Skeet UK
Well-known member
What finish is on it at the moment?Any advice on which paint to use when spraying an old guitar. I got the saw out and modified my old epiphone flying V and fancy a nice metallic colour.
I only tend to use House Of Kolor, the finest custom paint money can buy...but there is no reason why you cant get a decent finish.
Ideally, you want to start with a good keyed surface, around P360 grit.
Then you want to give it two coats of catalysed primer (2 pak).
Mist over that with any random contrasting colour, so you have a light dusting all over, this is called a "Guide Coat".
OK, so with a sanding block (cork or foam) and some P400 grit wet and dry, wet sand the whole thing. The block is very important as it keep stuff flat.
What you will be left with, is dents and scratches, highlighted by your guide coat. Th guide coat stays in the low spots and gets sanded off of the high spots.
Now you fill your low spots with catalysed filler, like Isopon P38. the you sand them flush with to P400. Spot spray any filled areas with two coats of primer, then spray whole thing with two more coats of primer.
Wet sand this back with P600 on a block. Be sure to go "over" edges with your hand, not "along" them with a block.
Do this until you have a nice even surface with no orange peel. Once you start sanding, orange peel will show as shiny areas with a dull spot in the middle...sand this flat till it is all dull.
To wet sand, use warm water with some fairy in it, soak the wet and dry in the water for 20 mins, then keep sanding and adding water. Dry periodically to check progress.
Once you are happy, you should have a full primered, and wet sanded to P600 grit guitar.
For spraying paint, ideally you want a small gun and compressor, but you can get away with cans. There are companies who will do custom flake etc in cans.
Mask up the neck and wash and dry any areas to be painted, then do not touch them with bare skin.
When adding colour, apply a light coat, then two medium coats...for even coverage.
if you are spraying metallic, then you need to follow up the colour coat with 3 coats of clear.
Ideally again, you want catalysed clear coat. You can buy this in cans too.
S three coast of clear, let it cure...then wet sand this with P800 grit and apply 3 more coats of clear. let that cure.
Then you can start wet sanding back with P1200 grit and go up through the grits to P3000. then you need to compound it to buff it up to a mirror finish.
- Don't spray over any contaminants like oil or grease from your hands.
- Don't paint if it is too cold.
- Take note of suggested "flash times" between coats.
- Don't EVER touch a run...leave it to dry fully (days)
- The best finish starts from the bottom.
- Make sure you use compatible paints for clear, colour and primer.
Any questions, just ask.
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