Seduced by the Wood Fairy...

I'm sure the experienced members will get a knowing chuckle out of this...

I've stained some mahogany guitar necks, given them a coat of shellac followed by a number of coats of hard shellac.

I've started to finish number one with a view to not making the same mistakes on the following two.

Sanded with 320 ,400,600,1200 with paraffin and then used meguair's Mirror Glaze 7 per a guitar book guide and then with Guitar Polish.

I mean I know I'm a newbie but it's like I've liberated something deep within the wood...does this make sense...it's awe inspiring...and so beautifully smooth...

Even though thoroughly captivated I've noticed that in one particular position under strong direct light I can see 'rub' marks. I assume that I should've done a finer rub/s after the 1200 grit. Is this the case?

What would members suggest I use afer the 1200 grit before the polish on the next jobs? 0000 steel wool, rottenstone?

I'm loathe to go back & try to eliminate the marks on neck #1 since I may cause more harm than good and I do NOT want (another) rub through.

I'm wondering how good it gets!! LOL!

All help greatly appreciated.

RobSm

Don't jump from 600 to 1200 grit use 800 in between you may find it is as simple as that. You could also use 1500 and 2000 grit if you like. Best of all to remove rub marks in the surface of the finish, use EEE-Ultra Shine.

Why are you putting another finish over the hard shellac? Or am I reading the post wrong? If you are it could cause a problem down the track. Mixing finishes isn't a good thing as they can move at different rates and under different conditions which could cause crazing. Use one finish and if needed maybe some wax or oil as a last thing but even that probably shouldn't be necessary.

Cheers - Neil :)

Take good notice of Neil's advice. He is the guru.

(also he owns this site so it pays to stay on his good side) :)

To me it sounds like there are two possibilities as to why you got that rub marked area:

1. At one stage you didn't remove all of the previous marks at that particular place.

2. Jumping from 600 to 1200 made it very hard to get rid of all the scratches from 600 with the 1200 (same problem as above really).

Note, if you want, you can also use 1000 grit in there too if you want...

Now, if you want to fix the problem and it did come from the 600 grit scratches (which I find likely) you don't need to start from the beginning, just start from 800 grit paper. This will only take off very little wood and so it is reasonably hard to wreck anything, but I understand your reluctance to muck up something that is ALMOST perfect...

Finally, if you do resand it, as the last step try EEE cream, it is unbelievable. However, do note that it is not a finish and should be rubbed off afterwards before applying a proper finish.

Cam

Using 320 to start with was probably your down fall. That is way too coarse a grit to rub finishing coats.
If you have put the shellac on properly it should be smooth enough to start with 600 or 800 you may have initially rubbed through the shellac enough to hit the stain and you have bald spots. especially if these marks are on sharp edges.

Thanks for your very helpful repsponse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ubeaut

Why are you putting another finish over the hard shellac?

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I wasn't intending to do that. As far as I know the Meguairs Mirror shine was a very fine cut & polish and the guitar polish is just polish. I didn't think of them as a new 'finish' over the hard shellac.

Thanks again for your help.

RobSm

But I think he means that shellac is a finish...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fanlee

Even though thoroughly captivated I've noticed that in one particular position under strong direct light I can see 'rub' marks. I assume that I should've done a finer rub/s after the 1200 grit. Is this the case?

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If you can see rub marks, it means you wernt thorugh(sp) enough going down the grit sizes.
You need to sand out the previous grit size scratches before going onto the next size grit.

If you dont remove the previous grit scratches they will stay there for ever.

I used to polish rocks, and if you didnt do it right the scratches come out on the polish up. :mad:

Al :)

Yep. Silver is great for that too... That is teaching you to sanding VERY carefully...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CameronPotter

Yep. Silver is great for that too... That is teaching you to sanding VERY carefully...

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Yep, Ive done some silver work too, I usualy end up soldering everthing to everthing else.

Al :p

Except the stones... Which you craze in the process...:p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozwinner

I used to polish rocks, and if you didnt do it right the scratches come out on the polish up. :mad:

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Et tu, Brute?

Lapidary teaches sooo many lessons applicable to woodwork. Just to expand on this, the fine scratches are actually enlarged when polishing stones! I'm glad this doesn't apply with most woodwork finishes, although I suspect 'tis still true of EEE and other cutting compounds. :o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CameronPotter

But I think he means that shellac is a finish...

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On the U Beaut website the info on hard shellac recommends to use shellac on the raw timber and all subsequent coats to be hard shellac.

"
APPLICATION.
Hard Shellac is applied in the same manner as any normal shellac. The drying time is the same as regular shellac. ie: almost instantly.
It is suggested that the first coat onto raw timber be a coat of regular unhardened shellac, and that all subsequent coats be done in Hard Shellac."

That's what I was trying to follow.

RobSm

Btalk about the shellac, then you talk about sanding then finishing with guitar polish.

I think that is where the confusion is...

Cam

...yes I can see that..

So what do you do with a rubbed out finish to maintain it?..

Is subsequent polishing not a good idea or should I use something else like the waxes??

TIA

RobSm

Quote:

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So what do you do with a rubbed out finish to maintain it?..

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Do nothing, just leave it alone. By putting waxes etc over the top are only making extra work for yourself and will need to continue waxing etc as upkeep. Do nothing and it should stay brilliant with no extra help.

Cheers - Neil :)