I did a project last year. Here are a few tips/ suggestions.
1. The article is on project guitar is a good place to start. It is hard to find the paint he uses (can't remember the name anymore) in the USA. I was able to get some but my results were never good -- many reasons why.
2. Be prepared to practice.
3. It is a crap shot if it turns out nice. I reswirled my project 5 times at least before I got one I liked enough to stop.
4. I used automotive paint. Bought it from a auto paint delaer in town that supplies body shops. I had to use harderner and some kind of thinner, mixing it in small cups to use. It stinks and was no fun to use - but was better then anything else I found.
5. Fresh water and plenty of borax. Warmer water works better. I found that a large trash can (plastic) worked better as a dunking tank then a big square container.
6. I clearcoated it with canned nitro from Stew Mac. Don't use the standard poly you find a hardware store - most leaves a yellow tint - yeah found that out the hard way. I used auto spray paint white primer for the umm primer.
7. I built a handle that attached to the body out of plywood. Wood is harder dunk then you think.
8. It makes a mess when you wipe the paint off the top of the water too - so prepare for that. I laid down drop clothes in my paint area.
9. It is expensive - paints cost a ton. Seriously consider having a pro do it. Some of the guys that have banners about will do it for a few hundred bucks - considering all the time you put into it - practice, etc. You'll end up spending some cash. I think I spent well over 200 in paints alone.
10. The biggest thing to learn is how much paint to add. It is hard to get it right and the main thing to practice. To little and your guitar looks like primer, to much and it goops together and runs/bubbles.
11. some paints float better then others. I found that Honda car paint floated well were as Ford was heavy and tough to thin. Crystler was also good.
Here are some pics of my finished project. I swirled white, black and two or three colors of blue. Some were metalics. Its not much to look at but it plays nice. I put Breeds in and I added abalone to the fretboard. It has Gotoh hardware. I can say I'd ever do it again though. Hope this was some help. Good luck!
