What do you use to get that high gloss "new guitar" finish? product?

[Teds Dad]

hi all,
i have been checking threads to see what i should use to get that new guitar shiny finish.
i dont have any mechanical buffing tools or spray options so it is all elbow grease from my end.
what do you put on after the oil (i have been using u-beaut oil) to pull out the shine?
I am after something I can pick up locally hopefully..
What product do you recommend and the technique would be welcomed as well..

[keloooe]

You can use Tru Oil easily to get a good finish, or even use Dingotone! Both will need some elbow grease to get shiny, but Dingotone does produce a very nice semi gloss finish which shows more grain and really brings the beauty of the guitar to life!

If you're using a solid colour you can use simple spray acrylic from you local auto store and use a bit of elbow grease to get it as shiny as you want it.

[stan]

a bit tricky to find something that goes over oiling... the Dingotone gloss will work nicely, but I dont think it get totally glassy, more of a nice semi gloss. Tru oil, which is a gun stock oil can give a glassy finish as well over stuff like this...
Personally, if you want that glassy look, acrylic clear from a spray can works pretty well, and the most workable. Then final polish with Meguiers polish and scratch x from the same mob.

See some of Gav turners builds, he seems to do quite nicely with both.

I am trying a two part feast watson epoxy resin, it sets like glass, but man it takes some sanding

my favourite so far has been acrylic clear - used it on my Harmony resto (still going), see my link below

[gavinturner]

I can't speak for U-Beut-Oil, but Tru-Oil (which I guess is similar) can be eventually buffed to a nice shine. The secret is to do a gentle wet sand every three coats, getting the grit finer and finer as you go. The aim is to remove all the little greebles that build up and let the pores fill as much as possible to reach an even surface. Once you're happy with the surface it can be buffed with the Meguiars products, so long as you dont go too hard and buff through the top layer. Oil is best applied in very thin coats and it doesnt meld together like lacquer so wet sanding and buffing has to be a delicate process.

Hope this helps.

cheers,
Gav.

[Teds Dad]

any tips on where i can get the meguiars products? and which one to get? there seems to be a million of them.
I was looking in supercheap auto and they did have meguiars but buggared if I know which one to get. none of them mention anything about wood, all about cars. I didnt see any "scratch X" by them there.

[gavinturner]

it's all car stuff. i got mine from supercheap, and I use the ones recommended by Jarrod on his clear coats video tutorial. These are the Meguiars Ultimate Compound and the Scratch X2.0. I had to ask for the ScratchX as it wasn't easy to see.

cheers,
Gav.

[Teds Dad]

Much appreciated Gav,
This definitely is a good community for helping out the newies..
Just looking at your Junior build... Half way through an LP for my niece and then I am into that kit (my body is much more of a grey colour than your one by the looks).
Looking at yours I will give the wipe on poly a crack and the meguiars to finish it off.
I am going for vintage amber rubbed back in spots which gives it that lived in feeling (thats what i did with my nieces LP and I am liking the look, dirty soft yellowish colour and looks old)..
Would like to do a joan jett melody maker copy version of the same kit one day.. my skills dont equate to that at the moment unfortunately.

Thanks
Adrian

[gavinturner]

Sounds cool Adrian! You are very welcome. We were all at this position at one time or another. For me it was a year and a half ago . As for the wipe on poly, the same notes for oil apply, although the layers are thicker so it's a little more forgiving in terms of sanding/rubbing through the top layer. Looking forward to seeing how the Jnr turns out!

cheers,
Gav.

[stan]

I have found wipe on poly hit and miss, but it's probably my ability to apply it...