a playedin feel. John also authored pgs guitar shop 101 column, hosted several pg diy videos, and is an authorized warranty technician trainer for taylor guitars. Do not use much pressure on the drill, let it do the work, excess pressure is usually due to dull. I also try to tap the finish strategically with blunt objects and. View common finish issues such as yellowing nitrocellulose lacquer, white cloudy finish, pealing.

The real truth is that the finish on an electric guitar will only play a very small role in the overall tone. I used 1500 and some polishing compound and got a superb gleam. Knowing how to evaluate the seriousness of a crack will allow you to determine whether to call a repair person immediately or whether it might be ok to leave it alone for a. Apply a non wax buffing compound, sold at most automotive shops, to the buffing surface of your electric buffer. Marine 31 gel coat final step polish is a lightly abrasive polish that has a high content of rich polishing oils that will gorge the pores of a gelcoat finish to maximize color, gloss and shine. Spray a freeze type spray that plumbers use or compressed air in an aerosol the type used for cleaning circuit boardsif. Martin guitars the patina of the finish can be one of the true delights of an old martin guitar. It seems completely counterintuitive, but to make a finish really shine, you have to start by sanding it dull photo 2. Might as well gat a polishing pad for a hand drill as well as im lazy.

Im going to share some secrets on how to keep your guitars finish spotfree. Cleaning your guitar without doing damage reverb news. To give the fiberglass a smooth, shiny surface, a material called gelcoat is applied to the outer surface. My tele has a black polyurethane finish 03 american series tele hs. Its not too difficult to do but it requires practice and you dont have anything to practice on so that really only leaves option no. How to clean a guitar finish, fingerboard and frets. There is a full range of five different grits, and each one is a specific color. However, when drop filling lacquer and other finishes, the fill normally shrinks with time and a dip is still seen even after a spotless repair.

Attach a course wool pad to a 2500 rpm electric buffer. To achieve the ultimate rubbed finish you have to level the finish first and then rub it. If you start with a bare wood guitar you will need to. Supersmooth poly finish popular woodworking magazine. Lacquer checking is fairly moderate but the finish looks dull and grimy. If youve had much experience playing, collecting or repairing vintage guitars, chances are you are familiar with the sight of tiny cracks all across the finish. I shaped the fret ends as usual and leveled the tops but i left the final shaping and polishing until after the finish work is completed. Removing scratches from guitar finishes lacquer repair. How to repair acoustic guitar finish guitar repair bench. As we now know, that guitar would continue to cure over the ensuing years, as the solvent in the finish continued to evaporate and harden. How to clear coat a guitar with solarez uv cured polyester gloss resin duration. If you are removing the finish from a guitar with a polish. Theres a cloudy milkiness thats particularly apparent on the darker.

Water can get into cracks and screw holes and cause irreversible swelling. Unfortunately, a new owner polishing an old guitar can destroy the original patina forever. Lacquer, polyurethane, polyester poly, even nitro nitrocellulose finishes for the best results ever. My primary concern was to clean the finish rather than make the guitar look like new and it has certainly been worth it. Guitar polish pro strength formula play every note like your guitar was brand new with musicnomads guitar polish. Glazes and waxes attempt to fill scratches and claim to make them less noticeable. Drop filling a scratch, leveling the fill with the surface and then buffing the instrument is another technique. Its a good idea to know a bit about your guitars finish so you can better maintain it. With use, this guitar might start to look really good over the next year. Lets start off with talking about how to maintain your guitars finish. Also if you are so inclined, you can get some of the micromesh sandpaper, between that, some 3m finesse it a great silicone free polish that can be applied by hand and the scratch x ive done amazing things to guitar finishes that had belt buckle rash, even buffed out pickguards including a vintage pearl fender guard that had been spray. Work in and wipe off our premium silicone free polish to restore and revive dull, hazy and scuffed surfaces.

If wet sanded to 12001500 grit start, with medium compound. Inspect your entire guitar for cracks in the finish or the wood, loose binding, or a bridge that has separated from the body. How to make spray can clear coat look glossy it still runs. After the area has been buffed, you can polish it to a high shine. Most say using a silicone free automotive polish works well, such as meguiars.

Most of us have seen instruments with these unsightly finish cracks. Due to the previously discussed weaker vibrational energy of classical guitars, the acoustic transparency of french polish is. The problem is because there is no wood in the center of the hole, the edges pull upwards instead of cutting. Locate any uneven or flawed areas in the clear coat. Some companies are putting a layer of nitro over the poly finishes to try and fool the end consumer or maybe to. Works great polish on all guitar models such as gibson, fender and martin guitars. Fiberglass is a common term for fiberreinforced plastic, or frp, which is a plastic material strengthened using a fiber cloth. Pros easy, fast clean up, no residue to accumulate in cracks. Microfiber polishing cloths are soft, easy to use, and help you get rid of the residue that accumulates in the cracks.

Buffing a satin finish to glossy telecaster guitar forum. When i applied it, it just made it look dull and crappy. That infamous nitro nitrocellulose haze on strat and les paul guitars haze, residue, and fog so common with nitrocellulose instruments like many fender strat and gibson les paul guitars is normally very resistant to cleaning due to years of playing. You can dull the finish, then rub it out a bit to look like an aged, clean finish. Start by making sure that there are no basic setup issues, old strings, or even just accumulated dirt restraining your instruments potential. Keep in mind, if you are using a buffing wheel, you really only have. Restoring checked and crazed finishes woodworking network.

The thin, watery superglue will fill cracks in lacquer pretty well. You can purchase the buffer at a tool or automotive shop. Im not going to go into heavyduty, advanced cleaning or finish restoration. The dampening properties of this finish are less than tougher synthetic finishes. How to clean gummy haze from vintage nitro guitar finish. John levan has written five guitar repair books published by mel bay. The pickups, bridge, neck wood, neck thickness, nut material, body wood, body shape, string gauge and the player himself will each have at least as much to do with the tone as the finish, if not considerably more. French polishing yields a very nice finish from an acoustic standpoint, but the finish is extremely delicate and can easily be damaged even by a fingernail. Everywhere i look online it says how well rubbing compound works for guitar finishes, but this is screwing up my guitar and im pissed. When i do a high gloss finish i will sand the guitar up to grit 600.

I recommend a selection of three grits, a rough one for removing oxides blue or dark grey, a medium grit for further removal of light oxides and prepolishing brown, and then a finer one for semifinishing and blending green and beige. It is turtle wax rubbing compound and i follow it with turtle wax polishing compound and it just looks like crap. The finish may have a subtle effect on tone as it vibrates along with other parts of the instrument, but its real job is to help keep the guitar looking good. The high shine will dull naturally over time, but little effort will now be required to bring it back. If you glue your eyelids shut, id go easy on the acetone and maybe seek pro help. We all know that theres nothing like that brand new instrument look before the glossy finish fades under countless finger smudges. This sample shows a finish that is marred by checking. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar guitar alliance.

Working the polish into the cloth helps reduce the amount of build up that can form if one gets polish on bare wood or in cracks and finish chips. How to clean vintage guitars guitar maintenance lesson. Every time i play this guitar im more and more impressed with the build quality and the tone. The cloudiness that develops in a lacquer finish is caused by moisture in the air, and to restore the clarity of the finish, you have to find a way to. Checking looks like very fine finish cracks running in all directions.

This is why darkcolored guitars can develop dull, hazy areas after a few years of. You can do a crackle finish on a guitar supplies are pretty basic. If you do that dont try polishing it first and make sure the guitar is clean and free from polish etc. Regardless of the finish your guitar has, its almost impossible to avoid those annoying, little swirl marks, without using a. Checking cracking a nitro guitar finish nitrocellulose relic tutorial duration. Using a 1500 grit sandpaper, wetsand the enamel paint to remove imperfections. An older finish with decent french polish added should be as good as new. Ive actually read stories of those who used a polish to add a nice semigloss shine to a satin finished guitar. How to clean cloudiness on lacquer furniture home guides. Use special care in these areas to avoid sanding through photo 3.

Another option would be shooting a coat of gloss clear over it. If im content with a satin gloss or a soft glow finish, ill go as far as 320. Dont over apply as it can become difficult to remove if applied in excess. For the ultimate high gloss finish, after removing any oxidation and stains, apply marine 31 gel coat final step polish. Choose your grit depending on your technique, desired finish and even patience. I am using a rubbing compound to remove scratches from my guitars clear coat. Gloss guitar finish with foam polishing pads duration. Changes in temperature and humidity can cause checking in traditional nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. On the guitar we are using as a demo, you can also see checking, which is. Only car polish product in the market that contains no wax. Sticky or milky effect on the body tide mark on body of the guitar where your arm sits. The only drawback to the french polished guitars is the delicate nature of the finish compared to the hard, synthetic finishes provided on the factorymade instruments. Buffing a satinfinished guitar to gloss or semigloss. How to repair cracks in your acoustic guitar if you own an acoustic guitar long enough, chances are good that youll have to deal with the repair of a crack in the wood.

Theres something alluring about the finish of a vintage guitar, but we can. Leveling and rubbing leveling a finish is a mechanical exercise employing the same exact procedure as sanding wood, with two differences. First, dried dye looks dull and ugly dont be alarmed, keep going. How to care for a glossy finish is the main question stewmac receives about cleaning. Sanding removes dust nibs and brush marks and leaves the finish smooth and flat. Will kelly, vintage guitar magazines monthly repair columnist shop of hard knocks shows you how to safely and successfully buff and. Why not check out the website for the full course absolutely free. With a frenchpolished finish of shellac, the finish is only a few thousandths of an inch thick.

Fixing crack in the lacquer the steel guitar forum. When you wet sand to 800grit, then you should start buffing with a coarse polishing compound. When cleaning delicate finishes or ones with chips and scratches i recommend applying the polish directly to the cloth. Guitar scratch remover polish guitarscratchremover by. I taped off the peghead so its original finish would be unaffected. Dont forget that acetone nail polish remover is your best remedy for getting your fingers unstuck with crazyglue. Rub to create a great finish popular woodworking magazine. I started with a yamaha eg112 that i had in stock and was bound for ebay but, you know, not everything goes as planned. Nitro is a much thinner finish than poly and it doesnt clog the wood pores.

Of all the conventional guitar finishes, french polish requires the most care. By the end, the finish is gleaming and the colours appear far more vibrant. How to remove dirt and scratches from your guitars finish, clean a dirty fingerboard. Once your guitar is a bit too filled with character, its time to reach for the polish to.