I've completed my Stewmac aerosol burst colors and now am working on clear coat. Instructions say that I should do 4-10 coats of clear and recommends that I'll need 4 cans. I've applied 3 coats so far and still have quite a bit left in the first can. Should I be applying wetter or is there something else I'm missing? Thanks in advance.
Do they recommend wet sanding between coats? When I was doing finishes, I did wet sanding from 400 grit to 1800 grit between coats. This levels out the finish and makes it look really dull. Then you put another coat over it, which makes it shiny again. You keep doing this until the finish is completely flat and dull and there are no "shinies" after you wet sand the whole body. That means there are no depressions to hide the finish from the sandpaper, making it totally flat. But this also uses up a lot of finish, which is why you might have finish left over -- you are not wet sanding between coats. Disclaimer -- I was using water based lacquer and nitrocellulose lacquer at the time, and I don't know the brand you are using, so consider that when taking my advice.
What type of bass are you working on? Your initial post suggests electric, in which case you are on the wrong forum.
No need to scuff or sand lacquer between coats. Aerosol (rattle can) finishing doesn't produce as thick a layer as with a gun, so you'll have to use more coats if you want a finish thick enough to level and polish. And it tends to produce a bit more orange peel in the gloss form as well, that's why they say to really pile up the coats so you have some build to sand. Same with the Preval sprayer.
