What finish did Ibanez use on their 1987 line?

[Stygian]

I didn't have to specify a year really, but I just want to know what finish is on my '87 RG. I'm going to repaint it using acrylic lacquer. I don't really want to have to cover up the trem, pickup and control cavities (just paint over them), and I want to find out if my paint will be compatible.

And while we're on topic. Just for curiosity sake, I'm interested in what finishes they used from this year to that, and what they use today. So, can anybody help me out?

[nuno]

are you talking about what brand of paint or just what colors they used?

[Stygian]

I mean how is the paint based. (i.e. lacquer, poly)

[jkahrs]

Polyester. I'd highly suggest taking it apart before you paint though. There's really nothing to it. --Jason

[jb4674]

I agree. If you're going to repaint the guitar, do it right or don't do it at all

Jimmy

[moebius]

As I read the original post, he was worried about having to cover the pickup, trem, and control CAVITIES. So I am assuming he was going to take it apart, but was worried about having to paint over the cavities with an incompatible paint type. I could be wrong, but that is how I read it.

[Stygian]

Originally Posted by moebius

As I read the original post, he was worried about having to cover the pickup, trem, and control CAVITIES. So I am assuming he was going to take it apart, but was worried about having to paint over the cavities with an incompatible paint type. I could be wrong, but that is how I read it.

YES! He has it correct. I can be a bit cheap sometimes, but I'm not that lazy, haha. So no guys, I'm not going to paint the guitar together, in fact it's already apart (no pickups, wiring) and mostly sanded. I just have to get the tricky spots along the curves.

Polyester is what they used around this year, huh? Will there be a problem if acrylic lacquer gets painted into the control cavities? I suppose I could tape them off, BUT even if I try to do that and the paint is not compatible it could seep under the tape in a spot or two and react. I just want to avoid this problem.

[albee1952]

I have refinished a few of these and never had a problem with new paint raising the old. I suspect the poly is impervious to nearly anything.

[Stygian]

Originally Posted by albee1952

I have refinished a few of these and never had a problem with new paint raising the old. I suspect the poly is impervious to nearly anything.

Nice to hear, thanks. While on the subject.. did you use woodfill or a sanding sealer on the basswood? And what grit sandpaper did you use before you applied your primer? (I have no idea what to use on bare basswood, but wow is it SOFT.)

I was hoping I could just sand the wood and go straight to primer.

[losgatosrg350dx]

sounds like he doesnt want to paint over the cavities becasue it has conductive paint over it..and it would require to redo it, i dont se how thats saying he was going to do it wrong

[Jason Stone]

Originally Posted by nuno

are you talking about what brand of paint or just what colors they used?

I'm actually trying to match the jewel blue paint on my 1990 RG570. If anyone knows what brand and color they used or something close, please let me know. Thanks.

[Silver Sable]

I used sanding sealer on my RG550 project before priming. I think two or three coats were needed because the edges are so dang easy to sand through the sealer. I used up to 320 on the body before sealing then 320 after sealing and then sprayed on the primer. Once I had several thin coats of primer on I sanded it down wiht 400 grit to get a really nice thin smooth coat of primer. Then made one more light pass with the primer just to make sure the surface was rough enough for the paint to hold.

I've done that process twice now because the first time I got to the painting I was WAY overzealous and put really heavy coats of paint on it that ran like an olympic event was taking place. But I learned my lesson when I had to sand all of that back off of there and reprime it. D'oh!

But happily I have put on my first 6 coats of clear this weekend and hope to get to the rest this week. Then I will let it sit for 2-4 weeks to properly cure before the finishing sanding. I can't wait to put this baby back together.

P.S. I found that in the trem cavity and the pickup cavities the factory either didn't put any ploy down or it was VERY little. I did remove all of the shielding paint though. Partly by accident and partly because once a small part of it started to come off, I decided to just use copper tape for shielding once I have it finished painting. It turns out to be MUCH easier that way.

[Out Of This Swirled]

"it that ran like an olympic event" LOL

[Stygian]

Originally Posted by Silver Sable

Refinishing stuff

That's very very helpful, thanks. I've been reading tips for refinishing guitars here and there, but I appreciate yours more because it's another basswood RG like my own. That's about as close of advice I can get, and I'm new to this so I can use it!

What type of clear coat are you using on your project?