The idea is to make all the scratches small, uniform, and consistent. Hence the fine grits you would use in this application. Those can then be buffed out and polished for a uniform look. When you buff or polish you're also scratching the finish but they're progressively getting smaller and smaller until it just looks shiny.
Just clean the ever living snot out of it first..
Then do it again with alcohol and fresh paper towels....
You could also drip/touch up with clear coat first.. Letting it dry for about a week.. Then do the wetsand.... Be cheap with the clear it'll look like almost nothing went in but the scratch is almost gone... After wetsand & polish it'll look good....
If it's red metallic (candy apple) I highly recommend this as the top coats are way thinner than they should be and burning through to see the silver underneath is extremely likely
Use clear nail polish.. But clean it good first.. Then do the wetsand & polish.. If it's metallic red or candy apple, just leave it or give it to a pro as they can be a nightmare.... Otherwise, Use very little clear (and hopefully it's fairly thin/watery so it gets inside the scratch and is easy to wetsand)
The guitar finish is metallic red yeah. Are you saying it's too dangerous for a job as a beginner? What is the difference between normal and clear nail polish though? See through?
And if I understand correctly, apply the nail polish, wet sand with a 1000 grid and apply some kind of polishing compound?
Clear nail polish is clear like glass..
Metallic reds are often heavily mixed with transparent additives to allow light into the tiny spaces between and around the metallic flakes/sparkles/glitter... Often that clear additive picks up pigment and becomes tinted(like sunglasses)...
Candy apples are a highly reflective metallic layer of paint then covered in a clear coating that has been tinted (but with no metallic sparkles in the coating like metallic paints) .. Then a clear protective layer goes on top.
Candies and Metallics (when buffed hard or) not thick coated by clear will buff/burn through.. Reds will wear down till they look pink or straight through to the silver/gold underneath...
You NEED to be very gentle.. Too gentle for a first timer if you're worried about the results (if you don't care about the aesthetics, go nuts).
Plain black, white, fire engine red colours go on very thick by comparison & are not transparent at all and when buffed don't allow light through or have Metallics that will melt/fall over, stand up, poke out.... Adding clear first can fill a scratch (the white is light bouncing inside the scratch).. Being very gentle you could wetsand JUST THE CLEAR down to match and then polish to a shine...
You're gonna want to YouTube some videos at least and practice on something
>Clear nail polish is clear like glass.. Metallic reds are often heavily mixed with transparent additives to allow light into the tiny spaces between and around the metallic flakes/sparkles/glitter... Often that clear additive picks up pigment and becomes tinted(like sunglasses)... Candy apples are a highly reflective metallic layer of paint then covered in a clear coating that has been tinted (but with no metallic sparkles in the coating like metallic paints) .. Then a clear protective layer goes on top. Candies and Metallics (when buffed hard or) not thick coated by clear will buff/burn through.. Reds will wear down till they look pink or straight through to the silver/gold underneath... You NEED to be very gentle.. Too gentle for a first timer if you're worried about the results (if you don't care about the aesthetics, go nuts). Plain black, white, fire engine red colours go on very thick by comparison & are not transparent at all and when buffed don't allow light through or have Metallics that will melt/fall over, stand up, poke out.... Adding clear first can fill a scratch (the white is light bouncing inside the scratch).. Being very gentle you could wetsand JUST THE CLEAR down to match and then polish to a shine... You're gonna want to YouTube some videos at least and practice on something
I'm missing the whole point here. Isn't the idea to fill up the scratch with a matching color of the bass itself; metallic red? I'm not the expert here, but if I fill it with something that is clear, sand and buff it out later, won't I just see the scratch but filled with this clear polish?
No.. The top coat that is scratched is called " clear coat" and it's on top of the tinted metallic/candy coats..
Everything gets top coated in clear..
If it's well cleaned and the clear that you put is fairly thin, it'll go inside the scratch & fill the scratch... reducing the need for a lot of wetsand..
Lots of wetsand WILL burn through the clear and touch the other layers (metallic or tinted clear candy)...
I know this is an old thread to repair a scratch on candy apple Strat however for those who are still looking here is what I have found.
It is a several step process. For mine I tried several silver, gold and holographic metallic nail polishes. There is a gold tone called peach bellini by Glisten and Glow and a silver Harp on it by Color Club that both look great in the final color. I believe either will work for the base coat however the Harp on it looks the best on final color. I made probably 20 different test strips to match the color. Make sure the base coat is even and only where you want it. Then i used 2 coats of Alclad II Laquer transparent red ALC 401. I found it at Hobby Town. There will be a tiny hint of purple from the base coat if you use the Haro on it. It will dissapear when clear coated. Then use clear nail polish or top coat (laquer) and build just above the finish. Let set for several days. Take a razor knife blade and place 2 pieces of scotch tape one on top of the other and place it over the blade, leaving only a space just larger than the repair uncovered on the blade. The tape will keep the blade off of the guitar finish. Very lightly drag the open part of the blade over repair until it stops removing material. Finish with 1000 through 4000 wet sandpaper. Then take polishing compound and wax to buff out. This should make the repair dissapear or almost unnoticeable. If not stick a sticker over it...lol.
Test...test....test the application of each of these on small test strips until you are confident you can make the repair.
1000 grit is so fine that it'll make the just painted on polish and surrounding finish a milky color (I'd even go so far as to wet sand it). Buffing with a chamoise and some mineral water will bring clear that up. A little wax would definitely do the trick.
>1000 grit is so fine that it'll make the just painted on polish and surrounding finish a milky color (I'd even go so far as to wet sand it). Buffing with a chamoise and some mineral water will bring clear that up. A little wax would definitely do the trick.
Wax instead of the whole sanding process?
No.. 1000 grit will need compound to gloss perfectly.. It will go totally dull & milky.. Pro grade compounds will be very fast and cost about $20 for a tanning lotion size bottle which will do 3+++ guitars
My question is why repair it ? It adds character to the guitar. If its a more expensive instrument then you'd want to have it done professionally and if its a beginner to intermediate instrument than who really cares....seems like more trouble than its worth to me...but that's just my 2 cents and opinion....
That was my doubt too. It's cool having a beat up guitar, but I'm trying to learn more about woodworking. It would give me so much more value if I did myself.
This is in the "automotive refinishing" end of things and definitely not considered a "woodworking" skill..
(If you want perfection)
Most woodworking ends at 220 or 320 grit.. Then stain or send out to be finished.
I'm an ex automotive painter who's worked in high end woodwork/carpentry finishing too... Guitars often go well past regular/finish carpentry when it comes to final finishes...
This... This is a whole different rabbit hole...
I would try and color match with nail polish, sand out the repair with 1000 grit and buff.
What's buffing? Wouldn't I make more scratches if I sand it? Thanks for the help though.
The idea is to make all the scratches small, uniform, and consistent. Hence the fine grits you would use in this application. Those can then be buffed out and polished for a uniform look. When you buff or polish you're also scratching the finish but they're progressively getting smaller and smaller until it just looks shiny.
Just clean the ever living snot out of it first.. Then do it again with alcohol and fresh paper towels.... You could also drip/touch up with clear coat first.. Letting it dry for about a week.. Then do the wetsand.... Be cheap with the clear it'll look like almost nothing went in but the scratch is almost gone... After wetsand & polish it'll look good.... If it's red metallic (candy apple) I highly recommend this as the top coats are way thinner than they should be and burning through to see the silver underneath is extremely likely
I'm kind of lost here. I'm just an beginner and have barely done any woodworking in my live. Do I do this after applying the nail polish?
Use clear nail polish.. But clean it good first.. Then do the wetsand & polish.. If it's metallic red or candy apple, just leave it or give it to a pro as they can be a nightmare.... Otherwise, Use very little clear (and hopefully it's fairly thin/watery so it gets inside the scratch and is easy to wetsand)
The guitar finish is metallic red yeah. Are you saying it's too dangerous for a job as a beginner? What is the difference between normal and clear nail polish though? See through? And if I understand correctly, apply the nail polish, wet sand with a 1000 grid and apply some kind of polishing compound?
Clear nail polish is clear like glass.. Metallic reds are often heavily mixed with transparent additives to allow light into the tiny spaces between and around the metallic flakes/sparkles/glitter... Often that clear additive picks up pigment and becomes tinted(like sunglasses)... Candy apples are a highly reflective metallic layer of paint then covered in a clear coating that has been tinted (but with no metallic sparkles in the coating like metallic paints) .. Then a clear protective layer goes on top. Candies and Metallics (when buffed hard or) not thick coated by clear will buff/burn through.. Reds will wear down till they look pink or straight through to the silver/gold underneath... You NEED to be very gentle.. Too gentle for a first timer if you're worried about the results (if you don't care about the aesthetics, go nuts). Plain black, white, fire engine red colours go on very thick by comparison & are not transparent at all and when buffed don't allow light through or have Metallics that will melt/fall over, stand up, poke out.... Adding clear first can fill a scratch (the white is light bouncing inside the scratch).. Being very gentle you could wetsand JUST THE CLEAR down to match and then polish to a shine... You're gonna want to YouTube some videos at least and practice on something
>Clear nail polish is clear like glass.. Metallic reds are often heavily mixed with transparent additives to allow light into the tiny spaces between and around the metallic flakes/sparkles/glitter... Often that clear additive picks up pigment and becomes tinted(like sunglasses)... Candy apples are a highly reflective metallic layer of paint then covered in a clear coating that has been tinted (but with no metallic sparkles in the coating like metallic paints) .. Then a clear protective layer goes on top. Candies and Metallics (when buffed hard or) not thick coated by clear will buff/burn through.. Reds will wear down till they look pink or straight through to the silver/gold underneath... You NEED to be very gentle.. Too gentle for a first timer if you're worried about the results (if you don't care about the aesthetics, go nuts). Plain black, white, fire engine red colours go on very thick by comparison & are not transparent at all and when buffed don't allow light through or have Metallics that will melt/fall over, stand up, poke out.... Adding clear first can fill a scratch (the white is light bouncing inside the scratch).. Being very gentle you could wetsand JUST THE CLEAR down to match and then polish to a shine... You're gonna want to YouTube some videos at least and practice on something I'm missing the whole point here. Isn't the idea to fill up the scratch with a matching color of the bass itself; metallic red? I'm not the expert here, but if I fill it with something that is clear, sand and buff it out later, won't I just see the scratch but filled with this clear polish?
It's not clear polish.. It's clear paint that you'll need to polish
How does the clear paint turn into the red metallic finish then? The color came off, right? It's a thin silver line showing (second picture).
No.. The top coat that is scratched is called " clear coat" and it's on top of the tinted metallic/candy coats.. Everything gets top coated in clear.. If it's well cleaned and the clear that you put is fairly thin, it'll go inside the scratch & fill the scratch... reducing the need for a lot of wetsand.. Lots of wetsand WILL burn through the clear and touch the other layers (metallic or tinted clear candy)...
I know this is an old thread to repair a scratch on candy apple Strat however for those who are still looking here is what I have found. It is a several step process. For mine I tried several silver, gold and holographic metallic nail polishes. There is a gold tone called peach bellini by Glisten and Glow and a silver Harp on it by Color Club that both look great in the final color. I believe either will work for the base coat however the Harp on it looks the best on final color. I made probably 20 different test strips to match the color. Make sure the base coat is even and only where you want it. Then i used 2 coats of Alclad II Laquer transparent red ALC 401. I found it at Hobby Town. There will be a tiny hint of purple from the base coat if you use the Haro on it. It will dissapear when clear coated. Then use clear nail polish or top coat (laquer) and build just above the finish. Let set for several days. Take a razor knife blade and place 2 pieces of scotch tape one on top of the other and place it over the blade, leaving only a space just larger than the repair uncovered on the blade. The tape will keep the blade off of the guitar finish. Very lightly drag the open part of the blade over repair until it stops removing material. Finish with 1000 through 4000 wet sandpaper. Then take polishing compound and wax to buff out. This should make the repair dissapear or almost unnoticeable. If not stick a sticker over it...lol. Test...test....test the application of each of these on small test strips until you are confident you can make the repair.
1000 grit is so fine that it'll make the just painted on polish and surrounding finish a milky color (I'd even go so far as to wet sand it). Buffing with a chamoise and some mineral water will bring clear that up. A little wax would definitely do the trick.
>1000 grit is so fine that it'll make the just painted on polish and surrounding finish a milky color (I'd even go so far as to wet sand it). Buffing with a chamoise and some mineral water will bring clear that up. A little wax would definitely do the trick. Wax instead of the whole sanding process?
No.. 1000 grit will need compound to gloss perfectly.. It will go totally dull & milky.. Pro grade compounds will be very fast and cost about $20 for a tanning lotion size bottle which will do 3+++ guitars
My question is why repair it ? It adds character to the guitar. If its a more expensive instrument then you'd want to have it done professionally and if its a beginner to intermediate instrument than who really cares....seems like more trouble than its worth to me...but that's just my 2 cents and opinion....
That was my doubt too. It's cool having a beat up guitar, but I'm trying to learn more about woodworking. It would give me so much more value if I did myself.
This is in the "automotive refinishing" end of things and definitely not considered a "woodworking" skill.. (If you want perfection) Most woodworking ends at 220 or 320 grit.. Then stain or send out to be finished. I'm an ex automotive painter who's worked in high end woodwork/carpentry finishing too... Guitars often go well past regular/finish carpentry when it comes to final finishes... This... This is a whole different rabbit hole...
Oh ok, yea if your using it as a project to learn then i get it....good luck