Re: Refin guys: options for sanding and/or spraying location?
I used my 2nd bathroom's shower in my apartment for spraying when i was finishing my jolly roger.
Make sure you get a bunch of plastic drop cloths and cover every surface of the bathroom, cuz unless you have a massively powerful bathroom fan, ventilation might not be great, and as a result, you could have a lot of paint dust settling on parts of your bathroom you don't want covered.
Get a gas mask and clear goggles or a full-face gas mask, again, cuz of the ventilation.
I rigged up some hooks to hold the guitar body, suspended from the shower rail. Make sure yours is solidly mounted to the wall before doing this, as it will need to support the weight of the guitar body and whatever other hardware you've got holding it up.
Be careful about entering and exiting the bathroom as the draft of air whipped up by opening the door can whip up whatever dust is in the bathroom and then you might find specks of gunk lodged in the guitar's coats.
What I did was suspend the drop cloth in front of the door, and had pretty much the entire rest of the bathroom separated from the door with drop cloths. Had an overlapping section where i could enter/exit the spray area without disturbing the air in there, and that also had the effect of isolating the draft from the door.
Also, be careful about footwear/clothing - I found that a couple times, I carelessly tracked paint around the house with my shoes because I didn't think any would get on the sole of my shoes. Turns out I was wrong. Fortunately, it scraped off pretty easily once it was dry. It also helps to get a body suit or at least some old clothes you don't mind getting paint on for the actual spraying. Every time I went in there I had to put on the clothes I set aside for paint, then the gasmask, and goggles, hair secured under a cap or whatever, gloves on, and forward into battle.
As for sanding - a hand sander will get the job done quicker, but you can always just use your hands. it takes a bit longer, but as long as you have a good eye for details/spotting the inconsistencies in a coat and knowing how to fix them (or leave it for the next coat to fix, as is the case sometimes), then doing it by hand is perfectly fine. Since it is long, slow going, if you're doing it by hand, I find that being relaxed and having something to do while your hands are keeping busy is a good idea. I'd usually just plop myself down in front of the TV with a beer, my sandpaper and a bowl of water (if wet sanding) and while away a few hours.
I was using spray cans at the time. But I've been thinking about getting a turbine-powered HVLP sprayer if/when i start doing more finishes/refinishes. Wagner makes a couple and Home Depot/Lowe's should have them. Apparently they work fine for lacquers and poly, are quite an affordable setup, and you can achieve good results if you have the technique down. Certainly easier than getting a $1000 noisy air compressor and a full spraygun outfit.
