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Post subject: Repainting a Guitar body - Can I get away with this?
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:35 pm
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Hey guys,

I'm going to repaint the body of an old guitar I have, it's mahogany. I've sanded it all the way down so now it's just bare wood. The thing is, there are all these sites saying I should use grain filler etc, and then a nitro coat underneath.

But I want to just apply primer and then the paint, then lacquer it with nitro. Can I do this, or will I regret it? What would be bad about said process?

Thanks, could use all the help I can get!

Ed

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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:58 pm
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Stew-Mac sells spray-on lacquer... they recommend doing a coat of clear lacquer over smooth, bare wood before applying colour.


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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 4:43 pm
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If the guitar was painted, it should already have grain filler on it. Prime a small section on the back and check for any grain. If you see any you'll need to use the grain filler. If no grain is visible or after applying the filler you should be able to apply your primer then continue from there. One rule of thumb, don't put a harder finish over a softer one i.e. Laquer over Enamel. Best route, keep with the same type for all stages. I refinished a neck with the rattle can nitro-cellulose from Stewart McDonald with good results. For a choice of colors, you may need to go to an auto paint store, they're usually very helpful as well.

I just repainted my 2004 Deluxe V-Neck. I was able to sand the paint down to the sealer coat and put on a coat of auto primer. Then, using automotive urethane, I sprayed two coats of silver base, three coats of Kandy, to get the desired color, then two coats of epoxy clear.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 5:01 pm
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You need to be very carefull that youve got a even level of wood before starting from scratch. I'd do as stewmac says. I got bad results by trying to skimp. If your going to take off what filler isnt needed then what harm can it do.

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Post subject: Re: Repainting a Guitar body - Can I get away with this?
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:02 pm
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Echo_Delta wrote:
Hey guys,

I'm going to repaint the body of an old guitar I have, it's mahogany. I've sanded it all the way down so now it's just bare wood. The thing is, there are all these sites saying I should use grain filler etc, and then a nitro coat underneath.

But I want to just apply primer and then the paint, then lacquer it with nitro. Can I do this, or will I regret it? What would be bad about said process?

Thanks, could use all the help I can get!

Ed


Hi Ed

It's mahogany, you need to fill the grain somehow. Mahogany is very porous (for a hardwood.) why you need to fill the grain is that as your finish cures (dries, and the solvent part of the pain gasses away,) the finish will shrink. If you don't fill in the pores this will really show up.

Now there are several ways to fill these pores. they really depend on how much time , money, patience you have, and what visual effects you want.

How you are planning to paint it is important. Do you it to be an opaque paint job, or a transparent one? That meas, do you want to see the wood grain or not? If you don't then you can probably get away with a few coats of primer. But you will need to sand these down, to be level, and it will be pretty much the same amount of work as using a grain filler. I usually make my own primer out of vinyl sealer (lacquer with vinyl globules in it,) which allows you to build up a surface fast, as it won't sink into the wood as fast.

But this is really only the best way for closed pore woods, like alder. If oyur guitar was alder, you could just do a quick prime with the primer made from vinyl sealer, and some pigment. let the first coat dry, then sand to level it.this will be almost enough sanding to get all the promer off. It will be level with the surface of the wood. then clean it, and do another thin coat to promote adhesion. this I would only lightly scuff sand. then go straight to colour. Mahogany isn't that easy.

You could also use a sanding sealer. (lacquer with stearites in it--a kind of soap essentually-- ,) these also allow you to build thickness faster than straight lacquer. But due to the soap in it, it cures softer than straight lacquer, and can in fact be a bit milky. Using too much, and getting a thick layer of SS can cause your final clear coats to be sitting on top of a softer surface, and thus actually move around, and get checking or even cracking.
However it would take a pretty huge overapplication for that.

I would say with mahogany your best bet is to grain fill. You can mix a dye(or stain,) in with the grain filler, and use it as a bit of a coloring agent too. If you don't want any of the pigment to actually sink into the wood itself, it is a good idea to use a couple very thin wash coats of lacquer to seal the body first.

if you want a solid opaque colour for your guitar, you can use either a clear grain filler, or one that closely matches the wood itself. This way it won't show through any color coats. If you use a dark grain filler, and then try to paint, say a white, you will need many more coats to prevent it from showing through.

So I would suggest, a washcoat, or 2 of lacquer. Grainfill, level sand it. Another coat or 2 of clear lacquer. This will protect the lower layers if you need to sand. Go with your colour coats, only a couple, just enough for even coverage. Then finish with a few coats of clear. Unfortunately, it is at the final clearing, that a lot of times any mistakes in earlier layers will become evident. let your final clears gas off and cure for a month. then final wet sand and polish.

This is a pretty simplified schedule. Go to Stew mac, and follow theirs.

Shortcuts will bite you in the backside every time.

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:37 pm
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Hello SonOflAm,

Very nice paint job on
that guitar, great color.

Cheers.


Last edited by Mr Bill on Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:44 pm
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If you don't use a filler you stand a chance of unwanted stain effects showing through the finish.

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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:09 pm
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Thanks Mr Bill. It was fun and turned out nice.

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