Swirling Is An Art (Tutorial)

RG462 · #1 07-10-2009, 01:22 PM

There are thousands of random posts on this site, -"How do I swirl", "What Paint Do I Use", "Tell me how to make my guitar like Vai's"-, and very few tutorials. Let me tell you how I have done it. First of all, I am 17 years old and have been doing this for about 2 years. I became obsessed with the electric guitar solo, and then found Steve Vai. I was mezmerized! I bought an RG220 from my friend for $70 and ruined the finish with nail polish remover trying to get off a sticker. I freaked! Long story short, I found the project guitar swirling tutorial and wanted to try it. Here we are two years later and I've got my technique down pretty well. Jemsite has lacked to have a solid tutorial and I feel this is where swirling is the most alive. Hopefully this tutorial will cut down on questions and mindless posts that we all dread.

1. Preparing the body. The first swirl that I did was a success as well as a failure. I dipped my RG and when I pulled it out, the body had deep cracks running parellel to the sides all throughout the body.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...SwirlRG021.jpg
If your body is down to the bare wood, SEAL IT WITH SANDING SEALER! I have dipped Fender bodies without sealing and they haven't cracked. I've concluded that their finishes are much more durable than Ibanez.

My First Completed Project. I got very lucky in the beauty of this guitar. This is why I call it an art. I encourage you to try different things to create your own unique paintjob, this body by no means looks like any swirl I have ever seen.

2. After the sealer dries, I usually sand it with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a wooden block to level everything out. I then attach the body to a piece of wood using either factory screws, or anything that will fit. Then, I just use cheap white spray paint in a can from any hardware store. I spray the body with thin coats untill everything is covered. I only let it dry for about 20min. At this point it is pretty much dry but it is wet and sticky enough to really pull the swirl paints to the body. http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/P1010062.jpg

3. SWIRLING. I use a trash can as my swirl bucket. Make sure its clean to avoid letting anything get into your paint. I full it up about 5 inches from the top with hose water, nothing special. I always asked for what paints to use and was constantly looking for the secret to coming out with a gorgeous body. I finally realized, Swirling Is An Art. There is no "set" way to do it. I still have no idea what Herc Fede or Darren at ATD use, but have come out with some similiar results. I use modeling paints from Hobby Lobby. Half of these paints don't even work. They clump or spread way too much. The trick is to test the color you are using and ADD THINNER if it is needed. Too much will create bubbles or dissapear and too little the paint will sink. This type of art is all about trial and error. I have had hundreds of attempts and tons of failures. Once I know the paint will spread nicely and is really even in the water, I test my next color. You may have to dump your water if it is really nasty before the swirl and refill it. Pour your paints very close to the surface of the water making sure the spread easily. I use nails to swirl the paints. I make sure that the colors are spread evenly throughout the water and I look for "Problem spots" Problem spots are areas that look clumped, are not spreading well, or film from the paint that is preventing the colors to spread. Simply touch these spots with your nail and they will stick to the nail. Either wipe the nail off with a paper towel or grab a new one. Here you can control how busy the swirl is. The more you swirl the paints, the busier the swirl on the guitar will be. When looking at the swirl in the water, you can pretty much tell if it is going to be good or not. If it doesn't look pretty, or like the swirl you are trying to acheive, just dip something else to clean the water and try again. It gets expensive, but if you are trying to come out with something amazing, it's worth it. Wait untill the colors dry just enough to where they are relatively still. Don't wait too long or else it won't stick, too soon and you'll have terrible runs. Grab your body ( make sure it is attached to the wood tightly so the body doesn't move when it is submerged in the water) and slowly touch it to the water. Push down slowly. You can either dip straight down or move from side to side. You can do S patterns or M patterns. You must dip the body in a smooth and relaxed motion, otherwise it looks really choppy or you get paint lines horizontally across the body. Push the body all the way so paint covers the top of each horn. Then, holding the body under, blow away all the paint for a clearing to pull the body out of. Otherwise, you will put a second coat of swirl onto the body, covering up the original swirl. Prop the body up to a work bench or table by putting a heavy toolbox or something on the piece of wood. This will let the water drip off without altering the swirl.

Let dry for at least 24 hours and there you have it! A Steve Vai Swirled guitar! The Clearcoat business is another project in itself, I may do another tutorial on it in the future. Please use this thread as a reference or place for question and discussion, I'm starting to get annoyed at the ridiculous amount of new threads of the same thing.

Here's some more pics of my work!

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/P1010163.jpg
This is my second swirl. Not too pretty at all. It takes time to master the ART of swirling.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...emtest3002.jpg
It doesn't come right away....

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...emtest2003.jpg
Alot of failed attempts at what I was looking for.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...rance005-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ibrance025.jpg
Better, but not yet....

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...EdJEm003-1.jpg
Can you tell me what went wrong with this one? (*hic* *hic* Dipped too early, runs all along the body.)

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/CIMG3900.jpg
GOOD! Clean work, but still, black too thick, colors not evenly distributed.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/P1010514.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/P1010285.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...wirls09014.jpg

One of my best by far. CLEAN CLEAN and very pleasing for the eye

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...wirls09009.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...wirls09010.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...wirls09001.jpg

Well I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Thanks for reading.

Homebake · #2 07-10-2009, 01:29 PM

awesome dude, very informative. very nice swirling too, i think this will definitely come in handy to a lot of people.

smooth55 · #3 07-10-2009, 01:35 PM

I've always wondered how swirling was done, merely curious as I don't really fancy the swirled looks, but still interesting. Thanks for all the pics but could you also maybe show a shot or two of the garbage can and how that looks when you're dunking it? Much appreciated.

Brosa · #4 07-10-2009, 01:38 PM

It's got my vote for a Stickied thread for all the newbies too lazy to search the forums

Good job on formulating your thoughts on the swirling proces and your experience with swirling.

UV-7-BK · #5 07-10-2009, 01:39 PM

Very interesting...cheers man...that was great

RG462 · #6 07-10-2009, 02:06 PM

Thanks guys! next swirl I will take some pics of the water and such.

6fingers · #7 07-10-2009, 02:24 PM

man that first one is really THE BEAST !!!
AWESOME !
To me this is the most beautiful swirl ever including pups color etc =

AxeHappy · #8 07-10-2009, 03:38 PM

Pretty good information. Especially about marbling being an art and how some paint simply won't work and testing.

But skimming should be addressed. Cut some old newspaper into strips and skim it across the top of the water before adding your paint/ink. Help get any hair or debris or whatever off the size. You can also use it to skim out access paint (instead of dumping your size) or to get rid of an attempt that just isn't working.

You can use a paper towel to absorb parts you don't like or if you've put too much of one colour in one spot just suck it up.

As for patterning your swirl. On a plain water size this can be hard. Fortunately most of us here are going for a "fantasy" pattern so it's not too bad but I highly recommend the use of a stray cat wisker. Your hair can work in a pinch but the cat wisker is slightly firmer.

indeedido · #9 07-10-2009, 04:05 PM

This is all great info!

Timbaline · #10 07-10-2009, 05:25 PM

This should be stickied.

nato101010 · #11 07-10-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brosa

It's got my vote for a Stickied thread for all the newbies too lazy to search the forums

+1

That would be me.

musicdr · #12 07-12-2009, 04:21 PM

Also, use 50gal. drum liner plastic garbage bags for the inside of your garbage can.Home depot sells them.

UV-7-BK · #13 07-13-2009, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6fingers

man that first one is really THE BEAST !!!
AWESOME !
To me this is the most beautiful swirl ever including pups color etc =

That is stunning....its got a huge WOW factor!!!

nickcoumbe · #14 07-13-2009, 09:14 AM

Great Info!

dccomputersa · #15 07-13-2009, 01:39 PM

You can eliminate most of the trial and error by using automotive paints from a local paint store. Have them pre-mix it with a 50/50 ratio of paint to reducer. They float easily this way, and since they are all made of the same material and reducer they pretty much all float the same, without the clumping and such. You can use any local auto paint store that mixes their own stuff. Dries fast and sands down easily. Also 6 Finger, that swirl is one of the best I have ever seen.