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When finished buffing with fine Menzerna compound, what do you like to use to get rid of the swirl marks left on the instrument?
Thanks

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Formerly know as Mandodiddle.

I use Meguiars M9 swirl remover 2.0. It is the best I’ve found for getting rid of swirl marks.

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

We had one of those 2" foam-pad ROS polishers that was fantastic for swirl clean-up... Megs or 3M polishes work, although I usually used 3M machine polish and then finished with hand glaze/hand for final work.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Unnecessary on clear finished instruments, but for colored ones (and especially tobacco bursts along the edge) I purchased a small Torqx kit, a 3-inch backing plate and 4.5-inch hex-logic pads (the kit comes with larger size backing and pads). If you do any electrics or burst finishes, this setup will bring the finish home.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BKT63XM/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OA66KKO/
https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys-BUFX_106_HEX4-Hex-Logic-Finishing/dp/B004102PV2 (1 example, they have other foam weights but you'll have to look them up on the chemical guys web site and buy them)

Back when I did a lot of buffing, there were no swirl marks after buffing. Buffing is how you got the sanding swirls out.

Per Mr. B (not Mr. Bond...the other Mr. B in the conversation), the only time we found it necessary was on darker opaques such as lacquer over Lake Placid Blue. An additional solution would have been to hang another buffing wheel for final clean-up, but with four already in use, the foam-head polisher was a quicker, better solution than musical buffing heads when an ultra-fine polish was needed on the extremely thin lacquer finishes we produced.

There is also the matter of finish quality... while I certainly saw some exceptional as well as exceptionally poor finishes on new custom instruments in for setup or remedial work during my time at Greenridge, I don't believe I saw a new instrument or refinish leave that shop that was not as good as could be, and far superior to what we saw coming out of all but the Collings factory operations (and perhaps Froggy Bottom, on further consideration). And bonus points: we never needed an international border to justify a lack of interest in remedying a customer's finish or structural warranty issues.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Yep ... Menzerna Fine is great ... and on clear or light finishes, does the trick. But when dealing with solid colors and tobacco edges, the random orbital buffer is just going to produce a superior final product, with the right compounds applied. Simply cannot be beat. And Woodie is right - it is a matter of quality coming out of the shop. I spent time in a paint shop (restorations) and spent years having cars in concours and well as judging them. Quality varies based on a variety of things - discernment, skill, a sense of "good enough" and so on. Most of this not an issue on clear finishes.

To Mr. B's point again, I would not be surprised that the rationale for PRS going to color-coat-as-final-coat on their opaque finishes was to avoid the utter pain pill of thin-finish clears over opaques. In terms of sheer difficulty for small shop finishers, clears over dark base coats ranks right up there with life's other more difficult challenges (e.g., 4" heels on outdoors surfaces, refusing the dessert tray, gracefully declining a dinner invitation).

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan