FghtinIrshNvrDi said:
I guess that must be because of the wood you use? Are guitars made out of hard wood or soft wood? I've never used anything over 600 grit and this stuff is smoooooth. I don't see how 2000 grit can do anything. I've made many, many, many wood projects and never used anything higher than a 600grit wetsand.
Also, if you are using mahagony, my personal taste is something more natural and earth-toned. The deep brownish reds are way more attractive than those synthetic looking greens blues and whatnot.
Ryan
Softwoods (usually) on the top (I have been using Western Red Cedar, Adirondack Spruce, and Sitka Spruce), and hardwoods on the back (Palo Escrito, Indian Rosewood, Zebrawood, Mahagony, Ash, Sycammore, etc.)
The purpose of the higher grit sandpaper is to remove the scratches that the previous grit made in the wood. They are very fine scratches, but still noticable even above 800 grit dry. On my speakers that I painted I only did a 600 grit wetsand, but guitars are a very different project, requiring much more attention to detail (as you expect them to last 70+ years, and others will look at your handiwork much more so than a desk you made. I go to luthier's conventions every two years, and these other luthiers are JUST as anal as I am).
Another reason why such high-grit is used, it is incredibly noticible when you scratch mother of pearl or Abalone inlays on the instrument - I've seen the scratches with 1000 grit. Essentially, going so high is really just insuring that your finish is perfect and time-effective.
As for the mahagony, I only use natural water-based instrument grade lacquer on my instruments - I don't even stain. All of my mahagony is very high grade, very straight-grain, and very rich in color. I use it for back and sides, tops ocassionally, and for almost every single neck (It's a great, stable wood).