DIY GUITAR - Part 16: Final Sanding and Polishing

[Obelisong]

LOL MAGIC MARKER :D

[ComeOnYouBoyzInBlue]

you retard you sanded against the grain !!!

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@ComeOnYouBoyzInBlue

That applies when you sand on wood, not lacquer. Retard.

[ComeOnYouBoyzInBlue]

@DUY1337GUITAR it applies to anything with a grain finish 

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@ComeOnYouBoyzInBlue

You sand along the grain on wood so that you don't permanently lift/scratch the wood fibers in the wrong direction. What I'm sanding on right now is lacquer, not wood, with a series of fine wetsandpaper to create a see-through finish by removing scratches in all directions. If I was sanding an oil finish that's thin on the wood (like on the back of my guitar neck), then I would sand along the grain.

[dustypatten]

@DUY1337GUITAR FTW!

[MIKEYEKIMIKEY]

I have that toothbrush :P

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@MIKEYEKIMIKEY

Actually, I used yours...

[MIKEYEKIMIKEY]

@DUY1337GUITAR lmfdo xD

[OfficialRobbieMason]

thx so much ! that forum helped! what is the cream stuff u put on the guitar ?

[OfficialRobbieMason]

I got a paint chip on my guitar. its Black in color. how do I fix it?? Pls help me :/ .

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@OfficialRobbieMason

go to reranch com and look for it's forum. They have experienced builders and repairers who are kind enough to help and have much knowledge on many methods for fixing your problem.

[BlackenedFifth]

@OfficialRobbieMason buy a small can of modelling spray paint that matches your colour and can of spray lacquer (gloss). spray the paint inside the lid that comes with the can and use it to "drop fill" the hole. to drop fill - take a cotton bud, pippette whatever and drip the paint in. Then use the gloss lacquer - the same way but rub it on - let it dry adn cure for several days then begin sanding (I'd go straight in at wet sand 1000-1500 grit). buy some micromesh

[BlackenedFifth]

@BlackenedFifth you can get it off of ebay and this will take you up to 12000 grit - this SHOULD blend in your repair with the rest of the guitar - but to be honest - I'd leave the chip - it adds character to the guitar and does nothing to the tone or playability. If you haven't drop filled before - and your guitar is expensive or sentimental - take it to a professional luthier - they can drop it fill for you - but it will cost a fair penny!!

[robinater]

Wow Came out Great! Good Job!

[bartg1000]

Looks great! Very helpful to me to watch how others do this stuff!

[poterpls]

so do you recommend rubbing the compund on the guitar and then using a buffing pad or apply the compound on the buffing pad?

[DOGFACEDDEMON]

i am painting a guitar for the first time but i dont understand why you go from grid 400 to grid 2000. cant you use onley grid 2000? .....is it to speed up progress?....... im using a metallic spray paint i cant use ink when i sand to mutch i have to start all over again. by the way your finish looks great !!!

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@DOGFACEDDEMON

If you only sand with 2000 grit, then how in the world are you gonna get rid of the textures that only 400 grit can take out? Haha, what you're basically doing is peeling away layers, and each time gets finer and finer so you're left with a smooth surface without textures. This process is for clear lacquer that has been cured though, not the paint/color itself. :)

[cenovita]

How long did you let dry the clear coats?

[sirgerry]

did you polish it by hand? I must finished my project and cant get it to shine enough by hand. I used polyurethane.

peace

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@sirgerry

sorry, i dont know the process for poly... :(

[TeamXTREMEPANTERA]

this entire time, did you kow you forgot the pickup selector?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@TeamXTREMEPANTERA

I didn't forget the pickup selector, I wanted it removed so I can add a system with multiple toggle switches.

[TeamXTREMEPANTERA]

@DUY1337GUITAR yea, i realized that after watching the last video

[marcinifilip]

What is this white syrope

[MrHellcatos]

Did you use anything to remove your guitar scratches on the ending ?

[evilguitar9430]

nice work man, just hope you could give me a tip like. . .

dou you have to sand the guitar paint before you put on the clear coat?

and if can spray paint is good enough for a guitar?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@evilguitar9430

Sanding is a good idea to remove uneven or rough surface, but you dont really have to. It just depends on how well you do it. Spray paint is fine, but you're gonna have to research about types of sprays and it's process.

Good luck

[zWhu5tiFFIE]

@DUY1337GUITAR you spent ages coating the body...and then sanded it all off? but you got an amazing finish? I'm......amazed, how the fuck does that work?

[randomguitarstuff56]

@dUy1337guitar, it looks so great now, but why do you have to sand it first? Can you put on the finesse it polish without sanding?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@randomguitarstuff56

You have to sand it to get rid of all of the texture from the spray. You can polish it without sanding, but the surface may not be to your liking.

[roentjeu16]

nice job

[BeboRock91]

this is plain gorgeous

[MrNappy1221]

Cum

[leedoxev]

dittos to the guys that said u did a hell of a job! i wish i had ur patience. i did a kit guitar and the stain job was nice but i punked out and tung oiled it. the finish was a nice stain look but in no way even close to urs. wish i had pics to show ya but this kid down the block just had to have it and i needed the money so... thanks for the vids gave me some nice ideas for my next build

[kramnahillac]

What type of paint do you use?

[stebonar]

How do you correct all those sand through?

[ArdenOldman]

Hey, good work =)

Did you use the polish products by hand?

[gianniswildchild]

is it a JEM with different finish?

[hyperliteBo]

Maybe a stupid question, but is it really necessary to sand THAT much? the average I've seen on youtube video's is 4 times.

It looks to me you're ruining the paint over and over again and then repair it xD no offense ofcourse, I think you did an amazing job !

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@hyperliteBo

What do you mean I'm ruining over and over again. The purpose of wetsanding with all these grades of grits is to eliminate all sizes of scratches before applying swirl remover. As I sand with finger grits, the surface gets even smoother. If I don't sand with all the grits in order, then I won't get a mirror finish.

[hyperliteBo]

@DUY1337GUITAR yeah I just thought it was awkward because their are other videos on youtube were people paint their guitar but they sand it like 4-5 times in stead of 20. I just want to figure everything out for my own project. and hey it was just a question, your guitar looks stunning, no doubt about that ! =)

[DUDI0215]

ohh man i cant believe i'm still watching even though i finished it like 5 times

[TasteForDisaster]

whats the song name? and the band!!! i beg you! it's sooo fucking awesome

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@TasteForDisaster

Descriptions

[TasteForDisaster]

@DUY1337GUITAR ya, sorry 'bout that pointless question, i was kinda hyped in the moment ;D

[uglyguitarguy]

after spraying all your clear coats, how long did you wait to start your final sanding and buffing?

[metalmaniac426]

wow! nice dragon burst!

[garybalictan]

sir, i have a question. can I use acrylic clear coat sprays for clear coats? thanks

[HalflifeBEASTS]

It looks pretty sweet but its just not my style of guitar.

[undeadcorpse521]

my guitar is sticky. I sanded it and used the finishing compound and it's sticky? is it because of the compound? maybe I didn't let the clear coat dry long enough? how do I get rid of it

[lugajohnpaul]

hey dude, what type of polish have you used? O.o).. that was amazing!

[PestVic]

great job! what kind of clear coat did you use?? also you could of wet sanded anyway. ive used dry sandpaper and wet that and it held together and came out awesome. maybe these tips will help a future build? awesome guitar man!

[BASDRE2]

what sort of polish did you use ???

[myrtilusgames]

Ey thats one knarly lookin axe man... im just finishing off my project and there's a lot of swirls, so im off to the auto shop today so i might pick a microfiber cloth up too. Thanks for the tip :) Cheers

[mauroconga]

this is a very good video ....LOL

[wildnest1]

Thank you for these videos! That paintjob looks very professional. I'm thinking of upgrading my old rg321 ibanez with white paint / gold hardware.

[karstenboy]

I have to tell you-considering you did this in your whatever, apt, bedroom...and using no buffing wheels, I am impressed with your final finish. It's not perfect, but man, doing it by hand, you did an admirable job. Very nice! I love a good curly maple. The only thing that would have made it look better, and this is purely opinion, would have been to stain the wood in a golden honey. To me, that just makes the curly maple stand out like fire! I know, everyone's guitar is honey Good luck with it!

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@karstenboy

yeah, I actually love natural finishes without the stain. I was thinking of making a bass from raw material and giving it a natural finish without any staining, but I decided to build an angled amp stand instead :P

I'm basically planning to build the stand to cover the back of my open-back amp and redirect the sound coming from back to exit to the front. That way, I get more volume and bass response. Maybe I should give it a golden finish :D

[karstenboy]

@DUY1337GUITAR That would be very cool! I did a drum set in the winter, the interiors of the white marine pearl kit on my page. It is a curly maple with a deep golden lacquer and looks amazing. Since the shells are old Japanese copies of American Slingerlands, they look right, but the sound was not all it could be in thin 3 plies of mahogany. Next month I am going to be doing a complete exterior job on another MIJ kit from the same era, early 60s. I may post some of the restoration here as I go.

[karstenboy]

@DUY1337GUITAR Since they are already stripped, I will be using an as yet undetermined veneer. These old Japanese drum shells, in the early 3 ply era, pre 67, are basically 3 plies of veneer, very thin and deep tone and resonant like you have never heard. I will be using something like a Sappele, Pomelle...not sure what wood, but a med reddish kind of golden brown...if that makes sense. Watch for it to come up in a month or so.

[vegetariankookiexd]

@DUY1337GUITAR can you pleeease tell me what kind of polish you used. im painting my guitar soon and i would love that mirror look

[Chefy620]

after the 400, did you damp it wet, then went to the next sandpaper all the way through, and how many coats of clear did you apply?

[dogman4227]

where did you buy the microfiber coth? can't really find any here in Canada.

[harkatmulds9]

@dogman4227 some canadian tires have it in the auto section.

[nickmatthew]

Very sweet stuff... I've been following your videos to refinish my own guitar... For the sandthroughs of the black.... Could you have sprayed the black nitro into the cap and painted over the sandthroughs instead?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@nickmatthew

I didnt really cared enough to actually recolor them because the black lacquer would build up and look weird. I honestly totally forgot the sandthroughs were even there.

[DrShankenstein]

hell of a job man !!

[pierrelebatteur]

all sandpaper is wet ?

[thatdudeonutube]

yo man, im considering this sort of gloss finish on my 1st home build but im a bit off put with how difficult it seems. how difficult is it to get a finish that glossy and is that your 1st time finishing?

[vzsozs]

this was a very usefull video of polishing a guitar by hand and at home!!!!!!!!!!! absolutely great! thank you very much!

[Metallicaforever95]

whats th ename of this song

[DUY1337GUITAR]

@Metallicaforever95

look in descriptions, the band is unsigned

[5150sean]

dude!... Think you probably should've used a grain filler, then a sealer, then basecoats of poly,scuff sand it with 500 grit, then top coat with poly mainly because it's a tougher finish than lacquer and it's more appropriate solid body guitars such as this. You should invest in a buffing arbor, it totally save you money and time with sanding and rubbing out a shiny finish. But if ya do continue to rub out finishes, look into using pumice and rotten stone then micro polish, it works really well

[DUY1337GUITAR]

I did use grainfiller and sealer. I know the differences between lacquer and poly, and I like nitrocellulose lacquer more. I dont want to buy a buffing arbor, it's not like i'm going to be doing a lot of this, so I rather do it all by hand.

[dragonzith]

what did you use to polish the guitar? I have 3M  rubbing compund

[DUY1337GUITAR]

Since I used 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper, I didn't need to use rubbing compound, although the compound is more convenient. I used a few applications of 3M swirl remover for the final gloss.

[blackstars26]

whats the difernce between lacquer clear paint and sealer and when do you use them?

[SmellsonElson]

this has helped me sooooo much im repainting my old Dean ZX and this is the first set of vids that fully explains how to get the perfect finish ...absolout legend 5*

[IlBoLt]

What is the white stuff you put on before you sand? Is that the swirl remover?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

no, thats the dust and water mixed together when I sanded

[IlBoLt]

oh ok thanks. I am currently working on a my first guitar build (mahogany neck-thru similar to a jackson death angel) and am new to things like this. great guitar by the way!

[luidodds]

this is absolutely amazing thank you soooo much

please could you tell me where you bought the polish from?? and if there is anything better? :D

[DUY1337GUITAR]

The polish is swirl remover bought from reranch com which is a guitar finishing store online. You can find it at an auto store because this is basically for cars, you can also find the other polishing compounds that comes before it to get the best shine.

[blackstars26]

@DUY1337GUITAR whats the difernce between lacquer clear paint and sealer and when do you use them?

[porousorifice]

I learnd the hard way it doesnt pay to skip to a higher grit to save time! It takes longer and more sand paper ;( .

looks sooooo tasty!

peace

[DUY1337GUITAR]

hey man, long time no talk. Do you know where to get conductive paint for a good price? Stewmac sells $30 a pint, that is a lot. I want conductive paint because it would look nicer in the single coil pickup route.

[porousorifice]

@DUY1337GUITAR sent you a link hope it helps in your endevor!

peace

[blackstars26]

@DUY1337GUITAR whats the difernce between lacquer clear paint and sealer and when do you use them?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

remember that lacquer is not paint

sealer is basically the same as the clear coat, but it has larger particles which makes it build up faster and sand off easier in order to get a leveled surface. Clear coat is much more fine and not brittle like the sealer. Since the particles are smaller, it can be wet sanded with very fine grits and polished to a better looking finish.

[blackstars26]

@DUY1337GUITAR i put a clear coat on my guitar project it didnt do a thing other tan turn my white paint yellow.whats happend there?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

I got no idea because I don't know what you're using exactly.

[blackstars26]

@DUY1337GUITAR okay i used "plasti-kote white matt supper projekt paint" and "white plasti-kote matt supper project paint"then i used plasti kote polyurnethane satin varnish.not sure if they are enamel or lacquer thanks

[DUY1337GUITAR]

most polyurethane are yellow

[blakmagik4]

@blackstars26 just noticed this. plasti kote polyurethane satin varnish says it's only for use on bare wood on the website. maybe that's why. i'm not an expert by any means though. Maybe you should have used a like sanding sealer, primer, white laquer paint and then a lacquer compatible clear coat paint.

[dareheaven2]

when are you uploading new videos for finished guitar

i well want this

lol

did you route the guitar cativies aswell?

or someone else?

[jian2069]

duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu­uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu­uuuude

that's sooooooooooooo seeeeeeexxxxxxyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy­yyyyyyyyyy

looks way better than my rgr421exfm, I want to refinish my old yamaha with a stained veneer but maybe in a more unique color like orange or something, i'll never get it to look that good though

maybe i can just follow your videos as a guide :p

hey if you like metallica check out my new video cover of orion, shows my guitar :p

[DUY1337GUITAR]

lol a pink and blueburst would look interesting... cotton candy.... yum

[jKazej]

Looks pretty sweet already.

I'd say worth the effort(and cash).

[tennisnewbie121]

you shouldnt use a sharpie to cover those parts you should just get a small paint brush and black nail polish and just cover that little part just not putting that much on it and let it dry

[DUY1337GUITAR]

I rather use a sharpie to temporarily cover it than use nail polish which can ruin the finish and leave a mass that can actually chip off.

[tennisnewbie121]

oh never mind i thought you just going to leave there. :D hope to see most of these

[DUY1337GUITAR]

actually I don't really care about the sand-throughs anymore. I mean if you think about it, it's not the worst thing that can happen. Like say, sanding all the way into the wood on the face and accidentally dropping the body while sanding :P

[camonmeplz]

These videos are making me want to try making my own guitar myself D:

What is the overall cost?

[DUY1337GUITAR]

A LOT

you can buy one of those SAGA guitar kits because they have all the parts you need except the finishing supplies. Just go on eBay and search "saga LP guitar kit" or something.

[sasdori01]

nice cant wait

[sasdori01]

cant wait to hear u play it

[DUY1337GUITAR]

just two more months hopefully

[col33145]

awesome axe dude nice work

[DUY1337GUITAR]

dude, I uploaded just now, how'd get here so fast lol

[SufferedZero]

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