Finishing question...

[Empty Pockets]

Would it be easier and more cost-efficient (i.e. less than $165) to finish my Warmoth myself? What kind of paints or finishes should I use, et cetera, et cetera...

It's just a solid white job so I don't think it should be TOO hard...

 

[kmcguitars]

Painting a guitar is not hard at all, If you don't mind lots of sanding and taking your time. If you what instant gradafication
pay the $165. But if you have the time and a place to work D.I.Y
I would recomend Nitrocellouse Lacquer or Polyurethane. Poly
you can get at your local paint/hareware store it's pretty easy
to work with and it pretty durable. Nitro Lacquer is a vintage or
high end finish (gibson& PRS use it) The only place I know of to get it in a spray can is Reranch. There web site has a great 101
on guitar painting. Read it, have fun, And good luck. http://www.reranch.com/

 

[Empty Pockets]

Alright, thanks.

Any tonal difference between poly and nitro? Any reason why I should use one over the other? I'm not really trying to make it look "classy" like those companies so..

Also, how much will a can of poly cost me? I'm trying to keep track of totals and everything so that I know how much of my paychecks to save...

 

[kmcguitars]

Alright, thanks.

Any tonal difference between poly and nitro? Any reason why I should use one over the other? I'm not really trying to make it look "classy" like those companies so..

There is a long standing debate that Nitro has better tonal qualities. I prefer Nitro cuz' it looks better,I can't say I hear
a tonal difference ? It depends on who you ask. One more thing
I forgot to mention. What type of wood is it? Some woods such
as Ash, Mahogany or other pourus wood will need to be grain filled ( an extra step) Alder is O.k. Just sand with 320 grit lightly
use sandsealer or B.I.N.S primer by zinsler(Home depot's got it)
ReRanch has a forum board where you can ask ?? about finshing.
the guys are really cool over there.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Well it's either gonna be ash or mahogany so i guess i'll need to grain-fill? haha...

I'd go join that forum but I really don't feel like registering, and you're being so darn helpful about it, KMC...haha

If it's not too much trouble, a PM with how exactly to go about painting this thing would be really cool of you to send over...

 

[kmcguitars]

Well it's either gonna be ash or mahogany so i guess i'll need to grain-fill? haha...

I'd go join that forum but I really don't feel like registering, and you're being so darn helpful about it, KMC...haha

If it's not too much trouble, a PM with how exactly to go about painting this thing would be really cool of you to send over...

O.K. First read the reranch 101 throughtly.They spell it out better
than I can in a PM. If you have a ?? feel free to PM me. I'll try to
answer the best I can. Grain filling is a tuff step. Not hard to do,
just time consuming,And lots of sanding. I'd say your looking at
over $50 in supplies so far.

 

[Blue Calx]

Grain filler, dye, sand n' seal, and enough clearcoat (3 cans by Re-ranch's recommendation) cost me about $85. I'm sure it'll cost around that much for a solid-color job since the only thing that'll change is that you'll replace the dyes with a can of solid color.

 

[Empty Pockets]

This job is starting to sound really daunting!! haha...you guys might've scared me back into paying Warmoth's fees.

I dunno, I'll see if I can hold off buying the body outright but if I'm close enough to get the paintjob too then I'll just save up.

 

[RACER X]

Last year I had a Charvel XL750 Pro painted white at a boat shop, they used a gel-coat, super hard/durable and shinney as could be. $ 100.00 bucks, the best finish iv ever seen.

 

[Fresh_Start]

ReRanch is a great resource for DIY finishing.

My first project, almost complete, is an ash tele. All I can say is "ash is a pain in the ash!" I don't recommend that wood for a first finishing project.

If you're going to make guitars as a hobby, go for it. If you just want one guitar, IMHO just avoid the aggravation and pay someone else to do it. There's a steep and painful learning curve.

Chip

 

[RACER X]

You might also try a auto body shop.