automotive paint for guitar, prep?

[RJF]

I have heard that auto paint is a good choice when spraying a guitar, but my question is can you just spray on the base/color coat over the bare wood or is a primer best to be used? Again, my primer is an auto grade primer.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I have heard that auto paint is a good choice when spraying a guitar, but my question is can you just spray on the base/color coat over the bare wood or is a primer best to be used? Again, my primer is an auto grade primer.

I use clear as the primer. Clear, wetsand, repeat untill the pores are full.

 

[glpg80]

i use wood filler - apply it across the grain with the back of a razorblade

first i prep the wood/clean it - nothing that is water soluable though since it can cause your wood to expand/contract after paint is finished and crack your paint job.

apply wood filler across the grain. sand with 400, apply across, sand with 600, fill it again, then 800-1200 wet sanded last.

then apply primer - do light coats and not one heavy coat.

some people choose to wet sand the primer with 3M once it is dry to get the best level surface possible to apply paint. i dont like to....if you prep the wood surface as i mentioned you wont need to.

apply you're coats of paint -allowing dry time. i do 2 coats, wet sanding in between.

then clear is applied, i do about 3-7 coats - wet sanding in between each dry time.

buff, wax, then use polishing compound.

and finished - usually 2 weeks from start to finish - alot of that is the time it takes to wait to wax.

 

[gibson08]

i use wood filler - apply it across the grain with the back of a razorblade

first i prep the wood/clean it - nothing that is water soluable though since it can cause your wood to expand/contract after paint is finished and crack your paint job.

apply wood filler across the grain. sand with 400, apply across, sand with 600, fill it again, then 800-1200 wet sanded last.

then apply primer - do light coats and not one heavy coat.

some people choose to wet sand the primer with 3M once it is dry to get the best level surface possible to apply paint. i dont like to....if you prep the wood surface as i mentioned you wont need to.

apply you're coats of paint -allowing dry time. i do 2 coats, wet sanding in between.

then clear is applied, i do about 3-7 coats - wet sanding in between each dry time.

buff, wax, then use polishing compound.

and finished - usually 2 weeks from start to finish - alot of that is the time it takes to wait to wax.

I agree with everything, except not sanding the primer, primer has to be sanded for maximum adhesion, if you dont want to sand I would suggest the non-sanding sealer instead.

 

[glpg80]

i use wood filler - apply it across the grain with the back of a razorblade

first i prep the wood/clean it - nothing that is water soluable though since it can cause your wood to expand/contract after paint is finished and crack your paint job.

apply wood filler across the grain. sand with 400, apply across, sand with 600, fill it again, then 800-1200 wet sanded last.

then apply primer - do light coats and not one heavy coat.

some people choose to wet sand the primer with 3M once it is dry to get the best level surface possible to apply paint. i dont like to....if you prep the wood surface as i mentioned you wont need to.

apply you're coats of paint -allowing dry time. i do 2 coats, wet sanding in between.

then clear is applied, i do about 3-7 coats - wet sanding in between each dry time.

buff, wax, then use polishing compound.

and finished - usually 2 weeks from start to finish - alot of that is the time it takes to wait to wax.

I agree with everything, except not sanding the primer, primer has to be sanded for maximum adhesion, if you dont want to sand I would suggest the non-sanding sealer instead.

+1 i should have clarified you still have to rough it up to give the paint something to stick to without running. use 800 grit on the first coat, 800 on the second and 800 or 1200 on the third.

i just mentioned wet sanding, which i dont like to do on primer coats. too early IMHO and can lead to disaster down the road.

one last thing i should mention. do NOT USE your hands to sand. get a sanding block. the pressure from your fingers will cause uneven sanding grooves and will make your finish look wavy and very uneven.

do not oversand spots - sand the guitar evenly from one side and work your way to the other.

 

[glpg80]

also - for wet sanding - let your sandpaper soak in a tub of bottled water for a minimum of 3 days.

make sure any sanding you are doing wet, to have bottled water poored onto the surface you are sanding. they dont call it wet sanding for nothing - if your surface is dry you are not wet sanding. you should not be seeing any bubbles being made by the sandpaper.

if you get buildup on the sandpaper - throw it away and use another wet peace. you do not want to be grinding particles into the finish either.

prepare enough wet sandpaper to finish the guitar wet stages at once - you do not want to stop and continue later - you will get uneven finishes.

as far as technique goes - do not apply pressure. let the sandpaper do the work, not you.

if you do not learn the pressure technique before you do this, you will find out what it is like to have to start all over from sanding through a layer by accident. pay attention to corners and areas around corners carefully. use your hands for these areas and sand side to side, not forward and back.

that is all

FWIW i have done many many EVH guitars, he was my idle when i started guitar. i was going to save my wolfgang for an EVH project but ended up selling it.

good luck and hope this helps

one last thing reading over my previous posts - i dont like to sand the first primer coat and if i do choose to sand it, i sand it very lightly. that coat is very important not to sand through into the wood filler area for maximum mirror shine of the clear coats.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

Wow I've been doin this shit all wrong for over 20 years

 

[glpg80]

Wow I've been doin this shit all wrong for over 20 years

there is no right or wrong way. clearly this is overkill for rattlecans.

but he asked about automotive paint and that shit is expensive - so i assumed he was going to spray gun the guitar, had the tips, air compressor with condensation filter, breathing masks, etc

ive always borrowed a buddies garage turned into a spray booth. he restores VW bugs as a hobby/passion.

ive always wanted my own paint booth or shop that i can use as one

 

[gibson08]

All of this being said, I always assumed that an automotive finish would be to heavy for an instrument finish, how many have actually done this?? Did it work ok or kill the guitars resonance? If its ok, I may try a few myself.

 

[glpg80]

All of this being said, I always assumed that an automotive finish would be to heavy for an instrument finish, how many have actually done this?? Did it work ok or kill the guitars resonance? If its ok, I may try a few myself.

i have done this and no, the trick is in the wet sanding stages and your technique to apply the layers properly. you are smoothing out the layers before another layer is added.

the wood filler is the reason why as well. the guitar will not soak any of this up over time and will sound just like it did raw

when i say wet sanding - i mean 1000, 1200, 1500, 3M in that order for 1 layer. at that level you are not taking off anything but smoothing it out.

 

[Flump]

i use wood filler - apply it across the grain with the back of a razorblade

first i prep the wood/clean it - nothing that is water soluable though since it can cause your wood to expand/contract after paint is finished and crack your paint job.

apply wood filler across the grain. sand with 400, apply across, sand with 600, fill it again, then 800-1200 wet sanded last.

then apply primer - do light coats and not one heavy coat.

some people choose to wet sand the primer with 3M once it is dry to get the best level surface possible to apply paint. i dont like to....if you prep the wood surface as i mentioned you wont need to.

apply you're coats of paint -allowing dry time. i do 2 coats, wet sanding in between.

then clear is applied, i do about 3-7 coats - wet sanding in between each dry time.

buff, wax, then use polishing compound.

and finished - usually 2 weeks from start to finish - alot of that is the time it takes to wait to wax.

This all seems a little overkill to me, but especially this part. I don't use anything more than say 400 or so after grain filling. Almost all primers are going to immediately fill any excess scratches from 400 grit paper. Hell I've done no more than 220 before priming with no ill effects at all. Then again its best to error on your side.

 

[glpg80]

you think its overkill, but the wood preparation is the most important part.

its what everything else builds on. and with my technique in painting - i have very very very light coats - and apply them in layers. i dont lay thick coats down and expect the paint to do the filling job, i have more control over a mirror glass finish with sanding/prep work/wet sanding

like i said it takes me 2 weeks to do a guitar like this from sanding the body down to wood to having it ready for waxing/polishing to a shin.

here is the body work i have done on my own ibanez - clear coat wet sanding and polishing.

 

[guitarslinger]

1. Find somebody who knows what they're doing.

2. pay them to do it.

3. drink beer, watch TV, eat pizza, practice guitar.


This took me hours of painful sanding to learn.

 

[Flump]

All of this being said, I always assumed that an automotive finish would be to heavy for an instrument finish, how many have actually done this?? Did it work ok or kill the guitars resonance? If its ok, I may try a few myself.

Automotive paints are just high quality poly's...or low quality if its going on a kia. I use a PPG clear on all the guitars I"ve made for myself and they are great. A little more flexible than acrylic/nitro lacquers so they don't chip as easily, but they ding a little easier. I'm going to use a matte poly finish for my current project and I'm hoping it looks great. Definitely a bitch to spray.

 

[Flump]

you think its overkill, but the wood preparation is the most important part.

its what everything else builds on. and with my technique in painting - i have very very very light coats - and apply them in layers. i dont lay thick coats down and expect the paint to do the filling job, i have more control over a mirror glass finish with sanding/prep work/wet sanding

like i said it takes me 2 weeks to do a guitar like this from sanding the body down to wood to having it ready for waxing/polishing to a shin.

here is the body work i have done on my own ibanez - clear coat wet sanding and polishing.

Well I can't say anything I've done looks better than that, so to each his own. I'm more than happy with my results, but then again I'm constantly doing really weird finishes.

Also to the OP if you are doing a metallic color coat don't sand before clearing. Won't be so metallic after sanding it.

Is there no multiquote here or am i an idiot?

 

[glpg80]

nope, no multiquote. have to code it yourself the hard way with copy/paste lol

 

[gibson08]

So all of the vintage nitro, letting the wood breathe shit is thrown out?? HAHA, So lets be a little more specific, I am def familiar with PPG products, attended PPG paint and refinish school, trained in auto finishes and body repair, yadayada. Which exact products are you using, I got out of the field around the Deltron era, always thought the BC/CC in that system would have made some cool finishes, way back when they used to have Radiance finishes as well (candy colors) those would have been awesome finishes, so whats everybody using??

 

[Flump]

So all of the vintage nitro, letting the wood breathe shit is thrown out?? HAHA, So lets be a little more specific, I am def familiar with PPG products, attended PPG paint and refinish school, trained in auto finishes and body repair, yadayada. Which exact products are you using, I got out of the field around the Deltron era, always thought the BC/CC in that system would have made some cool finishes, way back when they used to have Radiance finishes as well (candy colors) those would have been awesome finishes, so whats everybody using??

I've never been a big believer of the whole let the wood breathe thing. Wood used for guitars is/should be dried in a kiln already. Any excess moisture is negligible.

The Deltron stuff is what I have been using for clears. I've also used Alsa's speed clear, but I had hardening issues with it. I bought something called flexed n' flat for the matte finish for the next project. Never used it before.

 

[Motorpud]

Wow I've been doin this shit all wrong for over 20 years

Well, the guitar you painted for me looks great, plus the other ones I've seen that you painted Especially that sparkly red tele body

 

[glpg80]

PPG? deltron, dupont, or house of color is what i use for colors or primer - sprays and covers good - some of the best IMHO. i stay away omni. i like the cheaper shopline for clears as i think it looks better and buffs better