Painting a guitar. (2) - what does it take? PLEASE HELP!

[Scoff X]

Wanting to paint my strat...its alder.

BUT! What kind of paint. What prep? How should it be sprayed on...I need to know all that PLEASE

My creme strat is annoying me I really want to do another color..

Please help me

[Project Guitar]

Sounds like a good time to do another tutorial, this one using spray cans.

Actually it really doesnt matter all that much which kind of paint you want to use as long as you give it plenty of attention and have plenty of patience.

First question I have for you is simple, what kind of gear do you have available to you for doing a paint job?

Secondly what kind of work space do you have to actually paint the body in and store it while it's drying between coats?

These will help me determine what kind of directions to give you to help you out.

[Scoff X]

My uncle owns a furniture refinishing shop.

He has a spray booth and I am guessing all the supplies

[Project Guitar]

Sounds like your already set except for the paint you want to use which you can get from many different places. I just clicked on a good place for you to start reading up over at Guitar ReRanch. They have the supplies you might want as well as Stew Mac.

[caprile]

yes! a tutorial on finishing with spray cans would be greatly appreciated. i have a crappy guitar,so investing too much on refinshing would cost more than half the guitar! i was thinking enamel and several coats of clear lacquer. will that work?

[Project Guitar]

Yes it will as long as you give the enamel plenty of time to dry first.

Also the best rule of thumb is your best end result depends on what surface your starting out with. Seriously get the base as smooth as possible before starting to paint. It does need some roughness in order for the paint to hold onto but if you gradually get down to say 600-800 grit on your suface prep that will result in a much finer finish once your painting.

If your going to use enamel spray cans and want a good looking finish don't expect perfection if you take the cheap way out and use only one can till it's almost empty and sputtering all over your project. Invest in a second just so when the pressure of the first one starts to go you can switch to the second.

When you have finally coated it in the color you want allow it to dry a minimum of 3 days. Sand down the top surface lightly, again you don't need to attack it but get as smooth as possible without sanding through the paint job you just did. Once your down to 800 grit or better (1500 wet/dry) then you can start with your first LIGHT coat of laquer. allow this to dry overnight then gradually build up coats. I recommend only doing 2 coats a day and do them within the time alotted by the paint manufacturer, it usually says on the can. Lightly sand the surface about every 3-4 coats and allow to dry again for 2-3 days in ideal conditions.

It will probably take you about 3-4 cans on the lacquer spray to build the surface up the way you really want it but you will be amazed at what you can do without having to invest in a compressor. I learned the hard way about allowing the paint to dry and also taking my time sanding smooth first the original surface and then at the steps posted above. Patience and paying close attention to detail really do pay off. Don't make the misteak of thinking that the tiny burr or hairline scratch will fill up with paint by building up layers, Smooth it out!

Once you are to the point of the final coat invest *in a very fine polishing compound. It doesnt take much elbow grease to find out that the surface you thought looked good before polishing looks great once you get started. Some day I will do a picture tutorial on this method but for now I hope this helps ya......

Peace, Brian

=o) Runs and hugs his compressor (o=

[caprile]

hey brian! great tips thanks a LOT! here in chile an enamel can cost about US$1.50, so no problem buying several. the laqcuer can is about the same. i think i'll start tomorrow. a question: what to do with the neck pocket? do i cover it or paint it? again thanks a lot! getting it refinished by someone else or getting a compressor is really not justifiable, and it sounds like fun! too bad i can't get enamel in weird colors, like those SK's or LNG's.

[Project Guitar]

Get a roll of masking tape and a razor blade. Simple mask off the pocket allowing the tape to over hang on the end and trim it off with the blade.

Change the tape occastionally so that it doesnt pull the paint off the body from buildup along the edges of it.....

[caprile]

thanks a lot brian! i really appreciate your help. I already have the body sanded down, I'm about to cover some dings with a wood filler. Too bad i don't have a digital camera, i would have loved to take pics step by step for your site.

[ripl3y]

I'm sure Brian will agree,
the most important part of finishing a guitar is the prep work.

Get that body perfectly ready to accept a finish, it may be hard work but it really is the only way to go to ensure trouble free application later on.

All Brian's advice is exactly right.

What I will add though is that you don't need a pro spray booth, just a nice calm day.

I recently stained a flamed body in red and added 12 coats of lacquer before leaving for 1 week to dry, then wet sanding and polishing.
It was all done from can's of car lacquer (bar the stain and sealer obviously) and out in the back garden.
One of the most unrecognised problems when spraying lacquer is the man-handling of the body between coats.

Scenario:- *
You spray the first couple of coats...it drys out and you take it to another room.
The next day comes and you add 2 more coats.
Did you just spray over the fingerprints you may have made when moving it? or did you wipe it down first?
Bear that in mind.

Also as mentioned, don't empty the entire can, leave some in before you move to the next.
When you empty it fully it tends to spit.
Also make sure you hold your finger far back on the nozzle, you don't want it to get in the way of the spray and also cause spitting.

Steve

Oh yeah...make sure you've got that mask on too.

(Edited by ripl3y at 4:52 pm on Jan. 12, 2002)

[littlegreenman]

ripl3y on 4:42 pm on Jan. 12, 2002

Oh yeah...make sure you've got that mask on too.

(Edited by ripl3y at 4:52 pm on Jan. 12, 2002)

But then I lose that funny feeling *woozy*

[6828]

What do people recommend to remove the original finish ?

I've read the ReRanch tips and they only suggest paint stripper or lacquer thinner. I don't mind the idea of sanding the entire body back, but I'm concerned about uneven sanding if I do so. Since my body is a factory sprayed Crimson I don't want the red to be absorbed into the wood before staining blue, and I really don't want to have to bleach out the red stains left by stripper.

Any tips ?

Tony

6828@iname.com

`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>

[bachle7]

Tony,

I hand-sanded my strat. *Once you get to primer or bare wood, you'll want to use a couple coats of primer. *That will save TONS of color coats. *I learned that the hard way. *I would like to reiterate the section about PATIENCE, especially for the clear coats. *I should have waited about 2 weeks before reinstalling the hardware. *I waited only a few days (in a humid climate) and the pickguard sunk into the clear coat just a few days after I tightened it down.

[6828]

I have decided not to even risk using paint stripper, the chances of it sinking into the wood then staining it are too great. If I were going for a solid colour finish I might have gone further into the stripper side of things.

I'm planning on staining my guitar body blue then putting a couple of clear coats over the top. If the stripper saturated the original crimson colour into the body or stained the body itself ,I'd have to ditch the blue wood stain idea.

I'm refinishing a Radius model so even if I sand off a little wood it wont be as noticeable as if I did a flat faced guitar like a JEM. Well, that's the thought process I have at the moment.

Tony

[6828]

Bachle7, I forgot to mention that I have planned not to use this guitar I'm refinishing till the finish has cured properly.

Thanks for the reminder to be patient, I am sure it can be a frustrating experience watching paint dry !

Tony