Has anyone ever done this or have any experience with this. A guy I know is selling a partscaster Tele that he built which is this super sweet Natural colored little beauty with a rosewood Mighty Mite neck on it. I played it a bunch of times and it is sweet, but he never would sell it before. I talked him into it tonight.

I was thinking about spraying the neck darker or having someone do it for me and also taking the natural off and putting a nitro finish on it or a custom color.

Does this method work or is it a bad idea?
http://www.mk-guitar.com/blog/2009/01/0 ... er-finish/

What's the easiest way to do this, should I have someone else tackle it for me or is it just not worth it. It is a sharp looking guitar now so I don;t want to risk it if there's a chance I ruin the guitar. I'd be getting the guitar for $125 with a case.

Well what the guy says about the tonal differences of paint is complete hogswash. The only advantages cellulose has over urethane is that it ages better, if you like a worn look. That also means that you have to be really carefull if you want your guitar to stay looking new.
Polyester does go on thick but the difference of 125gramms is negligble on a guitar. Its like the weight difference between a tele with bigsby against a regular tele. Polyester just doesnt look nice though. It does look like a plastic shell.

Heat for paint removal is a very valid method. I believe user Twelvebar is quite the fan of that method. I can tell you from experience that sanding through polyester is making a rod for your own back.

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No no and no

Me too. Using an ordinary household heat stripper (about $20 from a hardware shop) I stripped a polyester finish in about an hour. (Then takes me weeks to put a new finish on, but...)

Chemical paint stripper or straightforward sanding are the alternatives: both take a lot longer and are messier.

FWIW: I've worked with most types of finish. My personal preference would be for waterborne lacquer. I use a different brand, but Stew-Mac's system looks as good as anything:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... quers.html

You can apply waterbased finishes as thickly or thinly as you like.

Point of information: words such as "waterbased" cover a lot of different substances. The Stew-Mac stuff and many modern automotive paints are acrylic, but many other things can also be carried in water. Paints/lacquers can get very complicated - there are whole big fat books just on the chemistry of it.

The best advice is choose a system - and then stick to it. Don't mix one type of finish with another.

Good luck - C

guys thanks for the info.

I think if the heated removal will work then I will go that route. And I really only wanted to change over to nitro because I like that look a lot and also because it WILL age quicker/naturally.

You guys have any links to a page where it shows you how to do the finishing with the nitro? I have looked but couldn't find anything laying out the process. I will check the waterbourne finishes also. Do they end up feeling/looking similar to nitro? I'm guessing I will need to do some sanding? When you say it could take weeks is that normal or just because you don't have the time to deidcated to it all day?

This will be my first time taking on a project like this but I really wanted to change from natural to a nice red or some type of charcoal grey/blueish

Erm, well here's a very long and tedious thread. But it ends with a solid nitro finish being applied...:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=17948


Try this:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishi ... ulose.html

And this:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishi ... rbase.html

Those are fast efficient work schedules. In real life there are interruptions, mistakes occur which add days for allowing corrections to dry, etc etc etc.

This might be helpful too:

http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishi ... uitar.html

BTW, expect to spend $40-60 on materials for a nitro finish for one guitar. You'll see Dan gets through several aerosols of lacquer on the job in that link. Owning your own compressor and spray gun saves a bit on that - but then you waste material on cleanup.

Now you know why the finish that is already on your guitar is increadible value for money!

Good luck - C

My friend thank you for the information! This is a project I have been wanting to embark on for a while and I now have the info I need to make it happen. I just don't want to pay someone $300 bucks to do it if it can be done by me. Nice finished product to, I like the outcome!

Luckily I would have access to a spray gun and compressor if needed. i just need to read up now on all that'll be a part of the process and get the show on the road. But thank you Sir. Once and or If i start this project I'll keep you posted. Thanks!