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Post subject: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 3:16 am
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Aspiring Musician
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im starting to think about painting a guitar im building, but im not sure what the process is and what type of paint i need.

of course i know about nitro cellulose and polyester paints being used by fender, my problem is that i cant find them in any sort of extra interesting colours or metallics/pearlescents. i dont really want to paint it a stock fender colour. i popped into my local Halfords yesterday (stocks lots of car paint rattle cans) and saw an abundance of colours id like to use, but im not sure if they can be used on wood ?

the guitar im painting is a HH backrouted strat with vintage tint maple tele neck and 'faux binding' a la PRS. i will probably paint the headstock body colour aswell.

so 2 questions i guess -

can car paint be used on wood (with primer of course)
does anywhere produce guitar paint in funky colours, in a can, in the UK ?

do i need to seal the wood, or fan i just go straight on with primer, flatting back then paint, then lacquer ?


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 3:52 am
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Have a look at these guys ... not used them myself but I've heard good things about them from luthiers. That's real luthiers, not just people who strip down plywood Squiers on a belt sander.

http://www.wudtone.com/

Also downloadable PDF guides on how to use the finishing products.

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 8:44 am
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I just go down Halfords, find a couple of colours I like. Then do something like this to something I've already destroyed.

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 9:31 am
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seal the wood

You can use almost anything but some types won't mix. Try some experimenting first before you commit to your guitar.

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:59 am
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what sort of product do i use to seal the wood. so wood sealer - primer - paint - lacquer.


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 11:59 am
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No point in stripping down to the wood unless you're doing a translucent finish.

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

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 12:16 pm
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good point nikininja makes. I'm assuming it was a bare unfinished body which would require sealing. If so and its close grained like alder you can get away with sanding sealer or some very thing coats of clear. If its ash or something open grained you need to use a filler on the pores and then a sealer.
If its got a finish already you can probably just rough the surface a bit and prime it.
The type of sealer and primer you use is a function of the top coats usually. Is the reranch still around? They used to give a lot of examples.

Figure out the finish you want first, then what materials you have to get it and then how you have to prep to make it work.


http://reranch.com/basics.htm

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 3:35 pm
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It's a good idea to do a bit of research on this, read info in the links people have posted and also have a look at Project Guitar Forum they have some great tutorials on there and lots of good content in the forums.

I've been considering a repaint of something and will probably only use rattle cans but it'll probably only be a rough job, we'll see.

Post pics when you're done.


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 4:23 am
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moochy13 wrote:
2 questions - can car paint be used on wood

Hi moochy: yes, you can. As you suspected, sealer is good, because it stops the solvent in the paint from sinking into the wood, which just wastes expensive material. Far and away the best product to use is vinyl sealer: that's what's used by the overwhelming majority of guitar makers. On our bit of the planet a good source for vinyl sealer is Behlen, here:

http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merch ... Code=MIAEF

You can also buy everything else you need for either nitro or waterbased instrument finishing from Behlen. Unlike across the pond we here can buy direct from that manufacturer's website, which works out the cheapest. As you see, their website has a section devoted to instrument finishing, and there are all the other priming and colouring products too.

Of course, if you don't feel like mixing your own then using their sealer on the bare wood and then proceeding to car paint offers the widest range of readymade colours.

Or...


moochy13 wrote:
does anywhere produce guitar paint in funky colours, in a can, in the UK ?

Yes. This gentleman offers most of the popular guitar finishes in nitrocellulose in aerosols:

http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/s ... e-lacquer/

Metallics, trans colours, topcoats - it's all there.

Though I'd still start with a couple of thin coats of the Behlen vinyl sealer. It just works out cheaper that way.


moochy13 wrote:
do i need to seal the wood, or fan i just go straight on with primer, flatting back then paint, then lacquer ?

For a solid (non-trans) finish do this:

1. A couple of thin coats of vinyl sealer.
2. White or grey primer coats, sprayed and sanded back till you have a nice thin, very flat coat.
3. Five or six thin colour coats. (Fewer if it's metallic and therefore you are not going to buff the coloured paint.)
4. Optional four to six clear coats.

If it's a simple solid colour you can then just buff and polish the colour layer. No need to clearcoat, though you can if you want to.

If using metallic/pearl/candy paint you must clearcoat, so that the clear lacquer is what you then buff and polish, leaving the metallic paint untouched beneath. A good four to six thin coats of clear is what you need, so that you can buff it without fear of going through to the metallic paint layer.

Simple?

Good luck - C

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 8:07 am
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Quote:
For a solid (non-trans) finish do this:

1. A couple of thin coats of vinyl sealer.
2. White or grey primer coats, sprayed and sanded back till you have a nice thin, very flat coat.
3. Five or six thin colour coats. (Fewer if it's metallic and therefore you are not going to buff the coloured paint.)
4. Optional four to six clear coats.

If it's a simple solid colour you can then just buff and polish the colour layer. No need to clearcoat, though you can if you want to.

If using metallic/pearl/candy paint you must clearcoat, so that the clear lacquer is what you then buff and polish, leaving the metallic paint untouched beneath. A good four to six thin coats of clear is what you need, so that you can buff it without fear of going through to the metallic paint layer.

Simple?

Good luck - C



Lots of good advice there, but the one thing missing is be EXTREMELY PATIENT and ready to start over at any time. So many things can go wrong. I just finished a project where my son airbrushed my Musicmaster bass, photos here if you're interested.

http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=84870

He had painted numerous pickguards and this was his first total body paint so there were many lessons to be learned. White primer is better under bright colors, gray for darker shades. Lots of masking, sanding, repaint to get lines right etc. And the clear coat was done at a local body show with great results for only $25.

Just first and foremost, unless you are a professional painter it can be a very tedious process and not something you just do over a weekend.


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 9:39 am
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Hi moochy13, here is the link to a paint over thread from last year. I ended up applying a decal but everyone gave me excellent advise on what to do, lol. http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=68092&hilit=is+a+paint+over+possible&start=60

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 3:05 pm
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I have found a4 water transfer paper for ink jet printers. I've ordered a sheet to experiment with, I might water decal the whole thing like the fotoflame guitars were, but I would not use woodgrain.


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 11:47 pm
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Cool! If I were to paint my guitar, I 'd want to put some theme to it.. To add more punk! But then I don't know how to do it. Hahapokie games


Last edited by courtneyhodges on Mon May 27, 2013 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 11:54 am
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courtneyhodges wrote:
Cool! If I were to paint my guitar, I 'd want to put some theme to it.. To add more punk! But then I don't know how to do it. Haha


Hi, Courtney. Not knowing how to do it should never stop you from working on your guitar. You'll miss all the fun. :D Research threads on here. There are several on decorating your guitar. And helpful people to ask how. Good to meet you. :D


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Post subject: Re: painting a guitar
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 11:22 am
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My advice is to ask your local guitar shops to recommend a painter or take your design and guitar to a few custom car paint shops. As if they have ever done guitars and look at the finished product on cars they are working on. If you don't care how your guitar looks, go ahead and do it your self. You can always strip and sand and start over...but trust me, a custom paint shop will do a better job than you.


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