Spraying clear gloss - it gets better right?

Those drips - those infernal drips! I suppose things will improve with practice. I did one Grizzly kit and now I am letting a uke sit and cure for a month. I put 10 coats of Clear Gloss on it and I was, (I thought), more careful and conservative with each coat but the drips, the drops the @*!^&* bumps!

Am I the only one short on spraying technique?

Did you level sand half way through? I spray lite coats half way through I level sand any drips or orange peal out

tattwo said:

Did you level sand half way through? I spray lite coats half way through I level sand any drips or orange peal out

Click to expand...

Do you mean to say if I am doing 10 coats, do a level sanding after 5? More or less that is what I did but where I sanded out the drips looks lighter than the surrounding finish however. I chose to refinish this uke for practice and am hoping to do better on the next.

My coats got lighter and lighter as I went on but the occasional drip still popped up.

Yes sand the whole uke with something like a 600 grit untill the drips are gone and its dull looking. Then start spraying again

Yes sand the whole uke with something like a 600 grit untill the drips are gone and its dull looking. Then start spraying again

Click to expand...

I get it now. I wasn't sanding the whole thing.

Thanks tattwo

How are you spraying what?

Many builders find finishing the most challenging aspect of building to master. I'm with them. It's a subject that can't be addressed briefly. It's a whole art unto itself and there are several Internet forums devoted soley to finishing. Proper surface preparation probably counts for about 90% of your success, after that, almost anyone can spray and sand. Keep with it, try many things and take good notes. Stew Mac had some good finishing schedules on their web site some years ago but you'll need to adapt it to fit your expectations and the amount of effort you want to put out. And know that any time you think you've got it down, things will surely change.

dave g said:

How are you spraying what?

Click to expand...

Will I be graded on my answer?

I started the uke in the fall here in Minnesota. At that time I could hang it in the garage and spray a coat and leave it there til the next coat. Then I got distracted by life and have been attempting to continue in the winter which is a lot tougher without a spray booth. I am getting the basement cleared out now to get a more proper shop area fixed up.

I am using a can of Nitrocellulose Lacquer from StewMac. The directions say to spray from 8-10 inches away in even strokes but for me (the newbie sprayer) I found I had to hold it further away to avoid trouble.

My method has been to insert a hanger through one of the tuner holes and hang it from some NM cable in the garage first and in the basement now. I suppose I need to rig up or buy a better holder for the uke while spraying.

I am open to all suggestions to improve my finishing technique.

Many builders find finishing the most challenging aspect of building to master. I'm with them. It's a subject that can't be addressed briefly. It's a whole art unto itself and there are several Internet forums devoted soley to finishing. Proper surface preparation probably counts for about 90% of your success, after that, almost anyone can spray and sand. Keep with it, try many things and take good notes. Stew Mac had some good finishing schedules on their web site some years ago but you'll need to adapt it to fit your expectations and the amount of effort you want to put out. And know that any time you think you've got it down, things will surely change.

Click to expand...

Maybe I will have some of this down by retirement time in the next 4 to 5 years - or is that 6 to 7 years...

This is the best finshing tutorial I know of: http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=343

I am new to ukes and building but I do years few years of auto body restoration and repair under my belt. One thing that I learned from that is not to be afraid of a run (that is, if you plan to buff which we did all of our cars). A run or drip simply means that you have ample material on the work piece. This doesn't mean that I try to have them all over but with the right technique they can be delt with fairly quickly. One thing you can try is to let it dry for a day or two and when it it still a little soft, use a new razor blade held perpendicular to the surface and gently scrape the drip down flat. Keyword being gently trying not to gouge your fresh finish. Another idea is to let it dry a little longer and use a paint stick broken or cut in half with some 1000 grit wet sand paper to block sand it down. Wet sand in small circular motions until the run is gone. If I can think of anything else, I will post more. Hope that helps.

Or, you could just find a wife like Mrs Timbuck and let her French Polish all your ukes when you are done building them.

Liam pointed to a thread on the ANZLF that I did some time ago because this seems to be the most difficult part of building an instrument for most people. For me it's the very easiest, as it's what I've done for the last 30 years. Have a read through it, and if you're still at a loss then ask more questions.

Thanks to all for the tips and links. I will come back to this thread as I try to finish this uke and hopefully the next.

Or, you could just find a wife like Mrs Timbuck and let her French Polish all your ukes when you are done building them.

Click to expand...

I don't think my wife will be taking up uke finishing any time soon. But she is a great singer and plays guitar and uke.
We don't have any videos, but some recordings up here.
"Sixteen Years" is one she wrote and played guitar on and I played the uke. I wanted to get one of our friends to add bass and another guitar and get some other harmonies going. It is still a work in progress but there it is:
http://www.motagator.net/N.E._Triangle/blog.php