Hi...I'm doing a "cloth" finish on a guitar and the instructions say I should apply several coats of clear sanding sealer on after the glue holding the cloth has dried. (The guy that emailed me the instructions says he likes to use a "paste" sanding sealer that dries clear and rock hard. Can't find any animal like that. I looked at several items and ended up with clear polyurethane. It seems to be working just fine, but I'm doing a test piece to be certain before I do the actual guitar. If I put say 5 coats of clear poly on (they said heep putting it on and sanding until you can't feel the grain of the material), can I sand it smooth before shooting my final coats of clearcoat on? In other words, is clear ployurethane a substitute for actual sanding sealer? This may be a dumb question, but it's the only way I can find out for sure. Thanks for your help in advance.

I can't say that I have heard of a paste sanding sealer either.

But sanding sealer and polyurethane are not the same and do different things. The sanding sealer dries much faster and sands easier and smoother than a polyurethane. So you would be able to apply at least 2 to 3 coats in a day a opposed to 1 coat a day with polyurethane. You need to look at sanding sealer as a primer for the polyurethane and it should be topcoated for best long term durability with the polyurethane.

Good luck on your guitar and i hope this answers your question.