Final steps for Minwax wipe on poly?

[Steve_Karl]

Hi there,

For some reason, either that I did nothing in the past or have forgotten what I did, I don't remember how to go from the final coat of Minwax Satin wipe on poly to the final "now it's playable" finish.
My last build from 2016 still looks great. It cleans up with a wipe from a damp rag. I love it.

I'm real close to the final coat with the restoration project of my first 1983 Warmoth mahogany strat body.
9 coats on there now and going for 12. Been waiting 8 to 24 hours between coats, depending on my schedule.
I've been scuffing it with a grey scotchbrite (1000 grit) between coats, making it look soft and frosty and evening out the difference between dull and shiny.

I'm planning on waiting a week (might be unnecessarily too long???) after the final coat and then ...
My *guess* is that I should do the same 1000 grit scuff on the final coat with the grey scotchbrite, but then go to the white scotchbrite which I believe is closer to 1200 grit.

And then finally a rub with Formby's Lemon Oil and then clean up with a damp towel.

I don't need a hi gloss. I just want it to be an even looking satin.

What do you think?
Thanks!

 

[Cagey]

I'm not familiar with that product, but your plan sounds good other than the waiting time. Even poly takes a while to harden to the point where you can do final finish work, so 1 week isn't too long, it's probably too short. For example, Warmoth will fab you up a body in a week, but if you want a finish on it, sit back and get comfy. It'll be around 8 weeks. Gotta wait for that stuff to cure up properly.

 

[Steve_Karl]

OK.
I'm sure I've never waited more than a week but I'll do 2 weeks on this one.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I did a polyurethane finish on my Ibanez RG7620 about 11 years ago, and I let it sit a good two months before I finished with 1500 grit & then buffed out.

 

[Cagey]

A lotta folks don't realize there's a difference between "dry" and "hard" when it comes to finishes. Takes quite a while to get to the latter point, and trying to finish sand/buff/polish before then can be disappointing.

 

[Steve_Karl]

OK then
Longer wait

 

[Steve_Karl]

I did a polyurethane finish on my Ibanez RG7620 about 11 years ago, and I let it sit a good two months before I finished with 1500 grit & then buffed out.

Thanks Tony

 

[swarfrat]

I let the concrete piers on my sons tree house "cure" for like 3 months, but that was mostly work deadlines, family commitments around the holdiays, short daylight hours, plus a good dose of procrastination.

As fun as finishing is... surely a proper curing period shouldnt be too difficult.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I did a polyurethane finish on my Ibanez RG7620 about 11 years ago, and I let it sit a good two months before I finished with 1500 grit & then buffed out.

Tony,

The mention of your use of "1500 grit" got me thinking of the maple top on my Nylon Strung Strat which never really got properly completed. I got to a certain point when I built it and then I got confused on how to continue so I just gave up and assembled it and forgot about it.
So your comment on the "1500 grit" got me thinking of what to do with it to get it looking better and had a closer look at it yesterday and got out my set of micro-mesh pads and on a guess, and from looking at the surface, picked 3600 and started gently going over the parts I wasn't happy with and the result is really good. Those slightly "off" parts are starting to disappear now.
I just have to un-string it to get to the few remaining areas in the middle.

What was your "then buffed out" materials and process?

Thanks!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Well, my "go to" buffing solution is one of the Macquires Mirror Glaze products.  I've been polishing frets with them for years.
As memory serves, going back 11 years, I purchase an electric hand buffer, made a neck jig mount to hold the body as held in a vice, then buffed it out with that.
There's a thread of in on here somewhere.  If I can find it, I'll post it.

Progress thread: http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=107.msg384#msg384

Finished thread: http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=288.msg1721#msg1721

 

[Steve_Karl]

Thanks for the details.

I love Meguiar's products for my car but don't want to be putting anything containing silicone onto my wood projects.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Thanks for the details.

I love Meguiar's products for my car but don't want to be putting anything containing silicone onto my wood projects.

If the wood is sealed up & protected, it's fine.  I most definitely would not apply directly to wood.

On the threads posted, it was sealed, primed, painted, cleared, before Meguiar's even touched it.

It works wonderfully on nickel frets, buffing by hand with 2000, 4000, then final-ing out at 8000 grit.  Those are pretty much polishing cloths I get locally at a Rockler dealer.