Special sandpapers for luthiers
Our tech experts show how different specialty sandpapers and abrasives can be used in lutherie.
A-SPECIALSANDPAPERS
Here's how we use these unusual abrasives
in our own instrument shops
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Don MacRostie StewMac Tool Designer and maker of Red Diamond mandolins "My sanding paddle has Stikit™ sandpaper on both ends. It's a fast way to remove glue squeeze-out and high spots after gluing binding. I cut it from a piece of 3/8" plywood." ![]()
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Todd Sams StewMac Production Manager and builder of Sams guitars "After spraying the build coats on my guitar finishes, I sand with 320 grit Fre-Cut™, then spray and sand again. Then I move on to 400, 600, and 800 grit. Don't skip grits! Using all the grits makes the work easier for each sheet, and they last a lot longer."
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Don MacRostie StewMac Tool Designer and maker of Red Diamond mandolins "Here's why these papers are the only way I polish pearl and bone anymore: the old way meant using liquid compound that left a black residue rubbed into the pores of the bone. With Polishing Papers the job is clean and dry, so the bone or pearl stays bright."
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Dan Erlewine Repairman, author, instructor and StewMac Tool Designer "I'll strip-sand a drop-fill finish repair by pulling ribbons of Micro Finishing Paper over the spot using fingertip pressure. I'll start with 600 grit Fre-Cut™ Gold, then run through all the Micro Paper grits. After that, I'll buff it out using Micro-Mesh™ Soft Touch Pads."
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Dan Erlewine Repairman, author, instructor and StewMac Tool Designer "These little Micro-Mesh pads wrap around any shape, so I use them to buff out finish repairs on pegheads. They bend to follow all the curves in the peghead. They're really good for polishing bone nuts, too."
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Erick Coleman Repairman and StewMac Customer Support Expert "This cord is the last step in finishing a string slot. It gets rid of chatter marks from files, and leaves the slot glassy smooth. For refinishing, I use it for getting the old finish out of tight spots like the groove in the top of a Gibson peghead, too."
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