Spilled Grease and Wax Remover on unfinished body. Problem?

[alexreinhold]

Hi all,

I sanded a brand new unfinished body with 320 grid and then wanted to apply a bit of Grease and Wax Remover concentrate before putting on acrylic primer. I did, however, make one stupid movement and accidentally spilled about 3-4 ounces of the concentrate on the new body :-\ You can believe the shock and self-hatred I felt in that moment.

I wiped it away with a paper towel to the best of my abilities and after about 2 hours, the body seemed completely dry and showed no stains. So I went ahead, sanded again with 320 grid and applied the primer. The lacquer was sticking just fine and there seem to be no problems.

To all the wood experts - is there anything to worry about or take into account? Or does it simply not matter? Just being a bit paranoid here.

Thanks for the help!
Alex

 

[stratamania]

Difficult to say without more information of what it actually was made out of.

If you leave it a while and nothing happens you may be in luck. Worse case if there is a reaction you will have to sand back and start over.

 

[alexreinhold]

On the packaging it says: <5% non-ionic tensides, phosphate, phosphonate; also: fragrance (which smells awesome btw). AFAIK, many use this stuff before applying car laquer - however, in smaller quantities than my accident yesterday :-/

So far, the primer seems to be sticking perfectly and has exactly the same color everywhere (including where I didn't spill). I guess, I can assume I got lucky...

 

[stratamania]

If it was designed by the manufacturer to be used under the primer you are using you probably will be fine. Though that type of product is normally used on cars. On a newly sanded guitar body such a product is not needed.

 

[alexreinhold]

Thanks for the help. Just for general understanding, is it in any way bad for raw wood if liquid is spilled on it and you let it dry afterwards? Any effects on tone?

 

[stratamania]

It would depend on the wood and the type of liquid. If the wood has open pores and it is a liquid that can be absorbed by the wood easily even though the surface may be dry the wood will expand to a degree if it has absorbed any moisture. Wood used for instruments needs to have a low moisture content for stability etc.

Tone is subjective and is an area I tend not to discuss.

 

[alexreinhold]

If the wood has open pores and it is a liquid that can be absorbed by the wood easily even though the surface may be dry the wood will expand to a degree if it has absorbed any moisture.

I have an alder body (i.e. very closed grain). So, if I understand correctly, I shouldn't be worried too much, right?

 

[stratamania]

If the wood has open pores and it is a liquid that can be absorbed by the wood easily even though the surface may be dry the wood will expand to a degree if it has absorbed any moisture.

I have an alder body (i.e. very closed grain). So, if I understand correctly, I shouldn't be worried too much, right?

No you should not worry over this. Give it a couple of days and if all looks okay you probably will be fine.

In the meantime what is your finishing schedule and plan for your build. Better to look at that than worry over something that has happened.

 

[alexreinhold]

OK, that's a relief to hear. It's my first build and I try (!) not to make mistakes. But experience beats any amount of research as you know

Just letting the primer (2 coats) dry for 3 days, will then put on the base color (2-3 coats), wait a week and then put 2 layers (3 coats each) of 2K clear coat, wait 3 days and then do sanding/polishing. All lacquers are acrylic. Pretty much exactly following this guy Brad Angove on Youtube who seems credible. I want to do everything myself (to learn) and hope not to run into the common issues too much (orange peel, runs, etc.). Will definitely post the final work once it's done. Thanks for your help and relieving me off my worries!

 

[stratamania]

I would suggest giving the primer a little more time up to a week just to make sure that all is good before moving on.

Patience when it comes to finishes is the absolute key. In fact patience is a virtue for a reason...

 

[alexreinhold]

Good point. Will do that - thanks for all the help!

 

[Rick]

Tell me about that patience thing ... I have an ancient fridge in my basement, absolutely a rust bucket, but it works ... over the weekend I wanted to defrost it ... and to help pry off the ice I used a chisel ... wouldn't you know it ... it bent some metal and freon started hissing out.  My wife was thrilled, she said Finally a new Fridge!  Yeah, but I gotta pay for it .... live and learn.  It's dead.  I hope another round of stimulus comes.

 

[stratamania]

Good point. Will do that - thanks for all the help!

Sure no problem...

 

[alexreinhold]

@stratamania. Quick update, the wax and grease remover was absolutely no problem but i made a  spraying mistake and had to sand the paint off (it's my first time, still learning... ).

It worked just fine with 100 grid but there are still small stains of primer (see picture). Can i just leave them like that, sand to 300 and restart spraying or do these stains need to be fully removed?

 

[stratamania]

I would just go up the grits to 320 and then spray it again with primer. I assume you are using a sanding block. If so the areas where there is still primer isn't a problem as what you are aiming for is a level surface. If your base coats are not level and well prepared then later coats will not be either.

 

[alexreinhold]

Perfect. Sounds like a plan. Thanks, as always. I owe you.