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Old 08-15-2013, 07:27 AM
Wooly Wooly is offline
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Default Buffing a Satin Finish

I used to own a Larrivee L03 that I buffed out the satin finish on (I know some of you are dead against this) and it turned out great. I used the Meguiars Scratch X and step 2 polish. I'm thinking about doing the same with my OM-03 but have since found out that the Meguiars products I used contain silicone.

My question is, for the forum members that have done this, what products have you used and what was the procedure?

Thanks
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Old 08-15-2013, 08:36 AM
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fazool fazool is online now
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There are two ways to "buff" ouit satin finish and make it glossy.

Understand the difference is more about labor and process time than material savings (at the factory).

To make a gloss finish, you need to have a thicker layer of top coat, so you can polish it smooth and level.

A satin finish can be thinner (to start) since you won't be polishing it down.

If the stock satin finish is thick enough you can simply polish it until it is smooth and flat and glossy. Basically this means you are doing the rest of the factory's work. For example, if they polish for 10 minutes to get a satin finish but polish 100 minutes to get a gloss finish, you would take a 10 minute job and do the other 90 minutes. Its not that simple, however, because they will typically spend more time smoothing the underlying wood surface because gloss is unforgiving of surface roughness.

So, *if* there is a smooth enough underlying wood and *if* there is a thick enough satin finish, you can just polish it to glossy.

But, that is unlikely. Instead you may have to add material fillers like wax or polish to fill in the irregularities and add enough material to polish the surface smooth and glossy.

I too have "polished" satin finishes, but I didn't want to make them into gloss finishes but just nicer looking satin.

How far are you trying to go with this?
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Last edited by fazool; 08-15-2013 at 06:53 PM.
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Old 08-15-2013, 10:05 AM
B. Howard B. Howard is offline
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One thing to remember is that satin finishes are created by adding refractive paste to the finish. You can polish a bit of a shine to the top of it but it will never have the clarity and depth of a true gloss finish. Some manufacturers put down gloss first and top coat with satin as the gloss is a harder finish. On those you may be able to wet sand the satin off and polish the gloss underneath. Martin may be one of those companies that does that. Be warned if you do so the finish will be much thinner than normal do exercise due care.
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Old 08-15-2013, 10:19 AM
PTC Bernie PTC Bernie is offline
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Default Buffing satin finish

You may want to leave the neck satin. Gloss finish on the neck tends to make it harder to slide your hand around.

Just my less than humble opinion.
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Old 08-15-2013, 11:38 AM
Jim Jim is offline
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To add just a bit more to Fazool's excellent advice, you should keep in mind that since most satin finishes are already very thin, you need to take care not to polish too much as you can easily cut through the finish and expose the wood underneath which would then require you to refinish the guitar. There is literally no way to tell how much finish you have left as you polish an existing satin finish guitar so you have to make a wild guess as to when to stop polishing before you cut through to the wood.

The most satisfying option for a professional look for those who prefer glossy finishes it just to sell your satin finish guitar and buy a glossy finish one.
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Acoustics:
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Old 08-15-2013, 06:12 PM
Wooly Wooly is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fazool View Post

I too have "polished" satin finishes, but I didn't want to make them into gloss finishes but just nicer looking satin.
That's about it. I don't expect a full gloss shine. Just a bit of a sheen to take the swishing noises away.

I will of course, be doing this by hand. No power tools involved.

Like I said, my other Larrivee turned out great but i don't want to use anything with silicone.
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Larrivee OM-03
Seagull SWS Maritime Mini Jumbo
Alvarez AP70SB Parlor
Alvarez AF60SHB
Seagull Concert Hall Mahogany
Harmony H1215. 1953
An 80 year old Kay (approx)
Epiphone ES-339
Epiphone Les Paul 50's Standard
3 home built Strat's
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Old 08-15-2013, 06:53 PM
Dan Carey Dan Carey is offline
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Here we go again...if you do some searching, you'll find my earlier posts about using Stewart MacDonald polishing/scratch removing compounds with their foam buffing wheels and a slow speed drill.
I didn't buff the top or the neck but the back & sides were fantastic. A couple or three coats of Butcher's Bowling Alley wax were the finishing coat. Be sure to read the can and have the carnauba formulation, NOT the silicone formulation.
If you do the top, use blue painters tape to mask the bridge & fretboard edges.

Here's some pics:




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Old 08-15-2013, 06:57 PM
Dan Carey Dan Carey is offline
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And don't apply too much pressure! Let the buffing compound do the work!
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Dan Carey (not Crary)

A couple of guitars
A Merida DG16 Classical Guitar
A couple of banjos
A Yueqin
A Mountain Dulcimer that I built
A Hammered Dulcimer that I'm currently building
And a fiddle that I built!

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
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