Wet-sanding - Opinions required please.

[LowMoFo]

Greetings all!

So the neck is about a week away from being cured, so I need to pick thy collective opinions/preferences for the next bit please

I've seen people recommend wet-sanding with soapy water, others say naphtha, others say different mineral spirits.

Using naphtha apparently makes it harder for the un-lacquered bits (tuner holes etc) from swelling, as it evaporates before soaking in, which makes sense.

I've read very little (only one or two accounts) about using other spirits for wet-sanding.

So now I'm wondering which methods are preferred by fellow BCers

And if soapy water is NOT recommended, should I pre-soak the wet&dry in naphtha/spirit first, or still soak it in water?

Or am I over-thinking this again..?

Good people of BC, hit me back please!

[chris_b]

Have you Googled "wet sanding guitars" and "wet sanding guitars and wood swell"?

[LowMoFo]

Hi Chris, yes I have. Quite a lot in fact, but opinions vary as you can imagine. The one question I can't find an answer for is the pre-soaking one, hence my asking on here. YouTube quests produce the same lack of info on that point.

[Manton Customs]

Water is fine if you don’t use too much or get any in any unsealed holes. You can plug them up if you’re worried about it. Pre soaking has never really made a noticeable difference for me, but it wouldn’t hurt. Naphtha evaporates pretty quickly and is not very good for you.

Something not a lot of people use (but works well) is olive oil. Provided you don’t use too much and you’re going to buff after (which will remove all traces of it). That’s not harmful and will not swell or crack anything.

Buy good quality papers and they don’t clog very easily even when dry sanding. Halfords own is particularly crap, Klingspor and Norton (Halfords sell Norton also) are both good. I don’t use anything under p800 after it’s cured. Best to make your final coats of lacquer as good as possible to reduce on sanding and buffing, which in turn reduces risk of burning through and nasty scratches (which have a habit of remaining invisible until you get to your final grade of sanding!)

 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Manton Customs

[LowMoFo]

Never heard of anyone using olive oil before, but v interesting to note. I've seen people recommending using baby oil, but don't fancy that idea. To be honest, the swift evaporation of naphtha is exactly what was steering me towards it, but the fumes kinda dictate outdoor usage, which also doesn't appeal. The olive oil is becoming more appealing, the more I think about it.

Thank you for your tips and advice!