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I've completed the first five coats, which went on pretty well, and today I'm gap filling, level sanding, and applying the final five coats, per Mike Doolin's schedule.

My question is, in level sanding, is the objective to simply knock down the barnacles, or to thoroughly smooth out the surface free of any orange peel?

Thanks in advance.

Ken

Michael --

Thanks for your response. I went ahead and gap filled, levelled (somewhat), and applied the final five coats last Saturday. Since I had family coming in that day, I had to get the finish on, then get cleaned up in time for their arrival. Hours later, while showing off my handiwork to my sister and bro-in-law, I began to notice numerous small circular indentations on the granadillo sides and ebony head plates of both. This phenomenon was definitely not present after the first five coats, and I haven't noticed it on the mahogany back, sides, or necks at all. Here are a couple of examples shot in raking light:

Any idea what might have caused this? I'm hopeful that these will sand/buff out, but if they don't, do I have any recourse? It will be at least ten days before I can begin the final sanding/buffing process.

Also, in the second image you can see the texture on the surface that I have to work with. On my first build, I don't recall the surface being any worse than this, and I was able to get it fairly smooth.

Thanks for any thoughts/feedback.

Ken

Ken, Those actually look like fisheyes. Fisheyes are caused by contaminants in the air, in the air line, on the surface before applying clear, and also from your own body. Did you use any type of surface prepping solvents prior to applying the clear? This would be a wax and grease remover and is wiped on with a clean towel or rag and wiped off with another that is dry to remove the residue. be careful with paper towels as some of the glues in the consumer paper towels will cause fisheyes.  Sometimes you can dab some clear into the (crater) fisheye and level it when you level sand later and get an acceptable result. Wax, grease, oil, some deodorants, and even your own body oils can cause fisheyes.

The craters could also be solvent pops which can be caused from applying too much material too quickly and trapping solvents that later make their way back through the layers of clear. Best way to avoid these is to allow good flash times between coats of clear.

Many thanks, Michael and David for your excellent advice. That makes sense that the indentations are from moisture, though I do have a trap on my compressor. Here's a dumb question: would water do that even though it's a waterborne finish? Or perhaps it is oil as David suggested?

I'll try the drop fill method on the deeper dents. Many of them are so shallow, I don't think they're any deeper than the texture I'll be smoothing anyway, so I'm hopeful they'll sand out.

Should I worry about adhesion of the dropped-in finish to the existing, five-day-cured finish? Or will the DA still cause them to fuse?

Ken

Thanks Joe. I was wondering if this was the fisheye effect I'd read about, and so hoped to avoid... I'm wondering if the DA itself could've caused this. I sprayed the surface after levelling the first five coats, and I thought I allowed sufficient time for it to flash off. Anyone ever experience this?

Michael --

Thank you, thank you, thank you on all points! I don't know what I'd do without the generous insights you and so many others provide on this forum. I hope that someday I can contribute not just questions, but answers to the other newbie members here.

Again, I truly appreciate your taking the time to offer up meaningful advice. If you ever find yourself in Asheville, NC, please let me buy you a beer.

Ken