sanding to a dull finish?

[clashcityrocker]

Hey all,recently brought a candy Apple red jazz,it has plenty of light scratches so I got thinking,I have read abit online but its hard to get proper info.has anyone wet sanded their bass back to a more dull,nitro ish finish? As well as potentially looking really nice and 'light reliced',it should remove a good few light scratches too. I was going to wet sand lightly with 2000 grit until the shine has gone down to matt then polish to a 'dull shine'

Cheers

[lettsguitars]

Polyurethane will not take kindly to sanding. It just goes on flat and goes straight to the buffing. You can just t-cut the scratches out. I gess it would dull down with some light paper though. Or just wire wool.

[Fionn]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1360526335' post='1971850']
... Or just wire wool.
[/quote]

I've seen this done to good effect

[brensabre79]

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1360528281' post='1971904']
I've seen this done to good effect
[/quote]
+1 wire wool, and sanding cloths also work.

[Walker]

Just done this very thing. Knocked the shine back with 0000 wire wool, then polished with a rubbing compound from halfords. I'm very happy. Looks 'just right'.

[clashcityrocker]

[quote name='Walker' timestamp='1360621262' post='1973684']
Just done this very thing. Knocked the shine back with 0000 wire wool, then polished with a rubbing compound from halfords. I'm very happy. Looks 'just right'.
[/quote]
Any pics mate? I'm abit dubious as mine is a sparkly candy Apple red so worried its might look abit gash. Where did you get your wire wool from? Thought that was an American thing!

[Walker]

Wire wool from [url="http://shop.rothkoandfrost.co.uk/sandpaper-s/118.htm"]Rothko and Frost[/url].

I don't have the skills or lighting to photograph the finish, sorry! It's got a soft semi-shiny sheen that can be made more shiny using the cutting compound / polish. It's dead simple. It looks the same as the nitro finish on my Fender Road Worn.

Take it slowly with a light touch. ONLY use small circular motions with the wool and polish and it'll look natural. What you are trying to do is apply as many tiny light scratches as possible. This will dull it down, then bring back the gloss with the polish. As I was after a light relic feel, I polished high wear areas more. This process worked well on scratchplate too.

[Phil Starr]

I use wire wool to get a matte finish on joinery with polyurethane varnish. I use 000 grade. the more zero's the finer it is. It's a lot easier to get an even finish with wire wool than wet and dry.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Phil Starr

[clashcityrocker]

Cheers guys. Will one pack from that website be enough? I assume wire wool doesn't wear out like sandpaper does.

[Walker]

Plenty. 1 pack is enough for a dozen bass bodies.

Handy stuff to have around for polishing and cleaning other things too.

Good luck!

[lettsguitars]

You can get the iron wool from b&q. It does 'clog up' just like sandpaper and you need to tap the dust out in the same way to extend the life of each piece, but it would definately work out cheaper than paper which is pretty expensive. One thing you should do is cut the wool of the 'hank' with scissors. Dont try and tear it or it will have millions of scratchy ends.

[amewse]

I have used this technique to bring a Kramer 450B back from a very rough matt look finish done by the previous owner. I used a very fine grade wire wool to get a really flat surface and then cutting compound/t-cut on a polishing mop to bring back the shine to a level I was happy with.

[KiOgon]

Please make sure all your pick ups are well away from the wire wool at all times - preferably wrapped up tight in a plastic bag - last thing you want is thousands of tiny strands of it stuck all over your magnets! Vacuum the body & the whole area before unwrapping your pick ups. Best keep all the electrics out of the way too, pots don't take kindly to ingress of bits of steel.

Cheerz, John

[LukeFRC]

While I can see how a flat colour would look nice with a matt finish.... I can't help thinking that when you have a candy coat like candy apple red it's kinda a bit pointless/odd.
The scratches might polish out with T-cut - wondered why you bought a candy apple red jazz if you didn't want candy apple red?

[clashcityrocker]

I see your point, I do like the finish as it is but I also like the matt nitro finish, I probs won't do it in the end. Candy apple would never my first choice but it was the only active deluxe Mexican jazz I had seen for sale in here,and I think I got a good deal :-)

[Walker]

I owned a Fender Highway 1 for about two minutes (had to go back to GAK due to a huge ding). The matt finish on those was very nice indeed, but it was a definate matt rather than a dulled aged nitro sort of look. They did black and red if I remember correctly.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='clashcityrocker' timestamp='1360739349' post='1975550']
I see your point, I do like the finish as it is but I also like the matt nitro finish, I probs won't do it in the end. Candy apple would never my first choice but it was the only active deluxe Mexican jazz I had seen for sale in here,and I think I got a good deal :-)
[/quote] sand it all the way back and respray?