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I'm about to do the final sanding and buffing on my second archtop and I have a question about the final finish thickness. I popped a piece of the finish off of the plastic f-hole masking and measured it with some dial calipers. It came to .005" which seems awfully thin. Does that sound about right? Should I just go ahead spray some more or should I just be real careful with my sanding? Thanks.
Jason

Hi Jason,
If you can keep a uniform .005" thickness on the guitar, that's ideal. Pro finishers have a device that measures film thickness on the instrument and the ones I know shoot for just that measurement.
Craig

Is that final finish thickness or prior to level sanding and buffing?

What kind of finish is it?

If you do a good job spraying, as well as level sanding, and whatever else is needed between coats you'll buff very little off with most finishes.

I want my final film thickness to be .003" to .004", with varnish, catalyzed urethane or Nitrocellouse lacquer. The lacquer will be .006" or so before buffing. Varnish, or urethane will be closer to the final thickness.

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http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

It's Emtech-6000.