Getting rid of scratches.

Raiace said:

Hey everyone,

I noticed a few days ago that there were some fine scratches on my guitar. Really light, only seen under light of course.

I was just wondering, is there any compound which would get rid of these light scratches, and if you don't mind, I'd prefer a compound which can be hand applied with a soft cloth. Tips anyone?

Thanks in advance.

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you wont ever be able to get rid of them its a part of paint, and any compound actually scratches the paint to give you a shiny glossy finish so no there's really not much you can do.

Stewart-McDonald do a swirl remover #0, but there is obviously an upper limit to how many swirls you can remove by swirling a guitar with compound....

Its a good polish though, give it a try. If these are bigger than we imagine, you can use #1 then #0.

3M makes a compound that gets rid of scratches. Compounds generally tend to be a bit harsh, so apply it very gently and remove it quickly. Once you remove it, clean the guitar, and apply some carnuba wax to the entire body and polish it to a nice shine.

Jimmy:smile:

Yeah thanks everyone!

I'm thinking of ordering the Colortone Polish from Stew Macdonald. The fine polish and the swirl remover. Will these work by hand polish?

(Sorry I can't post a link, need a post count of 20 or higher)

They work by hand, I've used em. They do recommend a buffer for large areas but they have to.

Whats carnuba wax? {I'm interested}

Jamie said:

They work by hand, I've used em. They do recommend a buffer for large areas but they have to.

Whats carnuba wax? {I'm interested}

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It's just a wax used on automobiles. I think that the Meguiars yellow polish makes the best swirl remover ever. I've worked in classic car restoration and have tried just about every compound/polish out there. Most products made for guitars are pretty ineffective.

Wax is meant to be a sacrificial layer to protect the paint from scratches and contaminants. Not really necessary or particularly helpful on a finished guitar.

Okay cool, thanks everyone. I just ordered the stuff.