So you finished your guitar body with a nice glossy clear coat. It looks good, but just doesn’t have that mirror shine you want. How do you get it to really shine? You need to buff it.

The first step is to let the finish completely cure before buffing. You want it to be completely dry and the finish hardened. A good way to tell is the good old smell test. Give it a sniff. Can you still smell the finish? If so, its still drying and should be left alone until there is no smell. Once there is no smell coming off it, then you are ready to start buffing.

Before we can start buffing, we need to first level sand the entire body. This will make sure the surface is smooth and even. The process I use is a wet sanding process. You can do this without the wet sanding but, it has worked well for me. If you opt to forgo the wet sanding, its still important to sand to a very high grit sandpaper before buffing. You’d just do it with the sandpaper dry. I begin by filling a spray bottle with water and a few drops of dish soap. The soap helps lubricate the sandpaper as we go. Now I’ll spray a few sprays onto the body, and with the wet/dry sandpaper on my sander, I’ll begin sanding the surface nice and flat. Its important to keep the sander moving and don’t stay in one place too long. Keep sanding until the entire surface is at the same level, and there are no low spots. If the surface becomes dry, just spray a bit more water on it. You don’t want the sandpaper to become dry. Repeat this for the other side. Now on to the sides.

The sides of the guitar are a little bit harder to get. You cant really get them with the sander. The best way I’ve found is to just wet sand it by hand. Try to use a rubber sanding block. A pink school eraser makes a good substitute for a rubber block. (thanks to Chris at Highline Guitars for that idea) Just sand it until the sides are nice and flat and smooth. Once you are happy with the sanding, you can now start buffing.

I’m going to use a Surbuf Microfiber buffing pad to do the majority of the polishing. I’ll begin by applying some buffing compound to the surface of the guitar. Then I’ll take the sander with the buffing pad and lightly spread it around before turning on the sander. Now switch it on, and begin buffing the surface. Much like sanding, keep the pad moving. Soon you will begin to see the shine coming in. Once you see the shine, I stop and finish the process by hand using a soft cloth. You can even get most of the sides with the sander. Any areas you can’t get at, you will have to polish by hand. Once you’re done, the guitar body should have a really nice shine to it.

This is a great way to get around not having a dedicated guitar buffer. It really doesn’t take too long, especially if you have your finish relatively flat to begin with. I hope this gives you an idea of how you can get a mirror shine on your guitar project.

— Affiliate Links to Products Used —
Dewalt Random Orbit Sander – https://amzn.to/2M5jNNm
2000 Grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper, Velcro Backed – https://amzn.to/38USJtV
Crystalac Brite Tone Finish – https://amzn.to/38Ot0Dw
Surbuf Buffing Pads – https://amzn.to/36Pqprg
Meguires Ultimate Polish – https://amzn.to/2M3yDEb
Spray Bottle – https://amzn.to/2PDMa7H
Dawn Dish Soap – https://amzn.to/2EyETPX

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