My finish not up to expectations

[Herman]

About the doom and gloom:

It reminds me of my repair of my 1981 Ovation Balladeer. After playing it for 20 years, it developed a crack below the brigde. Those Ovations had a very thick layer of finish (polyester?), you know. Very thick. So when I decided to refinish it with thin laquer, I could not wait to play it again. Expectations skyhigh.

Guess what! No changes in sound whatsoever. And since I played it for so long, I think I should have heared a difference, if it was there. So gloomsday for me and the Ovation.

[Bob Moore]

Thanks Guys. Lots of good information on here.
One thing that just came to mind is some talk I remember in the past (IIRC) about maybe using wet/dry non-stearate non-loading sandpaper.
I have some USA1 wet/dry in 320 up to 1500. Forgot where I got it, but have been using it for the past 2 guitars. Seems to work well with water and a drop of soap.
Seems good enough, but if someone knows better, I'm all ears.
Appreciate all the help. I'm off tomorrow and will re-sand the guitar and will be happy with whatever results I get. And I'm feeling like it's going to be better than it was even if it isn't perfect.
Bob

[TonyinNYC]

One thing that has made a difference for me in terms of the paper getting those little nubs, is to soak the sand paper overnight before using it. I never thought it would make a difference, but it does. I also use a razor blade to knock off the nibs from the paper.

Ken mentioned taking your time with the higher grits. I can't stress that enough. 1500 grit wet/ dry is like notebook paper. It barely feels rough. You can't expect it to remove the 1000 grit scratches quickly. Look at the color of the water you use as lube. It takes a whole to turn it white like it will with 600 grit. Know what I mean?

[Bob Moore]

Well, after complaining about how the finish did not come up to par, I decided to do something about it. So, starting yesterday evening, I went back to 600 grit, worked up thru 2000, then micromeshed 4000 and 6000. Today I went to the automotive store and bought a random orbital buffer. Then I put the polishing compounds on and WOW! what a difference that made. Now my face (not that any of you would want to see it necessarily) looks very distinct. Lots of detail. Lights reflected thru nicely as did windows and other things. Very much happier.

Here are 3 pics of the body, and one of the headstock.









I am almost totally happy. By using micro fiber bonnets on the ros, I still end up with scratches that weren't there after I had sanded. But you have to have the light just right to see them. I know it's not perfect, but 99% of the time no one will see them.
If you've got advice on how to clear these things up, I'll take it. But I'm not going to worry about it.

I'll try and put things together this weekend and string it up.
Thanks for looking,
Bob

[Dave Bagwill]

Thanks for showing, Bob, it looks very good to me. Congrats.

[Herman]

Nice to see thing turn for the good. Well done Bob. Now 1% can be seen. After 3 months of playing no one will ever know.
Herman

[TonyinNYC]

Bob, I got your email but I have not had a chance to reply. Since you posted similar info here, I willtell you that I have no idea how to get rid of those scratches. It might be the microfiber cloth.
I was reading about polishing and buffing a while back and the info I read ran contrary to what I thought I knew. I read that a cotton bonnet for the buffer is more aggressive than a polyester bonnet or foam pad. But you might be experiencing the opposite. It might be worth it to get two cotton bonnets and use one for the compound and one for the polish. Other than that, I really don't know why you are getting those scratches. Plus, you said they were circular scratches but you sanded in a straight line, so it must be from the bonnet. Hopefully someone with more buffing experience will be able to help.
For what it's worth, the box looks fantastic! Is that headstock the koa I sent you? It looks great. And the curly koa binding? I love it. I think you have a winner.