i wanna paint my SG black

[super rad stuff]

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishi...s/ColorTone_Black_Aerosol_Guitar_Lacquer.html

how would i go about doing this with the paint mentioned above? i haven't got any expeience with spray painting. at all. the SG in question is a faded special that i sanded the finish off of, then i used a staining/oil kinda stuff. it's called Watco Danish Oil Finish, and i got it from home depot. i'm not looking to have a fancy finish or anything, i still want it to have a bit of a natural/satiny kinda feel.

the main things i want to know are this:
how do i prep the wood? for this i'm guessing give it a treatment of some thick and medium steelwool to get any oil and dirt on the surface off. and obviously remove all the hardware/electronics

how many coats should i spray?

how should i go about sanding?

on the other hand, would this be better for what i'm lookin' to do? i'm guessing this would let more of the woodgrain show:
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishi...ains/ColorTone_Concentrated_Liquid_Stain.html

i don't care about whether or not is shows though, just whichever is easier to do.

help's always appreciated

 

[Mark Cearlock]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The way it is now (minus the hacked gaurd) looks absolutly lovely!

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The way it is now (minus the hacked gaurd) looks absolutly lovely!

actually, it doesn't. not when i've got black and silver sharpies.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Oh, and let's see the most recent picture you have of the guitar.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

HERE

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Oh, and let's see the most recent picture you have of the guitar.

you'll be sorely dissapointed....

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

HERE

yea, yea... i want to know if i can use just a few coats of the one black lacquer and sand it down to get rid of the orange peel, without having to do any sort of topfinish. i'm assuming i can because of the headstock picture they've got on there, but i just want to be sure.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

www.reranch.com

I recommend reading up because at this point it´s already obvious that you need to learn quite a bit about sealing and grain filling on open pored woods like mahogany.

1. Steel wool will not suffice to get the current finish off, nor will it leave flat surfaces. Dips will instantly show up in black, black is the solid color that takes by far the most preparation to do properly because every imperfection is instantly visible.
2. Without filler and sealer you can spray a dozen cans and still have no buildup.
3. That Gibson headstock is a phenolic overlay, not a coat of black paint.

And if you´re getting orange peel, you´re putting coats on that are too heavy, period.. This is a guitar, not a cheap production automobile.

You really need to read reranch, bro.

 

[uOpt]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

You will have to use a wood filler on this. That is the expensive step that Gibson skipped with the faded line.

Otherwise you get into Mary Kay Blonde territory.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

ok so from what i can gather i need first some sort of filler(it's already got a few coats of oil, do i need to strip that or can i use it?), 2 coats of white primer sanded with 320 after each spray, then 4-6 coats of the black. does that sound right?

 

[scottish]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

i would def strip the oil finish off. i cant remember if oil finishes will react with nitro or not but i wouldnt take the chance.

1. strip the old finish.
2. grain fill, probably 2 or 3 coats
3. sanding sealer, 3-4 double coats, enough that you can sand down pretty vigorously to give you a nice smooth base.
4. white primer, dont need a lot, sand gently
5. color coats, again you dont need a lot, enough so that you can sand out any high/low spots without sanding through
6. clear coats, you will need these because the black will rub off over time
7. build up wet sanding
8. long curing period, i recommend at least 30 days
9. buff out

this is a very, very "barely scratch the surface" guide. Its the way i like to do things, everyone has their own little variations here and there. i too, strongly recommend you read reranch before you start anything like this.

Also, as previously mentioned, black is thee hardest solid color to do a finish in. The amount of prep work (more than everyone doing it for the 1st time thinks) is absolutely crucial to a solid color finish.

when working with nitro based finishes i like to use mineral spirits to wash in between coats. It gets any dust off and also lets you see if there are high/low spots left between sanding.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

argh, i might have to save that project for another time then. i haven't got a place to do that kind of work where i live.

ok, change of pace. how hard would it be to just stain the guitar black with the stainer in the second link i posted?

 

[scottish]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

you will def need to strip the finish off the guitar for the stain since it wont penetrate the wood at all if you sealed it with oil, it will run right off leaving some nasty streaky mess behind it. It would probably be easier overall but you will still need to put some kind of sealer over it to stop it rubbing off on your arm/clothes etc.

If you stain the wood, you should use an different compound based sealer coat over it, ie use a water based dye and a oil based finish.

Again, read reranch. For different effects on the wood grain you can fill before staining or dont fill at all etc.

 

[uOpt]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Nothing a couple of Sharpies couldn't achieve

 

[Zerberus]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

If you´re not bothered by woodgrain, then stripping off the entire finish, sanding to 320 grit, staining, and then clearcoating from a can is an option. You´d essentially have a black SG faded with a less than average finish.

But for the same "I didn´t want to do it right / I wanted to feel the woodgrain" effect, you actually COULD simply use the black cans originally posted.

It boils down to "Do I just want it black at any (preferably no) cost, or do I want it to look good, too?"

 

[scottish]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

But for the same "I didn´t want to do it right / I wanted to feel the woodgrain" effect, you actually COULD simply use the black cans originally posted.

It boils down to "Do I just want it black at any (preferably no) cost, or do I want it to look good, too?"

Thats essentially it. It really depends on how professional you want it to look.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

If you´re not bothered by woodgrain, then stripping off the entire finish, sanding to 320 grit, staining, and then clearcoating from a can is an option. You´d essentially have a black SG faded with a less than average finish.

But for the same "I didn´t want to do it right / I wanted to feel the woodgrain" effect, you actually COULD simply use the black cans originally posted.

It boils down to "Do I just want it black at any (preferably no) cost, or do I want it to look good, too?"

this is the answer i wanted! that's all i want to do, spray black paint on. do it cheap 'n' let it show. i actually wouldn't mind the paint rubbing off a bit either as it'd show some wear, ya know? if i were to just use canned black paint, how many cans would i need to cover the whole thing thoroughly? i'm hoping just one, but two wouldn't be too much of a stretch

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

Thats essentially it. It really depends on how professional you want it to look.

not pro at all

 

[scottish]

Re: i wanna paint my SG black

i would buy 2 to be on the safe side. if you dont plan on sanding it at all after spraying however, then you could probably get away with one.

id do a quick bit of research and just make sure the nitro wont react with the oil finish thats on there just now.