Monday 8 September 2014

Scratch Pine Toronado: Wet Sanding and Polishing

Well, after putting the final touches on my Johnny Ramone Mosrite build (and loving the results!), it was time for me to get back to my scratch build - the good old pine Toronado. Now, there have been a few little issues with this build ever since I began on the clear coats - suffice to say that  

--- Tru-Oil is not at all a good idea under acrylic clear coats ---

The main problem is that the acrylic clear coats, whilst not reacting with the Tru-Oil in any way shape or form, simply do not bond to it or find any purchase in the wood's surface. The result is that the slightest bump is enough to make the acrylic lacquer bubble - to just lift straight off the surface. Talk about a pisser! Due to this little setback, in previous weeks I've been quite reticent to get back to this build. However, with the Mosrite put to bed I have vowed to finish it, no matter what the final state. It is my first ever scratch build after all and I'm keen to see it completed!

And so, with the acrylic clear coats applied and well and truly cured, I wet sanded the entrie body with first 1500 and ten 2000 grit sand paper before applying Meguiars Ultimate Compound. The resulting shine was well worth the sore shoulders.


The final step was the application of Meguirs Scratch 2.0X to improve the shine even further.


All in all the body is looking good. There are a couple of small places where I've dinged the surface and caused a bubble in the lacquer, but overall I'm pretty happy with the results. I dont know how I will go when it comes time to put the harware on (I'm especially worried about the string ferrules creating bubbles in the lacquer at their edges) but I guess I'll have to just suck it and see. Either way this project is going to get completed, no matter what!

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