Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:21 am


All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:49 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:40 am
Posts: 993
Location: United States
I've been experimenting with solarez and love the ease of application, quick cure time, super easy to level sand, but when I try to buff it, I can't seem to get better than a satin finish. The finish is level, looks perfectly flat. For comparison, the same sanding and buffing regimen on lacquer works great for me. Any ideas why I can't get the solarez to gloss up? I level sand 400, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and then use Menzerna on the buffing wheel, medium, then fine, then extra fine. Any ideas? Thank you!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:29 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 5:46 am
Posts: 2931
Location: United States
Hi John, I don't really have any information for you as I've not used the product, but have you tried more buffing time with each grit? I suspect it's harder than lacquer.
Also I have a quick question, how do you think this would work for pore filling? I've been considering doing some experiments on that.

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:06 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:40 am
Posts: 993
Location: United States
Jim Watts wrote:
Hi John, I don't really have any information for you as I've not used the product, but have you tried more buffing time with each grit? I suspect it's harder than lacquer.
Also I have a quick question, how do you think this would work for pore filling? I've been considering doing some experiments on that.


Hi Jim, thanks for the tip, I tried additional buffing with extra compound and it definitely improved results. I guess this product is much harder than lacquer. I'm going to continue working it but as of now, I'd say the gloss is about a 6 out of 10--not a product I would use if I was looking for high gloss. That may change after additional buffing, we'll see. The pic below is on a scrap headstock I used for testing.

As for use as a pore filler, I think this is my new favorite. I have both products by solarez, the pore filler/grain sealer, and top coat. They could both be an outstanding pore filler. I'm not sure of the difference between the two. The pore filler smells like epoxy, and the top coat smells more like bondo. They have the same consistency which is like thick maple syrup or honey. The work time is as long as you want providing you cover windows and have no UV light in the shop. When ready to cure, expose to sunlight (I used one of their portable UV lights for $50--seen in the pic) and it was cured rock solid in about 2 minutes. It sanded like cured lacquer with a nice powder. I haven't experimented yet with other top coats, but as long as they bond correctly, I love using solarez as a pore filler. I'll keep this thread posted as I get more info.

P.S. the higher gloss around the tuner holes is where I sanded/buffed through to the old finish. I didn't build my top coat very high for this test.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:42 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 12, 2005 5:46 am
Posts: 2931
Location: United States
John,
I contacted Solarez a while go about it's compatibility with shellac and they say "Should be compatible with shellac".

_________________
Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:39 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
Posts: 6232
Location: Virginia
What is this stuff? Is it actually an epoxy?

It's probably not the best pic but it looks like you are experimenting on an old neck? I'm wondering if you should just experiment on a freshly sanded flat panel.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 3:50 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2008 7:15 pm
Posts: 7219
First name: Ed
Last Name: Bond
City: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I tried that stuff many years ago thinking it would be dynamite porefill, but it wouldn’t cure on rosewood. Perhaps a shellac washcoat would solve that...


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:55 pm 
Offline
Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 7:22 pm
Posts: 88
First name: doug
Last Name: powdrell
City: hilo
State: big island
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Polyester or Epoxy? Polyester comes in laminating, sanding, and gloss....laminating will not cure hard...sanding will, but not high gloss, glossing resin will buff out normally.....I see solarez has many products in both types....

Epoxy...same thing....some cure hard, some don't (by design)....good luck..


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:09 am 
Offline
Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:40 pm
Posts: 50
First name: Glenn
Last Name: Cummins
State: Hampshire
Country: England
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Hi John,

I've used this a couple of times. You can buff to a high gloss it just takes ages. One guitar took me 2 days. I sanded to p2000 and started with Menzerna GW18 then Medium and finished with Fine. It goes against what is usually advised for buffing but holding in one spot for a few seconds longer than you would for Lacquer helped. Keeping the piece constantly moving over the buff (which is usually advised) did nothing. It is bizarre as like you say it sands so easy. I'd be interested if you find an easier way to get a high gloss with this product because I wont use it again because of the buff time.

Good luck.

Glenn.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:45 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2005 2:40 am
Posts: 993
Location: United States
So I went back to the test piece and was able to get it to gloss up much better by using the same process I use on my CAR for the clearcoat. Lol. I used my power handheld Makita buffer with Meguiar's medium cut compound (this brought up the shine much better than Menzerna on my buffing wheels). After that I followed it up with Meguiar's swirl remover and it shined right up like my clearcoat in no time at all. Strange how it sands so easily but required heavy buffing to gloss up. I really like how quickly it cures rock hard so this could be an option now that I understand the buffing process better. I'm going to test on some bare wood next and see what happens, as well as try and scrape it up and see how it holds up.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu May 13, 2021 6:43 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:17 pm
Posts: 1161
City: Escondido
State: CA
Zip/Postal Code: 92029
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
The idea of a wipe on product, that pore fills, cures in minutes, and buffs to a high gloss sounds like the holy grail.

Sounds like this product wipes on, pore fills, and cures in minutes. Keep us posted on the “buffs to a high gloss” side, please.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 10 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 51 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com