FINAL POLISHING - NITROCELLULOSE ??????????????????

[nick-p]

folks, just about to finish nitro clearcoats on a solid body, my question is,
how many weeks should i leave it to cure before showing it the buffing wheel ??

[William F.Eden]

Nick I have done lots after a week. But the longer the better. I guess it makes a differents how big a hurry you are in to play it .Bill..............

[Michael P. Lemieux]

Hello,

From my understanding you should wait a month. The harder the finish, the better the shine. Just a thought.

Mike

[Hesh Breakstone]

and the harder the finish the less chance of buffing through and ruining your entire day....

[chris snyder]

It depends on the brand and the make up of the nirto. Not all brands vape the same. The environment in witch it sits will affect how long it takes. If you need to speed up the process, a mild sanding of the cheese with a hard block can greatly help. You don't even need to sand off all the cheese just an even sanding across the whole instrument. 

[nick-p]

thanks all.  having read your replies i think i will leave it at least a month... this is my first ever body stain + lac job and i gotta learn some patience !  pic attached..    thanks to you all.   nick

[William F.Eden]

Be carfull buffing around the eadges Nick that is were you will go through the finish.Nice guitar Bill.............

[Paul Verticchio]

So far, so good nick.  For a first time job, you got the staining/shooting part of the job down pat.  Nice even color.

Great work man.

Best of luck (:

[nick-p]

thanks paul and bill, i'm glad to say it actually looks far nicer in the flesh than in pics. just hope it SOUNDS good after the money i've thrown at it !.. nick

[Chris Rochow]

6 weeks is good. * "High Tech" method of knowing when..... put your nose about an inch from the nitro.... if you don't or barely can smell the solvent....go for it ! :)

[Mike Kolb]

Chris beat me to it...  I was just going to mention the "sniff test". If you can't smell any solvent, you're ready to buff.  Ditto on "careful edge buffing", as it's heart-breaking to see the edge break-through after 5 or 6 weeks of waiting for the right moment:)

My buffer runs at 800rpm and the drive belts are loose as a goose, which serves as a guideline for me. If the belt-tension breaks free, then I'm leaning into it to hard.