Buffing out scratches

[dNA]

I just picked up an Epiphone Les Paul DC pretty cheap on craigslist. It had lollar pickups and was selling for barely more than what it'd cost me to get that set of pickups new. So I thought I would buy it, pull the pickups and replace them with something cheaper, clean the thing up, and turn it back around on CL to minimize the actual cost.

The thing's got a decent amount of wear. I don't intend to do anything about chips that came out of the finish, but I was wondering if it's a simple enough thing to buff out some of the shallower scratches by hand. I don't have a power buffer and I'm not looking to buy a tool for the job at this point.

any suggestions or is it not worth the effort? I just kinda want to make the thing look as sparkly and nice as i can considering its condition and age

 

[Tonar8352]

Try the Virtuoso Cleaner with a microfiber rag.
http://www.virtuosopolish.com/page14.php

 

[dNA]

thanks tonar!

 

[Ty]

I know you said you didn't want to purchase a tool and I can't blame you. However have you considered Harbor freight for a cheap car buffer? I have used these time to time on some stubborn black bodies that I couldn't get perfect with our industrial buffers. I also used these on my high end boutique builders that were super critical back in my Roxy guitar days! For the DIYs who havnt used one build yourself a simple fixture to brace the guitar on to keep it from spinning and help with your sanity.

Have fun with your project and take care,
Ty

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I used a hand held car buffer on my Ibanez RG7620 some years back when I re-finished it.  There's a thread on here somewhere about it.

I took a piece of 1x4 stock, cut out the end to fit the neck pocket, screwed the body to it using its 4 bolts, stuck it in the vice, then used a handheld car buffer and some Mirror Glaze.

The buff came out great.  I can't say the same for the orange peel underneath the clearcoat though.

For now on, no painting for me.  I'll leave that to Ty in the Paintbooth.