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Maybe this is a
Anyone use wax on acoustic gloss finish for that final shine??
What wax do you use?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

In my experience, waxing only dulls the finish, compared to the shine right off the buffer. I’ve found the same to be true when attempting to using swirl remover.

Cheers, M

For the final spit shine I use this 3M hand glaze and cloths. I keep one cloth for applying the glaze and another for hand buffing back off. It has worked the best of all the things I've tried including Meguires car glaze, etc...

https://www.amazon.com/3M-05990-Hand-Gl ... 7474&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Perfect-Non-S ... c=1&sr=8-2

Hope that helps.

Brad

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Are you still doing UV-cure?

M

Yes, that's a good point. I'm using the hand glaze on UV cured poly.

Side note: I've started experimenting with FP top and UV cured body & neck.

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My feeling about any wax product (or silicon) is that it makes any future finishing work almost impossible. My guitars are shiny enough after the final buff, no need for wax or anything else.

Side note: I've started experimenting with FP top and UV cured body & neck. [/quote]

Let us know if it improves the sound of your guitars…

I've used a bit of wax to brighten up a dull finish. This can work especially well on a vintage instrument where you may not want to remove any of the existing finish that has already been buffed a number of times. Harder waxes (carnauba) will take a higher shine and stay shiny longer than softer waxes (beeswax) but are more work to apply and buff out. Unlike furniture, where a moderate wax buildup can add some "patina" to the piece, for musical instruments I think a thin coat of wax (if any) looks better. I prefer natural waxes and avoid those with silicone. Some waxes contain color (Briwax) and can be used to fill small gaps where the binding has shrunk away from the wood.
Waxes seem to work best when thinly applied and allowed to dry before buffing. Most waxes can be removed using a cloth wetted with naphtha, changing the cloth as necessary when it becomes filled with wax.

no wax many waxes contain silicone and this make future finish repair very difficult this is a guitar not a truck . The buffing process bring up the shine 3M has many good products that do not contain silicone. Maquires #9 swirl remove can bring up a high gloss but the is often a haze that comes off with some damp cloths. I also use Mazerna 175 as a final buff.
This topic comes up fairly often and here buffing technique is an important as product being used. I use buffing wheels and not all wheels are the same. Domet Flannel are my 2 go to buffing wheels , then the speed and how you load them.
Many use hand help buffers so here it is the learning curve to get the best final result. Once you get a good result make sure you maintain the process. A light touch on the final buffs help to bring up that deep wet look.

lastly to rush it. I try to allow a minimum of 2 weeks before doing final buff out. Too soon and you get a lot of sinking.

If you don't start with a good prep you will never get the best finish , so remember good prep helps for the best final results

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it