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Hi all,
I decided to refinish my Soloist SL3 due to the previous owners neglect. Here's a brief rundown of what I've done so far, followed by some questions I'm hoping someone might be able to help out with.
First I used 400 - 600 grit sandpaper to remove some of the clear poly, but I didn't go too deep just enough to remove some of the poly and in the areas where the poly was damaged, I did my best to sand those smooth.. which went well.
Then I cleaned the surface and prepped it using mineral spirits followed by a tack cloth to remove the filth prior to applying a primer. This step was followed by applying three coats of black primer to the entire surface of the guitar, (save the fretboard of course). Once this was set up, I then sanded again to smooth out the surface and where necessary reapplied more primer and repeated until all was smooth. At this point I was actually tempted to leave it because it looked pretty cool in flat black and was smooth as hell so would have been good to play... But having had experience with flats I decided to press on. Once this stage was done, I again wiped down with spirits and the tack rag. I then began applying an entire can worth of color coat in probably 6 or 7 light coats over the course of three days. Between coats I wet sanded lightly as I didn't want to damage the color coat. Once the first can was done, I realized I needed another so began applying coats with a second can focusing on the back this time.
At this point the guitar needs t have some overspray haze removed and a couple marks wet sanded and color reapplied. Then it's wait for the Jackson waterslide decals to arrive so I can replace the headstock logo that got covered over. Then finally will come the clear polyurethane. At this point an advice would be appreciated. I have both wipe on poly as well as spray poly. I need advice on how to keep the color change and metal flake properties of the paint while getting this finish to a glass/ calm water like shine.
Thanks.
EDIT: Here's some photos:
I decided to refinish my Soloist SL3 due to the previous owners neglect. Here's a brief rundown of what I've done so far, followed by some questions I'm hoping someone might be able to help out with.
First I used 400 - 600 grit sandpaper to remove some of the clear poly, but I didn't go too deep just enough to remove some of the poly and in the areas where the poly was damaged, I did my best to sand those smooth.. which went well.
Then I cleaned the surface and prepped it using mineral spirits followed by a tack cloth to remove the filth prior to applying a primer. This step was followed by applying three coats of black primer to the entire surface of the guitar, (save the fretboard of course). Once this was set up, I then sanded again to smooth out the surface and where necessary reapplied more primer and repeated until all was smooth. At this point I was actually tempted to leave it because it looked pretty cool in flat black and was smooth as hell so would have been good to play... But having had experience with flats I decided to press on. Once this stage was done, I again wiped down with spirits and the tack rag. I then began applying an entire can worth of color coat in probably 6 or 7 light coats over the course of three days. Between coats I wet sanded lightly as I didn't want to damage the color coat. Once the first can was done, I realized I needed another so began applying coats with a second can focusing on the back this time.
At this point the guitar needs t have some overspray haze removed and a couple marks wet sanded and color reapplied. Then it's wait for the Jackson waterslide decals to arrive so I can replace the headstock logo that got covered over. Then finally will come the clear polyurethane. At this point an advice would be appreciated. I have both wipe on poly as well as spray poly. I need advice on how to keep the color change and metal flake properties of the paint while getting this finish to a glass/ calm water like shine.
Thanks.
EDIT: Here's some photos:
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