buffing wheel drill bits?

[joe2758]

is there one if those buffing wheel drill bits that would be good for guitars? nitro finish with virtuoso

[deacon Mark]

I would not do that, using a drill bit and buffing a guitar can be ok but risk if you slip. Believe it or not a hand buffing can be just as good.

You can buff a new finish entirely by hand and get a mirrored finish, but it is a lot of elbow grease. Best polishing a guitar by hand with meguiar’s #7 mirror glaze. Do it all by hand it polishes and no wax or silicone.

[joe2758]

Thanks! I’ll take your advice and just try a little harder lol

[Gramps]

Look at Stew-Mac. Buffing pads and compound for guitars.

[joe2758]

Look at Stew-Mac. Buffing pads and compound for guitars.

thanks, I was just looking on amazon; but I would trust SM a lot more (to say the least)

[Gramps]

thanks, I was just looking on amazon; but I would trust SM a lot more (to say the least)

I think the warnings about blowing through the finish are valid but there are people successfully using the Stew-Mac buffing pads every day. Maybe you shouldn't practice on your 175 first though.

[joe2758]

what kind of finish do you think is on this gretch jim dandy? that's all I have to practice on

[joe2758]

Foam Polishing Pads | stewmac.com I like the looks of this. and I think I would just use my virtuoso polish, I like that stuff

[Gramps]

Foam Polishing Pads | stewmac.com I like the looks of this. and I think I would just use my virtuoso polish, I like that stuff

I think you'll find some demos of using those on YouTube too.

[ptchristopher3]

what kind of finish do you think is on this gretch jim dandy? that's all I have to practice on

Rubbing/polishing a lacquer finish (even a modern “lacquer” with all the other stuff that is in there) is MUCH different than rubbing/polishing a urethane or polyester finish.

So practicing on the Jim Dandy will be close to 100% inapplicable.

Despite the silicone and alkyd components in many modern nitrocellulose lacquers, they still soften and move with the friction of polishing.

A urethane or polyester finish moves but springs back. So all the polishing action is done by the cutting action of the compound only.

On a lacquer finish, there is considerable polishing done by the softening and re-settling (made up this term ‘ad hoc’) of the lacquer as you polish. Many scratches are smoothed out more than actually cut by an abrasive compound.

So it is a MUCH different experience.

Do this a few times by hand on a dark colored guitar and you will see/feel the difference dramatically.

Serously, you can lean into a cured (UV, or catalyzed) finish VERY hard. But this same enthusiasm could make a mess of a lacquer finish.

Every person who has actually (vs. web-actually) rubbed and polished many a finish will have his/her favorite compounds to use. Mine are the slower cut 3M perfect-it 3000 followed by Mcguiar’s Scratch X - then polish with Zymol. But many other combinations are surely as good or better.

Go slowly. Do not rub with serious pressure on a lacquer finish. Let the goop do the work.

You can get a stageringly smooth finish in the time it takes to watch a movie on the ipad while carefully doing this even for the first time. Quite a bit faster after you get used to it.

[ptchristopher3]

Foam Polishing Pads | stewmac.com I like the looks of this. and I think I would just use my virtuoso polish, I like that stuff

Stewmac is happy to sell you stuff.

Some of it works. Some of it produces sales.

There is no magic here. The illusion of speed and convenience can be an unfortunate thing.

Pads and machines are great once you know exactly what you are doing.

Before that, they can cut and move lacquer without any feedback to your hands that this is happening.

You need to understand the difference between abrasive compounds and polishes that fill micro scratches.

In my opinion.

Stewmac foam will not make this happen.

[ptchristopher3]

You absolutely can rub-out and polish your lacquer-finished guitar as well an anyone on earth.

But it will involve some uphill on a learning/feel curve and a VERY solid underdstanding of what a rubbing compound does, what a fine-finish compound does, and what a “polish” does.

Then combine that with some very hands-on feel for each of these products in action.

The results can be superb.

Shortcuts will be like trying to cut your own hair, or using one of those home colonoscopy kits from Ebay (or Etsy).

Come out the other end of this with a great looking guitar and a solid knowledge/feel for how it all works. It is definitely do-able. It will not include foam stuck in the front of a homeowner style drill.

In my opinion.

[cosmic gumbo]

Doesn't everyone have one of these?