what paint do you guys use.
acrylic car paint or is it special wood paint that you use??
I've looked at dyes but they're a bit pricey considering that I need about 3 or 4 colours etc.
my acoustic guitar is now ready to paint.
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here she is folks,I think I've got the strings a little to space out and a little on the high side.
not the best of sound but it will do for now.
from this to....
Fantastic job, John, and a great look to the finished instrument. It looks really authentic.
String spacing is easy enough to adjust if you want to.
Use a Preval system for spraying the paint or even a jam gun. this syste is found often at automotive paint stores or hardware stores such as Ace. The jam guns or finish guns can easily be purchased at Harbor Freight or vitrually any tool shop. The Preval system allows an easy spread application of paint or paint finishes and controlled application is easy. They are not expensive and you can change out bottles and cans easily. Lots of projects this system will work on.
http://store.preval.com/
Lacquer paint is not as easy to find here these days in most auto paint stores and frequently can't be shipped across state lines in the USA . It is easy to use and if a mistake is made, easy to sand and reshoot. It is not as good to hold up over time in my opinion and the dry time (I like to call the smudge time) can be long if the humidity of the shop is a problem. Paints are always changing as evidenced by the applicatiosn for clear coats these days. However, just as powder coating, paints are not indestructable, Prep is often the real eye-opener for a great paint job. It can make all the difference in the world as to a professional looking finish or just an ammature's diy looking finished project. Check out some paint web site forums to see what tricks are available for the various paints and finishes you mention. There used to be a site called autobodyshop.com which was great for such info. I have no clue as to them still being on-line though.
Good luck on your project.
Thanks Skeesix for clearing up my post. Clear coat is right.
Working with a spray can takes some practice. Like you I haven't done it enough to get really good results. Still a good idea to apply a few coats. If nothing else it'll help protect the finish.
the problem with cans is that that it is difficult to get an even finish over a wide area without getting dull spots.
the only way to get it glossy is to spray a little more coat so it look wet all over whilst it is laid flat to avoid runs.
that is how I've done it over the years on metal/plastics but not wood and this my 1st.
so far so good.as for red not doing it this time around.
also I'm not looking for a professional finish just pleasing to the eye.
as for scratch plate I think it might not be any good as it say for 40/41 inch and mine is a 3/4?
also I've never been that good with wood but give me metal then that's a different kettle of fish.
most of my working life I've always work with metals/welding.
apart from metal I'm adequate with most things around the home.
in other words jack of all trades but master of none!
To get a glossy finish by spraying, it's not the spraying that does it, it's the rubbing down and buffing-out. As you've found, you will need to "load up" the piece evenly to get good coverage, and you can leave it like that...indeed some makers like National do that, but they are using some pretty sophisticated materials and equipment to allow them to the leave the piece in the state that it comes away from the spray gun. It's not very glossy, you get a "grain" sort of texture...which is OK if you can manage to achieve it evenly.
To get a proper gloss finish you need to rub down between coats to get rid of any major unevenness and particles in the finish, then after the final coat you need to rub down with something like 1000grade wet and dry paper and buff it out with a polishing compound (T Cut works pretty well, although it's not a 'proper polishing compo).
It's a long-winded process, and to get an even gloss finish is difficult..it needs a lot of patience..especially when you rub through the colour coat down to the primer and have to blow-on some more colour. The difference between the finish you get off the spray can or gun and the rubbed and buffed finish is very noticeable, but it does require a huge amount of care and effort. I hate rubbing down and buffing gloss paint finishes, which is why I don't often do them, but I'm sure it's all matter of familiarity and practice to do it right..and quicker.
Yes, a proper high gloss finish traditionally requires fine sanding and rubbing or buffing out.
However, I've actually gotten my best results using Micromesh and no polishing compound - and yes, lots of elbow grease.
Stew Mac has an excellent book regarding finishes if anyone wants to tackle a high gloss finish, or reproduce guitar finishes like sunbursts:
http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Books/Guitar_Finishing_Step-By-Step.html
If your planning on painting it red it's best to tint the primer or put a coat of tan to light brown paint down first. The molecules that make up the colors of red are large. We actually perceive the underneath color.
To protect your finish put sealer on it. Please make sure what you use wont yellow when it dries. A friend of mine made this awesome looking tombstone gray guitar. Then he put a clear coat on it. Now he has an awesome looking slime green guitar.
Technically "sealer" is an undercoat or first coat to seal the wood. You've already done this with the primer.
What's he's referring to is putting on a clear coat (or several clear coats). This is essential if you want a high gloss finish.
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