Guitar painting question...

[CrueMan152]

Hello. I recently ordered an alder tele body with a floyd rose bridge cavity and single slant pickup. I'm making a mick mars kramer tele. I would like some advice. I'm going to apply some white primer and use olympic white paint from reranch on this body..i guess my question is...how many clear coats should i apply (at all or) before wet sanding and should i apply more afterwards? The reranch website really doesnt say how many coats is preferable to apply and how long in between coats. This guitar is gonna look bad@$$ and i'll post pictures once i have it up. Thanks in advance!

-=Ben=-

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Guitar painting question...

http://www.stewmac.com

Go to "Finishing supplies" then click on any product.

Click "instructions"

Everything you need to know is right there.

HTH,

 

[CrueMan152]

Re: Guitar painting question...

Thank you both for your advice but unfortunately "too many clear coats" doesn't help me and stewmac doesnt have clearcoat in a spray can so i can't really read instructions. I've heard 7-10 coats somewhere. Does that sound about right? Maybe that's paint.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Guitar painting question...

2-4 coats depending on how thick you actually wind up applying them (rattlecans can be uneven little bastards sometimes).

Wait at least 1-7 days between coats depending on the exact products you´re using, shorter for poly and other catalyzed finishes, longer for nitro. I have no experience w/ reranch finishing products because they can´t be shipped over here, so I can´t tell you how long they´ll need.

Then wet sand and buff. I use a large buffing wheel from a stand buffer that I chuck into my Drill and then clamp the drill to somethign vertical

 

[CrueMan152]

Re: Guitar painting question...

Well well well. Thank you very much Zerb. I will follow that and see what happens.

 

[arnarg]

Re: Guitar painting question...

http://paintyourownguitar.com/

 

[beandip]

Re: Guitar painting question...

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishi...olvents/ColorTone_Aerosol_Guitar_Lacquer.html

cheaper, and much easier to use than ReRanch. Wetsand inbetween coats with 600 grit wet/dry. Wait 3 days between coats to sand. Depending on the durability of the finish you want, is how much you should put on. The general amount these days is 2 primer, 3 color, 3-4 clear. That's the industry "standard" when doing things with aerosol cans.

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to order Dan Erlewine's Guitar Finishing Step By Step, and all your little questions that pop up here and there will be answered.


By the way, when I was 15-18 I had good results using DuPont touchup paint cans from walmart. Wide varity of colors, and if controlled correctly will put one hell of a good looking finish on there.

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Guitar painting question...

I've used the Reranch & stewmac rattle can clear coat, And IMO/Experience. The Reranch stuff is far superior. The Reranch stuff lays down much smoother & even ( about as close to HVLP gun as you can get from a rattle can) How many coats is user prerogative (i.e.) Less more the wood breathes ?? More the deeper the finish will look. 5 to 7 coats sounds about right for the best of both worlds. Minimum 3 days B4 coats ( the longer the better):cool2: Read the Reranch 101 again. Bill spells it all out pretty good.

 

[cronnin]

Re: Guitar painting question...

The aforementioned 234 rule sounds OK.
2 primer
3 color
4 clear

I'd go with thin layers.
You can always add a layer more afterwards, but if you make it too thick it'll get messy.
Avoid dusty/windy places.
Couple of days between layers.
Wetsanding somewhere at 600/800, don't skip that.
Buffing at the end to get high gloss (Need tools )

Read all the links posted above.
Use crap pieces of wood for tryouts.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Guitar painting question...

I did about 25 coats on my last guitar, but I was leveling out three layers of color.

Believe it or not, I sanded through in a couple of small places.


You can go much thinner on a normal (i.e. single color or burst) paintjob. Practice and patience are your two biggest friends.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Guitar painting question...

Did you not read ReRanch101?
http://home.flash.net/~guitars/ReRanch101.html

I've followed those instructions (also read through the other sections by clicking links at the header) with success. Use them as a rule of thumb. Note that the instructions are general though geared more towards their product. The rattle cans they sell have pretty good nozzles on them and can lay down very thin coats.

 

[CrueMan152]

Re: Guitar painting question...

im going to have to bump this thread. i went out and bought dupli-color lacqure paint, primer and clear coat. My problem is that the primer isn't sticking to wood...at least...not the way i thought. It sticks in very small bits and the rest just disintegrates into the air. What's going on? Anyone hagve this type of experience before? I wanted to know before i went and spent 50$ on reranch paint.

 

[beandip]

Re: Guitar painting question...

im going to have to bump this thread. i went out and bought dupli-color lacqure paint, primer and clear coat. My problem is that the primer isn't sticking to wood...at least...not the way i thought. It sticks in very small bits and the rest just disintegrates into the air. What's going on? Anyone hagve this type of experience before? I wanted to know before i went and spent 50$ on reranch paint.

Do it right, or don't do it at all. The duplicolor you used is either being applied wrong, doesn't have filler so it's "sinking" into the wood, or isn't meant for wood applications.

Spend the extra dough, do it right, and get professional results.