RO Sander for finishing body?

[Daniel P]

Are any/many of you using a random orbital sander for finish sanding your guitar bodies?
With or without vacuum?

OR am I better off hand sanding with the grain for my final finish sanding of the top and back?

[ken cierp]

Yes I do -- biggest mistake (IMO) in finishing is not putting on enough chemical, of course caused by another hobby builder myth. Yes its a good idea not to put on so much coating as to inhibit the responsiveness of the instrument (that would be goo gobs!) but you need enough to be able to level and polish.

There is no need to worry about sanding the coatings with the grain -- assuming you have enough coating so that you are no longer sanding "wood." (see above)

[Daniel P]

Ken are you using a random orbital only on the finish or also on the bare wood before applying finish?

[ken cierp]

Of course finish sanding of the different area does not lend itself to use of an RO in all cases -- but I think what you are getting at is the concern for visible scratches. A high quality RO with 320 grit paper will not leave discernible marks.

Note that you still move the sander with the grain, just as hand sanding bare wood.

[Daniel P]

Ken - yes, thats exactly what I was getting at. Thank you.

I'll still be using a flexible backing for the sides/waist.

[Daniel P]

duplicate post

[Tim Benware]

Ken - yes, thats exactly what I was getting at. Thank you.

I'll still be using a flexible backing for the sides/waist.

Deja Vu at 12:46:)

I use a Porter Cable 330 (bought used) finishing sander, incredible finisher. Mine is an older Made in USA model that are "supposedly" of better quality than the newer ones.