Buffing

[ozziebluesman]

Hello to you all,

What do you use for final buffing of an instrument?

I've seen setups using an arbor and buffing wheel. I think Stew Mac has something but expensive.

My tendonitis in the elbows is not real happy about too much hand buffing and polishing so it's time rig up some other method.

Looking forwad to your suggestions and pictures greatly received.

Cheers

Alan

[Allen]

I use to use a buffing pad chucked in my drill press. It was one that goes on a large auto buffer and allowed me to hold the instrument with 2 hands. It's an inexpensive option as most people will have a drill press, and the pads aren't expensive. You do have to be careful about banging the body of the guitar into the table or column of the drill press, and some areas are difficult to buff, like the waist.

The better option for me is using a small pistol buffer that you can see me using in on of the youtube videos in the tutorial section. My buffer is a Snap-On one, but there are cheaper options out there. You do need a compressor of reasonable size though to run these things so if you don't have one then this becomes an expensive option if only using it to set up for buffing.

[Taffy Evans]

Hi Al, you have possible seen this machine, I made it some years ago out of the bottom end of a small bandsaw, the buffing wheels came from Stewmac. I've used hand held buffers but I prefere to move the instrument [its lighter] and not the machine.

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[H3ytm@n]

My buffer is a Snap-On one, but there are cheaper options out there. You do need a compressor of reasonable size though to run these things so if you don't have one then this becomes an expensive option if only using it to set up for buffing.

Allen
This sounds like an interesting option. I've looked around for small pneumatic buffers but never found anything that I thought was suitable for guitar finishes.

Any chance of letting us know what brand/model you use?

Thanks

[H3ytm@n]

My buffer is a Snap-On one, but there are cheaper options out there. You do need a compressor of reasonable size though to run these things so if you don't have one then this becomes an expensive option if only using it to set up for buffing.

Allen
This sounds like an interesting option. I've looked around for small pneumatic buffers but never found anything that I thought was suitable for guitar finishes.

Any chance of letting us know what brand/model you use?

Thanks

Ok
Didn't realise that "Snap-On" was a brand. Makes sense now.
Cheers

[kiwigeo]

Dont leave any used power tools or machinery within 1km of Taffy's place.....

[simso]

What do you use for final buffing of an instrument?

For initial buffing of the body, I use a makita 7 and a half inch power buffer with an orange pad
For final buffing more like polishing I use a 10 inch orbital with a sheepskin cloth
For buffing frets after levelling I use a 10 inch bench grinder fitted with a loose leaf cloth similiar to taffy's

[ozziebluesman]

Thanks gentleman for your suggestions. I thought there would be a few ways of going about this final, important stage of building a guitar. We all like to get a perfect finish.

Looks like the Stew Mac foam pads in the drill press may be the go. I was looking at maybe using the Menzerna Compounds with the pad. I only want a satin finish so do I go coarse, medium or the fine to achieve that. The only issue that may crop up is getting it too hot when buffing. What speed would you use on the drill press?

Any advice would be great thanks.

Cheers

Alan

[Dominic]

The foam pads in the drill press work well but I had problems with the guitar slipping off the foam and hitting the plastic disc the foam pad sits on. This would not damage the guitar but burns the finish. No matter how careful I was I seemed to do this at least once on each guitar. The spinning disc want to push the guitar to the edge of the pad where it can slip and hit the disc.
Last year I got a proper buffer and the finish I can get is so much better, just got to learn to stay away from the edges as the buffer can drag the finish there.

Alan, if you only want a satin finish you could probably do without buffing and just move through your grits to 2000 and them rub with wax and fine steel wool. Robbie O'Brien shows this in his classical guitar course. As long as all your scratches are removed by moving through the grits you should end up with a nice flat satin finish.

Others may have other ideas.

Cheers
Dom

[simso]

I love foam pads, but you are 100 percent correct it is very easy to burn the lacquer, practice practice and then control of the job and tool