Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey y'all,

I haven't been here in a long time, but here I am with a question for you. I don't have a power buffer. When I do a spot repair on a polyester finish (drop fill or whatever), I find it impossible to bring the area back up to a full gloss that is 100% invisible. No problem with other finishes, but with polyester, there's a very slight but definitely visible dullness after working up through the finest grits (whether using micro-mesh or 3M polishing papers) and then hand polishing with the finest liquid polishing compounds. Have you found a way to get better results than I am, by hand -- a specific polishing paper (I've been wondering about the Kovax/Eagle abrasive sheets available from StewMac, which I haven't tried), a specific liquid polishing compound, or a method that has proven successful where mine is coming up short?

Thanks!
Todd

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

That's a tough one Todd give Joe White a shout he is Mr. Polyester to us and now that Rick Turner RIP is gone I would go to Joe. I don't know how well you know Mario but he would know too. Mario switched to Poly when he became allergic to nitro.

It's our experience that Poly is much harder to buff too so my bet is that it's going to take some buffing and perhaps a good deal of it to get you where you want to go.

What Hesh said Todd. Polyester buffs harder than any finish I have encountered.

Chem cured or UV cured likes to be sanded and polished with orbital sanding. Linear sand scratches are very difficult to remove.

If you have access to a random orbit sander, you can nearly polish a scratch or repair using finer and finer sanding discs alone.

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jw ( o)===:::

Poly is tough to get the micro scratches out of. Lacquer will actually "flow" a bit as you buff, and smooth out the surface. I have tried putting a thin coat of TruOil on the spot, letting it cure at least a day, and then carefully buffing with light pressure to blend the edges. It helps fool the eye a bit.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks for your thoughts, Hesh, Joe, and Chris. Joe, good to know about the orbital sanding for polyester.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/