donslow Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) Hey all, I'll try to keep this brief.... Currently in the middle of a project build and I have sanded and refinished the headstock on the neck Now the aim of this was to get a high gloss finish on the headstock, I do have a high gloss finish so all good...... .......or so you'd think....... The finish, albeit glossy, isn't the flattest I've ever seen, do any of you more knowledgeable guys and gals know, if I rubbed it all flat with, say, 0 grade wire wool, if there is a way/method to get it glossy as heck again without adding too many more (or even any) coats of lacquer?! Tools and budget are to a bare minimum so buffing machines etc are out of the question, it'll have to be a good ol elbow grease type jobby but cheaper if possible Cheers in advance all Edited August 1, 2017 by donslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Micromesh is available in very fine grits. The set I got is a series of 9 foam pads, going from 1500 to 12000 grit. Tbh you don't need to sand to that level - 4000 grit should be enough. Use it dry and wipe the pad against the leg of your jeans every minute or two to prevent it clogging. Using it wet (as per the instructions) risks lifting the edges e.g. around the machine head holes. Once flatted off, then get a polishing compound such as Meguiars ultimate compound (similar to but finer than T-cut) and polish it up, using a microfibre cloth to clean off afterwards. If you have any micro-scrathes remaining, a coat of wax e.g. Meguiars ultimate liquid wax will sort it and give you a mirror shine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 That's fantastic advice and well heeded so thank you for that Just a quick question, would I get the same result with the polishing compound if I did use 0 grade wire wool to flatten it down instead? Many thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1967 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 don't use wire wool... it'll leave a ripply finish. To get a dead flat glossy finish use high grit wet and dry with a sanding block not a sponge so that you do actually flat it (I use 2000 grit with a 40mm square of corian worktop), then you can move in to car polish (AutoGlym Super Resin is good) and then if you really want a mirror shine Meguires Swirl remover. If you've sprayed it from a rattle can, leave it at least two weeks before you tray to sand it. 1K evaporative finishes skin off quite quickly, but take ages to go hard enough to sand and will drag if not really hard through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Before you do any of that, how much lacquer have you sprayed? You need to have built enough finish to level in the first place or you'll burn through. It sounds like you hadn't intended on levelling the finish at all, so you may not have sprayed enough. If you can't find Micro Mesh or don't want to shop online you can use ordinary wet and dry paper, it'll be cheaper too. Start with 1000 grit and progress to 1500-2000-2500 then buff. The higher grit you sand to, the easier the final buffing will be. A trick to avoid the dreaded water induced cracking/lifting is to sparingly use either olive oil or mineral oil as the lubricant instead of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Before you do any of that, how flat is it? Are we talking a slight ripple, or is it like the Chiltern Hills? Maybe you should get a sanding block and some glass paper and get the head flat to start. THEN start again with the fine grades and re-spray it. You're due over my place. I have a sander, or I can fix you up with some coarse paper and some finer grades to get it flat. I might well have some lacquer too as you won't need much. I'm sure I've got some cans hanging about. Even if the cans I've got are semi-gloss, one of those will give you some thickness.to the lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofthewind Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Wire wool is really messy. It goes into tiny clogging filaments in moments. Micro mesh is the way to go. I wish i had discovered it ages ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Yes that's one thing I didn't mention - if you're going to cut back into the lacquer you'll need enough of it to cut into without burning through. 3-4 decent coats should be enough (assuming you're using rattle cans). You'll want some sort of sanding block as that's what helps level it out (the micro mesh pads are sufficient as you don't press down on those or they clog up really quickly). Even 0000 grade wire wool will be too coarse and will not flatten the surface enough. If you do need to spray more lacquer, try to get enough on so that it flows a bit rather than just mist coats. Along with flatting back between coats (leave for 24 hours between each) that will help reduce the orange peel effect Edited August 3, 2017 by Norris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 That's all fantastic advice guys, really appreciated Just to clarify it's been close to 6 weeks since I finished spraying it as Ivejust moved house so haven't had a chance to touch it since so should be good to go now In terms current flatness, there's just a slight ripple that really only can be seen in the right, or wrong?! light Think I have some wet a dry laying in the shed, unsure of what grades are left but will have a look and see what I have Am I right in thinking then, start at about 1500 and then 4000 isn't a terrible place to finish before buffing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 Almost forgot, if I remember rightly, there has to be a good 5 or 6 coats of lacquer of varying degrees on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Sounds like you have enough lacquer on there. The grit you start with depends on how much rippling you have. I'd probably just use the 4000 if it's minor orange peel. Any grit will sand it back given enough time. Coarser grits will flat it quicker but will then take time with the finer grits to remove the scratches it puts in. Start light and see how it goes as you can always move to a coarser grit if you're not getting anywhere. The key is to remove as little as possible to avoid burn through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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