Fine Finishing

[TroubledTreble]

A friend loaned me something called "micro mesh". I used it to polish a fret. When that was done I decided to see how it work on the back of my unfinished ziricote neck.

Whoa! It made the neck like glass! There were 3 grits, 1500, 1800, 2400.  It did not take much effort and it did not harm the neck at all. This stuff is really great and I'm sure it can be used for finishes as well. It comes in some very, very fine grades.

I did a quick google search and you can get it at hobby shops for little money. $1.50 a piece is average.

-TT-

 

[DiMitriR33]

you can get it from stew mac in a kit. that kit has an nsn and is the same that structures shop in the air force uses to polish scratches from canopies. it goes to 12000 grit, but for a guitar finnish i never see anyone use more than 4000 then go to car polish or carnuba wax.
i found some stuff locally in misawa that looks like a plastic sheet with one dull side and one shinny side. it goes to 15000 grit but i can't imagine what you'd need that for.

 

[-CB-]

.... considering nobody...  and I mean .... NOBODY... at Gibson, Fender, Taylor, Ovation, you name it... uses anything finer than about 800 grit.

... and considering its easy to buff out 600 grit scratches with regular compounding

the question, therefor is

WHY

 

[DiMitriR33]

i never seem to get the scratches out with a liquid polish. maybe i don't have the CB touch. but i admit 15000 is quite exesive as is anything over 2000. i just go to 2000 and then use carnuba wax. it really doesn't take that much effort. for me it's quicker than polish. maybe i'm doing something wrong with the ploish but i find this works for me.

 

[TroubledTreble]

the question, therefor is

WHY

Because you can!

I thought this was great for unfinished wood necks. Made it feel so nice. Maybe it is excessive, but whatever, it's nice to know it exist.

-TT-

 

[roboboss]

I've used the 15000 grit for polishing the ends of fiber optics terminations. I think it's called lapping film. I tried it out on the nut slots and got good results but other than that I don't see much use for it in guitar builds. Just my humble opinion.