Lint from tack cloth? [also update]

[dratini357]

I got the "Dura-Gold - Pure Gold Superior Tack Cloths" from amazon, hoping to wipe down grease and dust using naphtha before applying sanding sealer. At first, it was super smooth and worked great. However, I noticed a few things.

- The cloth is sticky to the touch, and seems this substance is transferring to the guitar. Guitar was also sticky to the touch after a day of applying naphtha.
- The yellow color seems to come off with naphtha. My guitar darkened as well, which I happen to be okay with, but I can also see this can be an issue for other applications.
- As the cloth whitened, it seems to be giving out lots of lint. Going forward, I'm thinking to use microfiber towel instead. Would this be okay for the finish?

[update!]

As a test, I applied color coat directly on scrap wood and immediately noticed the layer is so thin that it only works like stain, so I decided to sand down further and go with sanding sealer.

Pretty happy this being my first re-fin project. The dings, I just left it because I'm going to relic anyway.

 

[Rick]

I don't know ... tack cloth to remove grease? 
Sounds like the naphtha is causing the tack clothe sticky stuff to transfer to the wood.

 

[DuckBaloo]

Tack cloth is used gently to remove dust. You don’t rub it against the wood, you just dab it and it on the wood and let any dust or other particles stick to it.

And you do not use tackcloth at the same time as naptha. Naptha is a solvent that will breakdown the wax in tackcloth. Once you’ve degreased the body before finishing, you shouldn’t have to use naptha again because you shouldn’t be touching the body with your hands between coats unless you have to fix a major run or something. Add the naptha to an old t-short or lint-free cloth, wipe the body down, let it evaporate. Then, if needed, dab with tack cloth to get any lint up.

Three passes per cost, a maximum of three coats a day. You can tack cloth at the beginning of the next day, but it shouldn’t need it.

 

[dratini357]

Thanks... this is really good to know.

Thinking of stripping down again and starting over...

 

[dratini357]

Was totally daunted, but also didn't want to live in fear that the finish might not stay - this is after all my favorite guitar out of the ones I own. So ended up sanding the whole thing down, wiping all the tack off, and re-applying the sealer again.

And I'm happy I did it! No more funky glares (probably from the tacky substance) or tacky surface.