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I recently purchased a Castillo blanca from Shawn B. (thanks Shawn - for such a great guitar) on the foro. After reading many comments on the foro regarding French Polish I decided to take a stab at repairing the finish on the top, back, and sides that had some prominent "white hazing" of the FP finish. I ended up with great results! I had the assistance of foro member 'Dedos', who lives in my city, and was a good friend of Paulino Bernabe. He showed me how to do this. First, I assessed the condition of the finish flaws which looked and felt like they was in the outer layer/s of FP. I knew that I had to be careful, because matching the 'red FP' would be beyond my ability. I then very lightly rubbed some high quality wax into an inconspicous area with a finish cloth. I started to notice some very slight removal of the hazing in the back. I then very carefully, and without much pressure, applied a small of 1500 grit finishing compound with a finish cloth. The hazing was being removed - I was very careful not to cut into the underlying layers of FP - just the top layer. Then I applied wax to the guitar. There is just the tiniest amount of hazing left, but only I can notice it. Not only does my guitar sound and play great... Oilla!!! Esta muy bonita mi guitarra!!
Thanks Anders and everyone for your posts regarding french polish.
I attached a before and after photo.
Michael
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I checked the US chemical & plastics website for EU distributors. This product may have been discontinued. You could try their website. I would check with auto body shops in your area for 1500 grit finishing compound.
I would check with auto body shops in your area for 1500 grit finishing compound.
This is Spain. You cant imagine the amount of special qality things that we cant buy here. Very often I have to import from the US, which means expensive shipping + 30% extra import tax and things. In my workshop, I think 10% of everything (not including wood) is bought outside Spain. In Spain you can only buy crap.
Have you tried the fiberglass industry? I got some very fine rubbing compound and some 2000 grit patches for polishing fiberglass yachts from a yachtbuilder.
Another product I have used for "white hazing" is Meguiar's "Mirror Glaze #10"; it is clear plastic polish to restore optical quality to clear plastics. I have also tried sparingly, Meguiar's "Scratch X 2.0," for attempts at smoothing out rough FP.
Anders, can you get polish in Germany, France, England?
One of the best plastic polishes is for polishing plexiglass vitrines in museums. The stuff works like car polish, it is a lot like the headlamp lens polishes.
Search -plexiglass polish- and the company that makes a lot good products is 3M, but there must be a European source for this because I doubt museums order it from the US.
I found this website with the auspicious name of: O.K. Wack Chemie
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