painting a guitar

bonelessbread

I have a guitar that I want to paint i have sanded all the paint off of it I want to know if i need to use a primer first and also what type's of spray paint's to use?

martinedwards

yes and it doesn't really matter.......

but it would be good if the primer and the main colour matched.

car paint will do the job well (and it's relatively cheap... and in cans.....)

I've used Hammerite.... looked AMAZING!!!!

WerethoBike

Hello,

Regards painting a Guitar,

It is best to try use a good spray paint.

There are various spray paints that will create a good finish

Also do some practice before attempting the main piece.

I suggest three coats at minimum.

A basic primer,

The main colour

A laquer or varnish finish


Ref: Modern instrument finish: Nitro cellulose
Most general guitars in modern factories are now finished with a Nitro cellulose

This is similar to a varnish?

best of luck

aaroncorcoran

Does anyone know where I can get fiesta red nitro guitar paint in Ireland ?

martinedwards

not in ireland, but try Stewmac.com.

kevin65

Most guitar manufacturers use polyurethane type finishes nowadays, Gibson is the only big guitar manufacturer that uses nitro-cellulose as standard on it's instruments. There are restrictions on the shipping of nitrocellulose paints, so you probably won't be able to buy from overseas vendors. They can be purchased from auto paint centres in Ireland, but I don't know if they will load it into aerosol cans for you.

Acrylic finishes are readily available in auto shops such as Halfords, who can mix colors and load into aerosol also.

Drying times for nitro finishes are much greater than for acrylic finishes.

aaroncorcoran

I want the paint to wear over time, will acrylic do that ?

kevin65

Well, it depends on what you mean by 'wear'. Are you looking to get an effect similar to something like the Fender Road Worn series? These are artificially aged or 'reliced' to give the effect of long term wear.

Acrylic is a relatively hard wearing paint, so I don't think it will wear much through normal use. A thin nitro finish like on the Gibson Les Paul 50s/60s/70s tribute les pauls will wear relatively quickly.

Maybe you could relic the guitar to give you the aged affect you are looking for?

hidinginthebush

If you want that aged Rory Gallagher strat look, nitro is your man, though it won't age overnight! That said, I found it pretty hard to find years back when I was researching doing one of my own. I gained a wealth of information from the guitar building and customising subforum on UG.

The best advice I can give you is to try to learn and plan as much as you can, and take your time! you'll need some items you mightn't consider at first, like really fine grades of sandpaper, for example (I bought mine from a bowling ball resource on ebay), an electric sander of some type. For the paints, I bought dyes from stewmac and a spraygun, ended up looking pretty sweet. Be careful sanding on the bare wood too, it's very easy to sand a crevice or take the edge off a horn if you're not paying attention.

martinedwards

Id suggest getting a dead cheapie and practicing on that.

who knows, you might get a usable axe as well as some experience!!

aaroncorcoran

Yes I would like nitro paint but no one will ship it to here......

euddue

if it's your main guitar i'd advise against doing it,you probably have a lot of motivation now but when it comes to painting it you will lose that wait on coats to dry etc etc.

Moral of the story there are probably more un finished guitars in pieces due to people losing interest halfway than finished home painted guitars.

Plus you'll probably not be happy with the finished product,it most likely won't be comparable to a factory finish.

Not to mention paint runs

the stress brings back nightmares.