My First Sunburst Guitar Finish

Getting close now, at this stage I have some blister on the way. As if the bare timber preparation and the sanding sealer flattening weren’t enough… There’s always the danger of “sanding through” to one of the previous layers of nitro. The key is to stop and check your progress often. I’m removing the uneven “orange peel” effect that drying nitrocellulose leaves behind.

Now I just need to not dent or scratch it!! Custom honey burst / tobacco burst sunbursted guitar finish spray painted entirely in nitrocellulose lacquer. Clearcoated and buffed to a high gloss too by Jack’s Instrument Services – Manchester

The better the reflection the better the flattening job.

It’s very frustrating buffing all round the corners and cutaway of a guitar but once you’ve done it it’s very rewarding. Trying to skimp and avoid the awkward bit will only leave a naff looking finish..! Of course the enges are riskier to buff too as the pressure exerted on the edges is much more due to surface area. A light touch is needed round the edges.

Cor! That’s really come out nice, such alot of hard work to get to this stage but the final buffing stage reveals the fruits of your labour big time. Buffing the clear coats has really added depth to the colour and really allowed the grain pattern of the flamed maple to pop out even more!