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I've started wet sanding this guitar. I used Brite-Tone instrument lacquer and all has been going well. But as I've started wet sanding I've noticed this weird texture for lack of a better word in the finish. Does this look like it will buff out in the end?

Did you clear coat or are you trying to buff your color? What grit are you at right now?

I guess the answer is, I don't know but since you have started color sanding go ahead and see what happens. DO NOT use wax or silicon polishing compounds and if it doesn't come out you can always shoot more lacquer (the beauty of lacquer) including clear. Another choice might be to shoot a couple of coats of lacquer thinner to try to get it to blend together or possibly a coat of blush remover

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I did the clear coat, and that's after wet sanding to 800 grit.

Is this what it looks like when the different coats don't melt together?

Conor

Yuppers. You have sanded through the thin top coat into the color coat. That's EXACTLY what it looks like. So.... Add more clear.

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Gaarrrggh

I always end up doing that. Everyone talks about how important a thin coat is and so I've tried to keep it thin, but nuts!

I'm going to go err on the side of too many until I figure this out. Thanks Chris.

Thin is (relatively) important on an acoustic, but kind of hard for a newbee to do. Thin doesn't matter a bit on an electric - look at many of the imports and they look like they are dipped in plastic.

If I'm doing color with lacquer I shoot maybe five or so coats of the color - most of the time I'm trying to still have the grain show thru so the coats are pretty thin and there isn't a lot of dye mixed into the lacquer (four or five drops in four oz of lacquer). I will level sand that and then shoot 10 or 15 or more coats of clear - usually thinned 1:1 depending on the temp and humidity. When I sand and buff I want it to be entirely the clear that gets buffed.

I don't do solid colors like yours, but I have a very good friend who paints custom motor cycles and he frequently does guitars. He only uses two part automotive finishes and is meticulous about getting the color coats perfect, then doing the clear over that. Because they are catalyzed they are thicker coats and less of them. Again, all the buffing gets done on the clear.

However, if that is lacquer then just add more clear coats, let cure and continue on

I believe brite-tone is water-based.
Wonder if this could be witness lines between two layers?
Might be worth asking the manufacturer to confirm.
It does look like you have gone thru the clear coat as others have stated.

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I learned a trick when I was shooting water born lacquer (KTM-9). When I cleaned my gun with water I then put some denatured alcohol in it and shot that into the air to clear out all the water. I left a little DA in the cup and before the next coat of KTM-9 I just shot a mist of DA onto the guitar. That seemed to tack the old finish and get the new lacquer to melt in better. Before doing that I would get witness lines, none afterwards. Don't know if this would work with any other finishes - as they say, practice on scrap.