Guitar paint

OK I'm going to give my guitar a colour change in a few weeks (easter holidays).
However, not sure which type of paint I should be using etc.
Also, I think it's solder that keeps the wires connected, am I right? If so, I have to disconnect the input to volume knob and another wire to the springs on the back.

Also, suggestions are really appreciated for colour choice!!!

 

If it were me, I'd probably use some sort of spray paint... you'd have to sand it down a LOT before you used that though, and a new primer coat wouldn't go amiss either.

But bluesy is the one you want to talk to

 

Yeah they are soldered, as far as paint goes don't skimp on the $, and 80% of painting is prep, sanding and primer are very important. But, goldfish is right, wait and see what Blusey says, I've painted a few guitars but his look better

 

You can use automotive paint then use automotive clear coat over the top. Its what I use, but thru a sprayer and gun. We have done a few with a can, but you must be patient and meticulous to get it right. Make your sand it all out first. If you have questions feel free to ask, I'll help if I can. There are a few tricks along the way that can give you a better result.

I'll be in and out all day. Got some stuff to finish up.

 

OK, so first sand down the body to the wood, apply an undercoat???? or just go straight into the paint?
And what sort of finish should I be going for?

 

Its entirely up to you. If you sand the wood down and put on a clear coat chances are the grain will raise a bit. You will have to steel wool it #0000 , get it smooth, shoot, repeat, etc till its smooth. Then you can get a good clear base and build color, will be damn hard out of a can. Or you can just give it a solid color then seal it. And let me suggest something other than black. Black is the single hardest color to work with ever, especially when sanding it out. Do a nice metallic blue or something, stay away from black.

I'll check back in a bit. Trying to finish up a huge order and its not going so well.

 

OK, at the moment I think I'm going to sand the current blue down, well the outter body, can't sand the inside down! And then give it a white coat and then might spray it pink just to be crazy!
Not sure what kind of paint to use, will standard spray paint be ok?
Then give it a finish with some sort of varnish...

Going to bed now, good luck with your order.

 

go to a paint shop and talk to some guys. Tell them what you are trying to do and waht they recommend. You want to get a finish(clearcoar/laquer) that will go with the type of paint you are using. You cant just mix and match everything. If you get the wrong type(chemical) finish, it can eat the paint off your guitar instead of drying/hardeing up. Its not as hard as it sounds, just takes patients. Take your time and you will enjoy it im sure.

 

I've refinished furniture for the 18 years, you would'nt believe the stuff people have brought me to "fix"

 

OK thanks for that advice has answered many questions. I'm currently stuck in bed ill today so can't get to a paint shop just yet, but may be able to tomorrow.

 

Sorry to hear that bro. Good time for you to read up on finishing lol.


Scroll down to Finishing Supplies, click the links , read the info. Its just enough to get your mind going

The waterbase has a nice handy flowchart.
http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/

 

Thanks for the link, hadn't heard of any of that stuff lol!

Also, I'm still a little unsure, do I need to sand down my current paint job, or is applying an undercoat ok?
I'm thinking of orange body at the moment, possibly paint the fingerboard black?? Is it ok to paint this or does it have to stay white.
Also, still unsure what wood it's made of and what finish I should use.

 

I just got back from the hospital so my brains a little shot. Lets see..

Sand the body down. I guess you could try a primer coat but I dont think it will stick to the clear coat (guessing here) thats on it currently. My advice, sand her down to bare wood. Then sand with 200, 400 and 600 if you got it to get a nice even smooth surface

Your fretboard maple? if so , HELL NO you can't paint it black LOL.

Post me a pic or two if you have it. Maple fretboards and necks most times are sealed with clear coat as well. You would have to sand it out, defret the neck, and then paint it, build it up, then build up clear coats and sand out. Not worth the hassle. You would be better off getting another neck the way you want and bolting it on.

 

Sorry, didn't mean the fretboard I've forgotten the name to the plastic part on the front of the body, pickups on them and the knobs, ahhhh what's the name??!!!

OK will sand down, probably get my neighbour to help as he's handy man and I'm only 16! I'm looking at orange with possible dyes in it, to get a stained effect like my current is.

I'll get the pics to you later when I find my camera.

 

Thats the pick guard. Just replace it, don't paint it black it will look like total crap. You can get new ones at

www.stewmac.com
www.allparts.com

Oh yeah, if you are gonna sand your guitar down, that is currently clear coated and painted, wear a RESPIRATOR. You do not want that dust in your lungs my friend. It can cause all sorts of health problems in a hurry.

 

Man Blusey, you are giving some GOOD advice!

McAdam- you listen to him and take your time with this project, what you learn here will open the door on SO many other projects

 

LOL I will.

I was chatting to a guy who has done many guitars, owns a shop etc today and I'm going with him to some hardware place to get some paint stripper and then using an electric sander to finish the rest of it.

Hmmmmm I considered leaving it plain wood and finishing it, very random!
Also, there was talk of using metallic paint, like they use for cars, what you think?

 

OK got my paint stripper stuff, it's like jelly http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/confused.gif and going to apply a small amount first and check the results. My mum is convinced I'm going to ruin my guitar but I gotta prove her wrong!

 

just be careful, that stuff can be nasty, it burns long time on the skin, and make sure your work area is protected

 

Yeh just read up on it all, gonna work on it outside this weekend etc, just been given a tool by neighbour that needs to be used, so it should be fun!

 

outside is good for ventalation, strong fumes can be expected, the finish you are removing will bubble up and get all wrinkled, just be careful when you are scraping it off not to gouge the wood. Let the chemicals do the work, it may take more than one application

 

You seem to know your stuff, my neighbour who is a DIY and handyman said exactly the same thing, top marks!!!
Yeah know what you mean about the scrapings, I'm going to give it one layer to start with, then possible second and then sand down to give a smooth finish. I'll get some pictures of the body to see if any of you guys can work out the wood.

 

I have done a couple natural bodies. I use tongue oil, then once it has hardend I use steel wool to give it a satin finish. One of my strats I play all the time is like that.

http://vahan.com/gallery/albums/album57/bodytop.jpg

 

That's a nice body, what wood did you use for it?

 

I've refinished a lot of antiques, and a couple guitars of my own. Bluesman was giving excellant advice, I tend to ramble a bit, I'm not as good at teaching as I am at doing it

One old school trick, if you plan on staining it with wood stain, after you are done stripping and sanding, use straight bleach to "fur" the wood and open the grain, this allows the wood to take the stain completely and to the stains true color. It doesnt take much, just soak a rag and wipe it on, but this is ONLY if you are going to stain and finish it with laquer or a polyurethane

 

It's cherry.

 

hey Bluesman, what brand of oil do you use?

 

Can't remember off the top of my head. It comes in a little green can with a pic on the front. Common name, you can get it at walmart, home depot, etc. If I run across is I'll post it.

 

OK just done my first bit of paint stripping, it's coming off like a beauty hehe!
When I'm finished, I'll get some photos up for you.

 

Excellent! Take photos along the way of the whole process. It's really neat to look back on the process and see the changes along the way.

 

OK, at 3pm I'm going back to it to see how the first tester patch is going!

 

OK 8pm, have finished paint splitting, no more will come off and there's an acrylic under-coat it looks like so going to have to use a sander or sand paper to get rid of that. Washed it in soapy water and now it's drying downstairs!

 

Update!

Everything is sanded, and have got a grey acrylic, purple metallic paint and a clear laquer to finish it! It's gonna be great!

I'll have all the photos up on my webspace once it's all finished.

 

sounds like everything is going smoothly for ya

thats good to hear

 

Matt Black?

Hi everyone, I saw this thread and thought id ask for some help myself- as you all seem pretty clued up! Im looking to do a simular job to my guitar- im in the process of sanding down, and looking to paint it in Matt Black. Ok, so i read that Black is a really bad idea- but im set out to be careful etc and if i mess it up im not too bothered- its only my Squire. I was just wondering how to go abour getting a matt finish? Because i assume that the paint would need some kind of a protector, unless there is specail paint to use?
Really appreciate some tips! and could anyone just do a really brief step by step guide on doing this? Im ok for the wiring at the moment- im going to fix some humbuckers in at a later date. Please help!!! Thankyou

Robyn

 

Black is just plain hard to work with for a beginner. Its very easy to sand thru and its kinda hard to get it to flow right unless you have some experience under your belt. Matt Black may be a different story. I have only done gloss black. Remember that the more time, effort, patience you put into the prep work/sanding/fixing blemishs the better it will turn out.

 

If you're using a matt black then you'll probably need a grey acrylic undercoat and then the mat black paint, about 2-4 coats depends on how many it needs, then a laquer finish. Best if you can get this all in spray cans. The laquer should just be clear and will give you a good finish.

Hey bluesy, just did my first coat of purple and it's looking good already!

 

Post some pics already!!!!!

 

OK the photos will be up on my webspace in a few minutes, only picked a few though -

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/b.mcadam1/guitar

 

Looking good!

I have just one question for you. Why is the a hole in the middle of the neck pocket? Couldn't you have stuck the coat hanger thru on of the 4 holes already drilled?

 

Who knows why there's a hole, it was there when I took the neck off!!!

 

UPDATE: -

slight problem with the paint, spoken to a friend who has had this problem before and said to put in the oven at a really low temp for about an hour, lightly sand any paint that is too thick and then a final colour spray should do it.

 

been there done that lol....you could also hang it in your garage and put a heat lamp on it for a bit. But watch it carefully.

 

Looking good Mcadam

I was gonna mention the oven trick, but it's hard to find an oven big enough to hang a guitar in, plus it can stink up a house, better off usin Blusey's heat lamp suggestion.

I used the oven trick when I was building metal car models, makes the paint come out smooth and hard

 

Yeah the paint is now fine, it was on grease proof paper and there's a few lines on it now because of the shelves in the oven are metal bars - so we're sanding later and failing that, using some acrylic filler to fill in these gaps.

Was about to apply my finishing laquer coat and the spray can I bought was empty! So I've just taken it back and had it replaced free

 

I learned that lesson too

(about the bars)

just keep working at it , you'll get it

 

hey, looked at ur pics- looks like youve done a pretty good job! Can only hope mine turns out half as good (but in black lol). Got some paint stripper today- i have been sanding down but im fed up of it taking so long. Very excited to start gettin some progress going, thanx for the tips.. ill keep updating!
Robyn

 

Awesome! Post pics when you get the chance.

 

I had an Ibanez several years ago (probably 10... geez I'm getting old ) that had a bolt in the middle of the neck mount like that. It was for adjusting the angle, and therefore the action, of the neck... or so I was told at the time. The most I ever accomplished by adjusting it was having to re-tune it .

The body is looking great, btw. Keep us posted.

 

Sanding will take you ages, if you see in the first picture on my space, there's a rounded rectangle shape, that's where i used a wire brush, took an hour just to do that!

Be patient with the paint stripper, leave the first application for about 20 minutes and then lightly scrape away for better results.