[jeyjey]

The lacquer on my rear window trim was smoky-grey, cracking and flaking. Some of it flaked off easily enough; I used an x-acto blade held 90-degrees to the surface to scrape off the rest.

Sanding left the wood lighter than the dash and doorcaps. I stained it with 2 applications of J H Ratcliffe's mahogany oil scumble (paint on, wipe off with cloth).

I had a bit of an issue finding nitrocellulose lacquer in Ireland. I ended up mail-ordering it from www.behlen.co.uk. (Someone somewhere said the factory used polyester lacquer, but I wanted something more tried and true for amateur application.)

Anyway, I've just put down 6 coats, with an hour between each coat. Tomorrow I'll do the first wet-sanding. I found some good videos online (google "wet sanding guitar lacquer"), so I think I'm ready to give it a go.

Jeff.

 

[B'smooth]

Sounds like a neat project you got there. Just a bit of wet sanding advise. Put a little dish washing soap in your water and start with a 1000 grit sand paper and work your way up letting 2000 grit be your final sand before buffing. Works for me. Good luck with the project Jeff. Michael

 

[jeyjey]

Michael,

Yeah, I need to get some 2000; I think the finest I have is 1500.

I've got some fairly marked unevenness over the grain structure, though, so I started with 400. I think I need at least one more go at 400, and then I'll work my way up through 600, 1000, 1500 and 2000.

I've also got a buffing wheel with white rouge and plastic compound. Will either of those do for the final buff, or do I need to get something like a Meguiar's automotive polish?

Jeff.

 

[B'smooth]

Hello Jeff,
What you have going is great. Buy the time you finish with the 2000 grit sand paper you should only need a very fine rubbing compound and apply the Meguiar's automotive polish or something similar for the final finish. What I do is hand buff first, you get more control over the situation and avoid buffer burns. Go easy with the compound and add a little water to it. You should be fine.
Here is a link to final product of mine: http://bsmooth.com/custom_basses_126.html
Michael

 

[jeyjey]

Sweet base! (A touch of Rolls-Royce influence in the colours and cross-banding?)

Nice job on positioning the two burl knots. They work well with the overall shape.

Cheers,
Jeff.

(Oh, and thanks for your help. It's much appreciated.)

 

[B'smooth]

Thanks for the comments and very welcome to the help. Would love to see your finished product. Michael

 

[jeyjey]

Some of the pores in the grain were too deep and after 16 coats were still not filling in. I resorted to spraying some lacquer into the cap and dabbing it on the deeper pores with a small paintbrush.

This left what appeared to be air bubbles or perhaps "peaks" where the paintbrush pulled away. In any case, I let that lacquer stiffen for about 5 minutes and then sprayed a light coat over it which evened out the bubbles/peaks/whatever. (It's possible they would have evened out on their own, but I didn't chance it.)

Wet-sanding that down (with 400 grit) revealed that it was more successful than spraying 5 or 6 coats, but that it didn't completely do the trick. So I've just done a second paintbrush dabbing / light spray overcoat pass, and I'm hoping that'll do it.

Jeff.

 

[jeyjey]

The "deep pore" issue is on the lower trim piece, which I guess takes more sun damage.

I've had a different problem on the upper piece: I've sanded through the finish 3 times now! It's always on an edge, and I've been able to move on by putting a bit of stain on a Q-tip and rubbing it over the sand-through spot, and then wiping it with a rag after about 1 minute. It does slow things down a bit, though, as the stain needs 8 hours before over-coating (as opposed to 30 minutes between lacquer coats).

Jeff.

 

[B'smooth]

Hello Jeff, for the pores in the grain, use a clear coat sealer and primer first and go lightly with the sanding. After preparation. You will need about six coats of clear finish, be patient with drying time and be careful with the sand through. Lightly on the edges and corners. Fine grit paper.
Michael

 

[jeyjey]

Finally got my rear window trim all sanded, rubbed and polished. Here's a couple of pictures.

They look a bit glossier to the naked eye than they do to the camera.

Jeff.

 

[B'smooth]

This project turned out nice Jeff. Looking good with great results.
Michael