Kovax Super Assilex 600

Kovax Super Assilex is available from 240 up to 1500 grit and takes you from prep to finish. 

Prep
The 240 and 400 grit Assilex are specific made for the preparation for your finish.

For a lacquer finish, sanding up to 400 grit is sufficient. Check that all minor scratches and irregularities are removed by moistening the surface, eg with turpentine, and inspect your project in good light. Always sand in the direction of the grain with your last sanding round.

For a finish with oil, you can go up to 600 grit and then apply your first oil layer, even using Assilex to sand with the oil to make a smudge and fill the pores.

Finish
Lightly sanding between each coat with Assilex 600 enables a fine build-up of the lacquer layers and helps to reduce unwanted orange skin and accumulations.
When your instrument has completely cured after the last coat of varnish (at least 2 weeks), you can start smoothing the surface.
Start with Assilex 600. Do not use water. Assilex is designed for dry sanding on lacquer and gives you  less chance of sanding through the lacquer layer than with traditional wet sanding.
Sand the surface in 1 direction and regularly look over your surface with grazing light. Sanded parts will be matted, non-sanded parts will continue to shine slightly. If you still see shiny spots, sand a little further on that part.
When you see almost no shiny parts, repeat the sanding process with Assilex 800, 1200 and 1500.

For an oil finish, you can dab the Assilex 600 in the oil and apply it. In this way you make a slurry of fine sanding dust and oil and you create a pore filler. Spread excess oil with a tightly folded lint-free cloth perpendicular to the grain. Repeat and leave to dry for at least 6 hours for the next layer. Apply the next layer with Assilex 800 in the same way and let it dry again for 6 hours. Then apply another layer with the Assilex 1200 with the grain and then with the 1500 also with the grain. Let harden for 24 hours and polish with a lint-free cloth.

Sanding flat surfaces
For sanding flat surfaces, we recommend a hard surface under the sandpaper. This gives the least chance of uneven removal of material or finger pressure. A cork block is ideal, a block of wood is also possible, but be alert for any hard corners and sharp edges.

Sand round surfaces
For sanding round parts such as the inside of horns, you can take a piece of PVC tube and stick your sandpaper around it. Make sure you do not have overlapping parts.

Tip:

• Use the Kovax Tolecut from 800 to 1500 to remove minor imperfections.
• If desired, polish the surfaces further with the Tolecut 2000 and 3000 and give gloss with Menzerna, available from 400 to 3500 for sublime shine.
• The flexible Assilex patches are also rinseable and therefore last longer.