Official Luthiers Forum!

My new buffer is still in the box while I’m waiting for the lacquer to cure. What about putting the buffer in the clamp and holding the body? Would it be likely to throw the the guitar? I never went to the standard buffer discs that most folks use because I was sure it would throw the body given my coordination.

I have the LMI clamp (I liked the clamp but I didn't like the Panavise mount, so I mounted it on a ball type carving vise. Much better) , as well as a slew of home made ones. I do CNC work, and you can never have too many fixtures! But for this application, it was the LMI.

Dave

That would never work. You want the buffing pads to move freely over the body in a set pattern. I divide the top or back into quadrants and do one at a time. Apply more compound when starting a new quadrant. Make overlapping passes first going one direction then going the other way. Move the machine fairly slowly. I watched some auto detail pros on youtube to see how they move the machine fairly slow.

Thank you, Barry. That saved me some experimentation.

Also, remember to apply some pressure and use a slower speed at first. Then when the compound starts to break down and turn clear, lighten up on the pressure and maybe turn the speed up. Quit buffing the area when the compound largely disappears. This whole process may take 2 or 3 minutes in each quadrant.

Hey guys, has anyone tried "Varathan Ultimate" on an acoustic? Friend of mine is using it on Basses and is happy with the results.

The cure time is dramatically faster than what I'm using now. I'm also hopeful the buffing time might be less?

Yeah but then that's usually when I burn through the finish



LOL ukes go farther then guitars. I think you need to work in a padded cell

The Adams polisher is $108 today for Amazon Prime Day.

Alright, I polished with my new polisher today. It took me about the same amount of time as it used to take me to do it by hand, but I now have the shiniest guitar I’ve ever made. And, that will only improve as I learn. I think this is a good path for me. I used my homemade vacuum clamp to hold the body while I polished the top and back. The polisher was a lot easier to use with two hands. Doing the sides with one hand in the guitar and one on the polisher was not difficult, but I may make another vacuum clamp for that orientation. I will be able to do a better job with two hands to support and control the polisher. My hands did know that they were holding a heavy vibrating thing for an hour.

Thank you, Barry. This is an improvement for me.

Glad it worked out for you Bob.

I wanted to post this link again for people using this buffer. The machine is only part of the equation. Pads and compounds are the other half. One thing I see people here missing is the use of 4" diameter pads on this machine. That will make your work a lot easier. Also, using a FIRM pad with cutting compound will make the first step go quicker.

For a full description look at this thread over on the MIMF. The relevant detail is in the 12 post down.

https://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6117&p=59619&hilit=adams#p59619