Finishing process

[rocket]

Just wondering how many others experience let downs in the finishing process. After you've built the instrument and proceed through the stages of finishing, sanding, grainfill, sealing, laquering, how many times is it that you think you've got it right and after a magnifying closeup inspection you find what you consider a major defect in your prep, This really is the most difficult stage of lutherie, getting the finish perfect is so difficult, maybe more experience will see me through these moments of self dissapointment.
Cheery to all
Rod.

[Bruce McC]

Rod

I think I know where you are coming from. I have just finished my fourth guitar
and as I do not have access to spray gear I have tried shellac, (but not a French polish finish)
and a wipe on polyurethane, both with mixed results. As Kim says in the post on Bulls Eye shellac
........its time and effort ........and practise.
Then when you end up with a finish that you are happy with and you start to string up the guitar
a string (nylon treble ) lets go and puts a ding in the top! Back to the drawing board.

[simso]

Prep work, prep work and more prep work.

The key to success.

Side note we do lacquers most days, even our setup is not good enough, we have breathing hoods extraction fans, hvlp, lvhp guns, vinyl printers for design layouts etc, but its still, Mmmm average IMO. The moment you are happy with your work then worry, if you always think it can be improved, then your on the right path, provided you try to improve it....

[peter.coombe]

Been there done that - and after getting the finish perfect after many hours of work, the new owner returns it some time later with the finish completely wrecked. AAAHHGGG!! Simple carelessness, and they don't know and don't care how many hours and how much elbow grease went into that finish. If they did they did they would be more careful!

[liam_fnq]

Oh, man I'm tearing my hair out at the moment try to get areasonable finish onto a few ukes. Yesterday I used a scrapper to level some epoxy pore fill. The corners tore gouges down into the wood. Man.

[Kim]

Oh, man I'm tearing my hair out at the moment try to get areasonable finish onto a few ukes. Yesterday I used a scrapper to level some epoxy pore fill. The corners tore gouges down into the wood. Man.

Bugga!! Maybe a razor with the corners ground would help Liam.

Hope it goes better for you today mate.

Cheers

Kim

[liam_fnq]

I'm battling on. I rounded the corners off after the incident.

[Nick]

Don't know how many times I've rubbed a finish back to bare wood & started again Rod, mind you that was mostly in my early learning days on solidbodies so they don't count right?
But every cockup adds to the old experience bin

[Allen]

I see we don't have a popcorn icon so I think I'll go and have another.

[Nick]

I see we don't have a popcorn icon so I think I'll go and have another.

[kiwigeo]

Oh, man I'm tearing my hair out at the moment try to get areasonable finish onto a few ukes. Yesterday I used a scrapper to level some epoxy pore fill. The corners tore gouges down into the wood. Man.

Bugga!! Maybe a razor with the corners ground would help Liam.

Hope it goes better for you today mate.

Cheers

Kim

Don't use a razor....use an old credit card or some of those cheap plastic spreaders from Bunnings or Mitre10. Just make sure the credit card gets well cleaned before you put it back in your wallet.

[liam_fnq]

After it had cured.

Scraping as per Allen's tutorial but I hadn't rounded the edges as I usually do.

Finishing is absolutely my bogie in the build process. I had very little woodwork experience when I started this hobby but I had absolutely no experience doing clear finishes. Some days I feel like I've gone backwards. Less time on the net and more time doing is probably the only real remedy.