Official Luthiers Forum!

I think I attempted to buff this piece of Coco too soon, or maybe the wheel was too cold?

These are not pores that you see, it's like the individual fibers of the wheel have left tracks.

It's not a guitar, and not my usual lacquer. It's Deft aerosol if that makes a difference.

This is hard to photograph but hopefully you get the idea.

Thoughts?

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I used the Deft once. Didn't like it... Too soft...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I successfully used many gallons of Deft finish on musical instruments and furniture. Never on Coco, the only problem I had over the years was with the finish remaining soft to gooey when applied before the base coats thoroughly dried. After the first experience I discontinued using oil stains, seemed some colors took take forever to dry. Anyway, your finish does look too soft --- my wild as* guess is that the oil/resin in the Coco is reacting with the Deft.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Some more info, FWIW:

I wet sanded with micro mesh to 2400 (on their scale) which created a nice satin look then took it to the buffing wheel with Menzerna pre-polish from StewMac which resulted in what you see.

I think it's too soft (or not ready).

Thanks for the replies.

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I've buffed coco with both nitro and KTM9 but i have never seen anything like what you have. Must be the finish, like you said, probably to soft.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Deft aerosol is way to soft to buff out IMO.

But being Coco.....what did you use for a sealer/barrier coat? The oils in Cocobolo really mess with the drying of finish.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I never used a spindle buffer but a RO auto buffer worked fine, that said Deft is not Seagraves/McFaddens. Again, I tend to agree with Brian regarding the Coco oils -- the issue being that the top coat may never harden -- which did happen to me.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Well, this opens up more possibilities.

I pore filled with West Systems 105/207 but did not put a sealer on it, just went to the Deft. I thought leaving a layer of epoxy as opposed to just in the pores would work as a sealer. While level sanding the epoxy, the wet sanding slurry was orange & I could smell Coco in it, but I never went through to wood.

So maybe the Deft is too soft, & it's contaminated with Coco oils...

Luckily this is not a guitar, it's a wood & metal jewelry project for my wife. I was trying to find an easier solution than dragging out my spray equipment to do a 5" x 12" piece of wood.

Thanks for the replies.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Leaving a layer of epoxy on the work should be a great sealer, probably the best you can get on an oily wood.

So the issue becomes does the Deft bond well and dry properly when sprayed on epoxy or does it need a bonding material between the epoxy and top coat?

I don't know anything about Deft but I have discovered that an oil finish doesn't do well over epoxy.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I think you just buffed too early....

As you said - I think with that stuff, the longer it sits around, the better it gets.... and cold weather has not helped you any... Solvent evaporation happens much slower the colder it gets...

I am not sure how long you can wait - but I think I might put it up for another month and then try again..

Thanks

John, Deft is one of the softest lacquers available and it may never get hard enough to buff to a high gloss.