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I have finished the final spray coats on my acoustic guitar (Cardinal Nitro Lacquer) and am waiting for the three week period before buffing.

I am wondering if there are other methods to buffing that are as successful as using an actual buffing wheel? My concern is the cost of getting the buffing wheel setup: $130 for the buffing assembly from LMI, $120 for a motor from harbor freight, then a bit more $$ for several wheels and compound. I am guessing the whole package would cost around $350 and I would need to assemble everything onto a board.

I plan to wet sand with 800-2000 grit paper then will buff following the wet sand. Other ideas I have are to get some sort of pneumatic or electric orbital tool from somewhere like harbor freight and use small buffing pads/wheels with various buffing compounds. I am also considering the micro mesh system from LMI, their entire micro mesh kit is only around $50.

I guess the short questions is... Can I get a good quality high gloss finish without buying the whole buffing wheel setup, or should I just save some time (and money in the long run) and bite the bullet and buy the whole setup?

Thanks!!

I used to do it the old way.... lightly sand with 320 until flat, and then buff with Meguire's red and white buffing compound (I used felt pads and 100% cotton cloth), then a final buff with a glazing compound. Gorgeous, but it took all of 8 hours. You'll be tired when you're done.

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

I've been using the Finesse pads chucked in a hand-held drill.
Works well, and faster than rubbing it by hand.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

If you value your time and shoulder joint health, go for the buffer. Not to say you can't get a good gloss by hand, but I couldn't get as good a one as I do with a buffer. YMMV.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I had great results using a 3'' buffing pad on a drill. I got those at Princess Auto for about 30$. The expensive part was buying the 3M compounds. I use two. First is the ''Rubbing Compound'', after that is ''Perfect-it III finishing glaze''. You'll take a hit buying the compound, but you'll have it for years and years to come.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

A MicroMesh kit will get you there, followed by some hand buffing compounds. Check out LMI's page on MicroMesh and watch Robbie O'Brien's video near the bottom of the page.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

When I was still building I tried other methods but having a decent buffer was and remains IME the best way to go for both results and how difficult it was to get there.

There were two "milestones" with my own building that both cost some bucks but I never looked back once I saw the results. The first was a buffer and the second was a proper thickness sander.

If you have a 5 or 6 inch random orbital sander you can buy buffing bonnets for it and take some of the hand work out of it. Sand to the point you usually do then buff with the sander. As with a stationary buffer, stay off the edges. I finish up the edges by hand.

I've done it both ways and a floor model buffer is the way to go. Finish is just a tad on the soft side,(Mohawk Piano Lacquer) I'll go over it again next weekend Thanks to Brian Howard for the advice about compounds and buffing wheels

Clinchriver.....since you posted a pic of your dovetail neck joint, I am obligated to ask which jig, if any, did you utilize for your DT body and neck joint? I'm looking at several and they are quitr far apart in pricing.

Didn't mean to hijack.

Very nice BTW.

curtis

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

That all sounds great, thanks everyone for the advice!

alar1090 where are you located. I might just be selling my buffer set up. You can search for buffer and my name to find pictures and details of my set up.

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