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Sorry for asking all these questions... I am simply looking for ways to do luthiery with materials that I can find locally rather than importing and pay high shipping cost.

I know the preferred compound for polishing is either Merzena or liquid compounds designed for automotive applications, however those standard colored compound bars are very inexpensive and while they are designed for metal, there are less aggressive bars out there (like blue) which is designed for coatings. There have been very little info about them however I wonder do they contain silicone?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Without being able to see an ingrediants list, how would be able to tell ??? And what exactly are "standard" polishing compounds ???

IMO ... if you cant tell .. then dont use it.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

The kind that you see in hardware stores that comes in big bars, in standard colors such as red, black, white, green, blue (each color denotes different grit), they're normally used for metal...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai Fu-

Without the ingredients list, you can never be sure, as Tony pointed out.
I think the compounds you are talking about are also referred to as 'Buffing compounds' - waxy sticks with abrasive?

In Canada/USA a lot of automotive chemicals (polishes, cleaners) do contain silicones- these are generally the ones marketed to the household/amateur market. The 'professional-grade' compounds are usually silicone-free and are sometimes labelled 'paint shop safe' or similar. (And they usually say 'silicone free' as well.)

You could always do a test panel- finish it, buff it with the unknown compound, clean it with mineral spirits and then see if you get beading when you apply more finish.


Cheers
John

Ah .. metal compounds .... I use the rouge for frets, but have never tried it on a finish .. probably woudl work, like John, says .. try it.

There must be automotive shops around you .. what do they use ??? And where do they get it.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I have had not much luck finding 3M professional polishing compounds, but they are not appropriate for buffing wheels because it will throw globs of compounds all over the place. I need dry stick buffing compounds. By the way I tried the green compound and it appears that it did not cause fisheye when I brushed some lacquer over a test panel. I should probably use the blue compound though it seems even green may be a bit aggressive.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com