Has anybody painted a guitar here?

If so, how do you strip of the original coat?

Thanks for any help.

Will there be more Somber Eyes in return for this information?

I have, twice.

What kind of paint do you have on it? Is it flat? Does it have a high gloss on the top of it? Clear coat? Is it translucent with a maple veneer top? Show any grain?

What kind of paint do you plan on using? or are you thinking about staining it?

Maybe post a pic of it. I need to know those basic things before I can direct you any further

Written by Branzig on 14.03.2012 at 18:50

I have, twice.

What kind of paint do you have on it? Is it flat? Does it have a high gloss on the top of it? Clear coat? Is it translucent with a maple veneer top? Show any grain?

What kind of paint do you plan on using? or are you thinking about staining it?

Maybe post a pic of it. I need to know those basic things before I can direct you any further

I was just wondering, I see lots of guitars here for sale, that have scratches or chips, and I was wondering how difficult/expensive it would be to re-paint it.

most are highgloss with some type of clearcoat, or what ever is on your average strat.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.03.2012 at 01:40

most are highgloss with some type of clearcoat, or what ever is on your average strat.

Ok,

Well it isn't to expensive...depending on what you want to do.

The number one thing that most people don't take into consideration when painting a guitar is the tear down. You have to take pretty much everything off of the guitar body to do it correctly. I'm talking everything. Saddles, the neck, the knobs, the pots, the pick-ups, the pick-up guard....EVERYTHING.

Strats mainly have high gloss finishes. You can use a diluted paint stripper to take the clear coat off if you want, or the safest bet is to just use good ol' elbow grease and get some heavy grit sand paper and start sanding. It's important to get all the paint off and to leave everything smooth. Once you have the the clear coat sanded off, if you have a heat gun, you can heat the paint and scrape it off with a paint scraper...its a lot easier than sanding and won't mess with the integrity of the guitar's body shape.

Next, decide whether you want to brush or spray. Unless you have a nice compressor and spray gun, you will be stuck with rattle cans if you go spray, which still isn't a bad thing.

Whichever you choose, pick a nice, high quality wood primer and get a good even coat going. Then pick a high quality paint (I use Duplicolor and some other acrylic automotive paint that I can't remember right now) and spray away, be sure to sand and buff for touch-up as you go between coats. Let it dry for about 2 days, then apply a nice lacquer. Nitrocellulose lacquer is the way to go with guitars. Put on some think, heavy coats of lacquer, then let it set for around a month.

If you would rather have a flat finish, then skip the lacquer part and get a really high quality flat paint to use. Then get a none gloss clear coat and put a LIGHT layer on.

Reassemble, and enjoy your sexy new guitar!

If you take your time and do it right, then you'll have a result that you'll be happy with. Total time right around 1.5 months. Total cost $60-$120 depending on what equipment you already have and how much you'll need to buy.

Written by Branzig on 15.03.2012 at 03:12

Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.03.2012 at 01:40

most are highgloss with some type of clearcoat, or what ever is on your average strat.

Ok,

Well it isn't to expensive...depending on what you want to do.

The number one thing that most people don't take into consideration when painting a guitar is the tear down. You have to take pretty much everything off of the guitar body to do it correctly. I'm talking everything. Saddles, the neck, the knobs, the pots, the pick-ups, the pick-up guard....EVERYTHING.

Strats mainly have high gloss finishes. You can use a diluted paint stripper to take the clear coat off if you want, or the safest bet is to just use good ol' elbow grease and get some heavy grit sand paper and start sanding. It's important to get all the paint off and to leave everything smooth. Once you have the the clear coat sanded off, if you have a heat gun, you can heat the paint and scrape it off with a paint scraper...its a lot easier than sanding and won't mess with the integrity of the guitar's body shape.

Next, decide whether you want to brush or spray. Unless you have a nice compressor and spray gun, you will be stuck with rattle cans if you go spray, which still isn't a bad thing.

Whichever you choose, pick a nice, high quality wood primer and get a good even coat going. Then pick a high quality paint (I use Duplicolor and some other acrylic automotive paint that I can't remember right now) and spray away, be sure to sand and buff for touch-up as you go between coats. Let it dry for about 2 days, then apply a nice lacquer. Nitrocellulose lacquer is the way to go with guitars. Put on some think, heavy coats of lacquer, then let it set for around a month.

If you would rather have a flat finish, then skip the lacquer part and get a really high quality flat paint to use. Then get a none gloss clear coat and put a LIGHT layer on.

Reassemble, and enjoy your sexy new guitar!

If you take your time and do it right, then you'll have a result that you'll be happy with. Total time right around 1.5 months. Total cost $60-$120 depending on what equipment you already have and how much you'll need to buy.

Thanks a bunch!

I have all the painting equipment, as my dad's a mechanic, I can also get what ever colour of paint too

When I get some funds, I'll put up a want add in my local classifieds

I'll be sure to show you the end result too.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 15.03.2012 at 04:10

Thanks a bunch!

I have all the painting equipment, as my dad's a mechanic, I can also get what ever colour of paint too

When I get some funds, I'll put up a want add in my local classifieds

I'll be sure to show you the end result too.

Shit, if your dad has all that then you are ready to go for sure. It won't even be to big of a challenge for ya!

Do post those pics up when you get it done. I'll post my guitar's that I painted too when I am not being lazy!