Hoping to achieve a satin-ish finish like the one in this video. Any tips before I start?

[jaminjamesp]

I’ve been going back and forth on how I want to achieve this. I’ll be spraying lacquer.

I’ve thought about shooting in a semi gloss and just calling it a day. I really can’t find any examples of a semi gloss sheen in lacquer, and locally I can only source lacquer by the gallon, so it might be an expensive expirement.

I’ve also considered finishing in gloss, wet sanding up to about
800, then using the buffer to polish out the sanding marks. Then using micro mesh pads or steel wool to knock the sheen back.

My only hesitation with the second option is that over time the gloss will return in high wear areas, which could be cool. Just not sure how authentic that would look. Maybe more authentic. Don’t have any 60 year old instruments to put my hands on.

I’m not going for a modern matte finish. Hoping for a vintage patina.

Any tips would be awesome!

 

[kentiki]

You could try not using a clear coat. Many vintage fenders didn't have one.

 

[jaminjamesp]

You could try not using a clear coat. Many vintage fenders didn't have one.

Yeah, I think I’ll just shoot color coats and no clear. On my last few coats of color I’ll a bit of a flattening agent to my lacquer to take the sheen down just a bit.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I've owned matte finish basses, and they always polish up a bit at the wear points like elbow relief, kinda goes with the territory. I didnt mind it, kind of a "reverse wear" thing going. Id still clearcoat it unless you like a relic'd look. Just sand up to.what ever grit gets you the look you want and stop there, maybe 1000 or 1500 grit?