Hi everyone,I am needing some pro advice.I recently bought a (black lacquer)fender strat body off ebay.As I was installing my neck,the right corner touched up taking a little paint with it.I took it to the local luthier they painted it up half heartedly as i can clearly see it is not smooth at can still see the lines that remain.My Ocd Only comes out when it comes to guitars i guess.Is there anything anyone could recomend to do it myself and or purchase lacquer? the luthier made it clear i could wet sand it.Which ticks me off he did not do that to begin with.Any advice is much appreciated!!!!

You could probably smooth it out with a "fine" rubbing compound. There are various degrees of compound, so only use the one that's "fine" for very light scratches etc. Most likely that will smooth out any imperfections on the finish. I would certainly do that before I resorted to anything more permanent. Using the compound will work as easly as waxing a surface. Just do more coats if you need a little more smoothness. If for some reason you're not happy with those results, then you can seek more aggressive methodes.

Hi freddyfingers82: the type of lacquer on your guitar will vary depending on the model and/or factory of origin. It could be polyester, polyurethane or nitrocellulose - and we have to assume your tech at least matched the right type of finish. I wonder if he did...?

It would really help to see a couple of nice clear photos of the issue, cos otherwise we are talking blind with any advice.

However, if the new paint is seriously lumpy you may want to go at it very gently with some P1500 or P2000 wet-and-dry paper before the rubbing compound TxFireman rightly recommended, above. Your fella should have put the new paint on thick enough that you can almost sculpt it to blend with the old, prior to shining it up. If you find yourself sanding through to wood, come back to us: there's fixes.

And if you don't have rubbing compound to hand then after the wet-and-dry some regular household metal polish will be just as good at bringing that surface to a mirror finish.

Any further questions, just ask. But prepare to supply photos!

Cheers - C

You may want to live with it rather than risk any further damage to the finish. If you speak to any body man from an auto repair shop they will tell you there are two colors that are extremely difficult to match. Black and white. Every imperfection shows.

My 2¢ worth.

Hey thanks for all the feedback!!As tx was talking about was a little over my head.All I know are basics about finishing etc et al.The guitar is the new american special hss black so it is polyeurethene.I could send you pics what is your email?As for doing anything myself i wouldnt want to make things worse but if i go to a new shop i do not want to remain idle and have an idea.My prob again is very miniscule,but its a new guitar so it kinda sucks.I just cant believe that i have installed severeral necks before and this barely rubbed against the neck pocket and the paint just chipped??Well the initial shock is over just would like to get it smooth so it obviosly doesnt look like i had work done on it.The instrument plays well and i hope it is the last one i buy unless i win the lottery.Thanks!

Freddy,

Rubbing compound is just a tub of paste, much like automotive wax. You would simpley dab the end of a clean cloth into it and apply it much like waxing a car.. small circles or whatever, by hand. Then take a clean dry cloth and go over the spot your just put the compound on (with lite compounds, there is often nothing left to remove, but this just makes sure). After going over it with the clean dry cloth, feel the surface and see if the roughness is gone. If it's improved, but not gone, repeat the process again. When using the clean cloth to "remove" the compound, just go over it in a buffing fashion.

Like Ceri mentioned, wet sanding is a bit more thorough, but if you don't know what you're doing, there is room for error there. If you don't use the correct grit of paper, or don't keep it wet enough, you can either remove too much paint, or create a more of a problem.

By trying the rubbing compound first, you are trying the least intrusive methode first. If the area in question is very minor in terms of roughness, then most likely the compound will correct it completley, or make it so much better that you will likely be satisfied with the results. You can repeat the process if needed with no ill effects, and if the roughness is still not gone, then search for a better way to solve the problem.