Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover vs. SCRATCH X?

[stevenrosburg]

All:

Has anyone had experience with either Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover or SCRATCH X for light scratch removal? Looking at the Larrivee forum, it seems that the SCRATCH X product may contain silicone, since it's not body shop approved. The #9 swirl remover is body shop approved and does not contain silicone.

Also, I'm sure I've used a silicone-based polish on my guitar in the past, because I never knew any better before I started looking at forums like these. If I want to get a ~3-4mm ding in the finish restored, what kinds of problems should I expect to face?

I realize that this is on the same basic topic as my first post regarding sanding light scratches, but given that Paul was the only one to respond, I can only assume the title may have turned some people off. I'm a complete newbie and am just looking for some quality advice from people in the know. I'm sure there are more than a few of you with a plethora of experience buffing out extremely fine scratches, and I'm hoping to gather as much info as possible from all who are willing to share, and then make an educated decision.

Many thanks in advance,
Steve

[Russell Vance]

Steven - go to the STEWMAC website and buy Dan Erlwines book on guitar repair - or check out Frank Fords encyclopedic articles at Frets.com - all the answers are there and so are the products and procedures. Rusty.

[stevenrosburg]

Rusty,

Thanks. I may get a copy of Dan's book in the future, but currently I don't have the luxury of $30 just for the answer to this question. Looking at some of Frank's articles on Frets.com, however, it seems that my idea of using mildly abrasive plastic cleaner (I used Meguiar's #17 Plastic Cleaner, he uses Novus #2) wasn't such a bad one. There are still some very faint scratches visible in the right light, so I assume that I need something to transition between the 12000 grade Micro-Mesh and the plastic cleaner. Anybody know of something suitable?

-Steve

[Rick Hoey]

Steve,

I read your first post and it seems to me you did everything right and all that can be accomplished by hand. A buffer is the next step. My first step up years ago was a hand held Porter-Cable buffer with lambswool pads, on the advise of friend who detailed cars. I used Meguiar's liquids compounds and it worked great but the speed was to high for nitro and the thing weighed a ton. Then I went to Charles Fox's guitarbuilding school and we used the same thing with a speed reducer. I am still trying to afford a pedestal buffer which is the gold standard. What I use now is a small handheld disk sander with small 6" lambswool pads and a dayton speed reducer and it works fine on nitro, but not as well on harder synthetics. I am still partial to Meguiar's products because they work for me. Stew mac sells foam buffing pads that will fit a electric drill and many people swear by them. They aren't very expensive. Your bass probably has a synthetic finish which I find more difficult to buff. I use Meguiar's plastic polish as the final polish, I have used the swirl remover with sucess also.

[stevenrosburg]

Rick,

Thank you very much for the very helpful feedback/advice; this is exactly what I needed.

-Steve