Hofner Colorama II restoration project part 18 rescuing a ruined finish
Well, it happens. You have a lovely finish on your guitar and then you drop it, chip it, scratch it, or whatever. In my case I got a bit overly energetic while polishing it and this happened:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-7QIbmQVL-pS8PVQdT7IgCKsusjDkFcOAfz4PHH1yzX2prf_OqHH_dRdUxfPQnks5wfd3xw8_ZhgUghH0gbG1GHtQaJrscxEX8unq0s3ChK74pI6NPscsz-mJ11o5cV_1YBuRAvq-yHc/s320/f1288512.jpg)
It probably didn’t help that the lacquer hadn’t completely cured so was still a little bit soft. I’m sure there’s a term for this, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is. The long and sort of it is that I friction burned it, causing the lacquer to melt and shift.
First things first, I decide to scrape off the raised lacquer with one of my favourite new tools, the razor blade:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFNySfeb7QVjTIXfGZ5ppdHvENPLtvAUMy26QOfoe9NXUQDs98ndHTJ18PM3mmS3wU9ebthM7CtPo6H9qGHqYdE7TmSfQ7gsWX4CGMW0xtAzbHP791QSk58FUDHSMuLHSscG1OqibHGw/s320/f1301504.jpg)
This leaves us with the following:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrU7VeQBalUYrqu2QFjEv3UxwrljZ3SwPr8tPwyT2pW7P6BNeMvf3gc6NMUdMLQrZmyrd6t-8eNZcAGHO4jvg-H4aynJUHNhy6dXhejmvpEyriRpNMqX0SQ__p2KHueb_YAIoiC1U_tJg/s320/f1310848.jpg)
Next, I carefully sand away any remaining effects left by the original melting using 400 grit paper wrapped around a wine bottle cork:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS37gSXgz03ix5phgfP31tra3PJIJdAQ8Ztcfe-EKZb6PttZJq98KKzVY0JGPvg0fE63wD6fOdKxBt-G_XjKihTeROyUyf5UAkUJKETcEIoTUPURQda92Bx87DPFkut0u_SIlb3EPLIOQ/s320/f1315520.jpg)
This leaves us with this (you know that expression about things getting worse before they get better?)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_qn8SO1ZXMFs2jg_1N8VbfCCpsB7Ld7hgBoQsGOExL2uxLFcdG7boRdVqX7WmvLKaCodJe8IWDMcYZ4XFWuwEvInKBuRq4W03y4bDLW9bIW-k73ndvPa9NlMUhgc6KxgaHigDK8lOk8/s320/f1320128.jpg)
Next, we go over it with 600 grit paper, again wrapped around a cork (800 grit would be better if you can get your hands on some):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntMRordDynBd6HllvlYqCZ9vQ2fTVKHo4MEcV8JWE_W4GTorRr1acRrNpwZZEoApqC4uoSVZZJeybNFASkzZxKAU0r4vVBozrUx-5kfGy-IBdWStexCW-xqPNudFFhPu19oMgfJ7ckYc/s320/f1329600.jpg)
Leaving us with the following:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yrY7mFQimMbw6SKnFbuopFtCuOgmf73s6vxsvv2VLzM50KxA73QnUVEkbu-GBiQBU1wZEewUgkm_Xe7PDgD6CAgRNhC4Q68Le97XzrjQFWfdEM50Jnim-wzAW8bW5aqeTqT3qZL6WaE/s320/f1334208.jpg)
Now I decide to go with wet sanding (you could do this on the earlier stages if you wish too), using 1200 grit paper:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMy_h3gSp_urOV8MQ6Cu9RZNdauzJ1Ji6mMkd0ZH2a1owJWrZ2B_-cdizDdZxmVzv3v6P96OYQSWZwaU5kq1v1iFeXE6kt_-r9f75Yu1BB4RlW7rPNAmIOnz-fNZ7Ug2OiV_15YgYCUdM/s320/f1338816.jpg)
Now it’s starting to not look so scary:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMxi0xiEB9EaYDfvAUiOjEBSYfrRToVcUWg2dLQGAJ8ULxSD9AH_4LVmwh43VFjkh1fY8tVfqR5dmVRMliboRuVhgWzC0ypL_w_FTAqDmFNntNNIotsPOX18tYBnJ0xIjmsq8At3Fn2dg/s320/f1343296.jpg)
And lastly, as far as sandpaper’s concerned, I wet sand it with 2000 grit sandpaper:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFbcaI4QzNgZE1G22KmjubUAAuafWTfFkSd4kgJedzb-D_9PcS3l0S87bjeHuoK5z1ohHeesTbX3Vul75w0fHVqaDllWN5-W3YGp1d0mD8gZpLhRznyp2UAHuy66ZzdVxU0w0jdZq7pk/s320/f1361664.jpg)
Leaving us with this:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQZtoRh9Lm4Kf86LU00hCrOE9EWrexUCYDt5gnvqW_O4cEenBQeRIEHqUzk3O-N6d6mWW4JmRm3bDgmRAdwBmoyntPEqMmkWPYerbQsTKDPyEl6dLyPCFZTlIats2QQ2uol-P7R_Hv2k/s320/f1366208.jpg)
Luckily I had enough lacquer on there that even after all the sanding, I never broke through to the paint. Had I done so, I’d need to do a bit of painting/lacquering and a little bit more sanding to get to this stage, but it would still be perfectly do-able.
Finally, it’s a case of using the rubbing compound to get the shine back (being a little less zealous this time around):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-Hclg9OHtxVTFokiKzXlsL25-6Xwq9TR1-QiXsWRIulSyXecYxbDL2SiIsuWuSf4aaGpZ5epqUSDcHt9KFrAEh_jjDaqeKvjkXC9f9VcRlwlP9KS6KInfL2fDYmibOeIbnj4WtDx4-w/s320/f1235712.jpg)
And the final result. It’s almost like it never happened:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflhDYsNK8chrdUg-fAv1PN_-AjYuHTDRbMpGHDF3nFIl6wFFqVLZJ8kHISuJKKuBTKdrPL_JwP3si8lWeIKaQzUr4WGKuS78rbkYrBSwp3p7hbT2EToJJyU4gXkb6vGrwAhQ5idxLS7M/s320/f1370880.jpg)
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