How To Paint A Guitar Body Professionally
Whether you plan on finishing that trunk yous just cutting to perfection, or yous just want to bring some life back to that worn-out favorite musical instrument, preparing a guitar body for pigment requires some planning, preparation, and conscientious execution.
Surely painting a guitar body tin can appear to exist lots of fun, just it's fairly piece of cake to miss some crucial steps.
And in that instance, y'all might finish up with an instrument that won't look the way it should and you'll take to get-go over. This translates to time and money not so well spent.
Executing the guitar painting procedure wrong lone tin ruin the whole project of building or restoring guitars.
In case you're restoring an older guitar, we'll consider in this article that you accept already disassembled all the parts, such as the cervix (in case it's bolt-on), the hardware itself (bridge, pickups, pickguard, etc…) and you accept a guitar body that's ready to get-go.
Can you paint a guitar without taking it apart?
When preparing a guitar body to apply paint, an option *that nosotros wouldn't recommend based on previous builds), is to embrace the hardware and other parts yous don't want paint on with some blazon of masking tape.
You can in fact achieve expert results with this method, merely it must be accurate and with the correct materials, otherwise, you won't be able to sand and paint properly.
Do you take to strip a guitar before painting?
If yous plan on restoring an already painted guitar: You must:
- Remove the finish and the old paint before anything else. Some paint jobs will allow you lot for removal using paint remover.
- This should be easy every bit applying the production, waiting for it to practise its magic, and getting the paint off with a scraper
- Some other guitar finishes won't be so easy, and will only allow for removal using sandpaper. Patience, adept sanding paper and strong arms will accept you far, just make certain it isn't far enough as to removing too much of the wood itself.
Once that is fix, or if you lot take a new body that you lot just cut/bought from a kit, the process of sanding goes as follows…
How practice you sand a guitar for painting?
To guarantee that no imperfections are in the body later the bodily painting, proper sanding is the best way to become.
Considering the guitar body is set up from the cutting perspective, you lot can offset by feeling information technology with your hands and looking carefully to spot imperfections, and try your best to smoothen it using sandpaper.
- The thing with sandpaper and wood is that y'all should echo the process of sanding while decreasing gradually the actual grit size(increasing the grit number in the specification). This results in a more even surface.
- The quality of the sandpaper is important. There have been many scientific advancements in the industry for the past decades. Present, the good brands have the lilliputian abrasiveparticles such as aluminum oxide or silicon carbide aligned with their pointy tips upwards, through the use of magnets, and then that they tin be used more than and offer better sanding
Which grit?
If your guitar body is already close to having no imperfections, you could beginning with a grit of 240, then keep on to a 320, and lastly a 400 grit. These are fine grits. Above these numbers, they're usually intended for detailing and polishing jobs.
Tools for sanding guitar bodies earlier painting
- The right tool to accomplish this chore tin can vary. A palm/hand sander will practice the job just as efficiently as a belt/spindle/drum sander if you lot take the patience and the skills for it.
- Sanding by hand is as well an option, specially when you've gotten to the point of painting without the apply of power tools. Chances are that you won't mind a fleck more sanding, later on all, you only went through.
Once yous are certain the body is smooth enough, all that is left is to wipe whatsoever forest dust and other residues. You lot tin can achieve this with a clean and soft lint-free rag, or a vacuum cleaner.
Filling the grain – Preparing a guitar body for paint
Some types of woods (like ebony, pau-Ferro, and alder) are non-porous, which means that filling volition not be equally much of a necessity, and rather an aesthetic choice to reveal the wood grain.
Other wood such equally ash and oak tend to accept more pores and volition crave that you use some kind of wood filler to make their surface fifty-fifty enough for the paint, as well every bit revealing the grain if that'south the case.
The procedure of filling in the grain – Preparing a guitar torso for pigment:
- Most products volition crave that you lot mix a certain quantity of water on them before using them. Check the instructions, and mix the product with h2o in another container. You tin simply put the chapeau on the remaining product and store information technology for subsequently employ.
- To effectively apply the product to the body, y'all can utilise a castor or something like a spatula with a flat surface. Some people will recommend a rag, and others even prefer doing it with their hands to experience the pores' locations ameliorate.
- You should test these methods on a leftover piece from the cutting to see what feels correct for y'all and looks best with the detail wood you're using
In any case, to ensure that you are completely sealing the pores, it'southward best to piece of work a bit of pressure in both directions of the grain.
Equally before long as y'all finish filling in the grain, remove any excesses immediately. This must be relatively quick, given that the products will harden every bit soon every bit the water evaporates.
Scraping the excess filler
The scraping should be moderately delicate. Consider that correct after applying, the filling starts to dry, and if you scrape information technology with excessive force, the bonds that are already forming in the molecules can result in the removal of the filling from the pores.
All-time to get it right first endeavor.
The final piece of the puzzle is to permit the filler dry completely. The period that it should dry will be described in the product's container and will vary depending on its limerick.
Later on the filler dries
When the waiting period is over:
- Choice upward the trunk and feel it once once again for bumps and excess filler that could have accumulated on the body's surfaces.
- After examining it closely, utilise sandpaper to remove whatsoever imperfections. 320 grit is a mutual choice here, simply information technology's ultimately up to yous to make up one's mind what works.
Sanding Sealer
Depending on the corporeality of sanding you lot had to make after the filling process, information technology's a good idea to smear some of these sanding sealers over the body and sand information technology again with a 320 or finer grit sandpaper. This ensures that the body will be perfectly flat before you tin proceed on to priming and finally, start painting.
Priming – Preparing a guitar body for paint
Primers are products that promote adherence of the pigment to the surface, extend its' durability (avoiding cracks due to pores/bumps), and protecting the surface below the painting.
- Primers and similar products take some properties such every bit a caste of elasticity, to assist the pigment stay in place and not break, even when the forest expands/contracts due to the outside temperature. Just detailing these is out of the telescopic of this article.
- Although this isn't a requirement in many cases, priming should be in identify depending on the thickness of the pigment textile you program to use on the torso.
- Likewise, of the cease, if you lot're seeking allows for low-cal to traverse it (translucent), you shouldn't use it at all.
- The right corporeality of primer/nitro layers you should apply is directly correlated to being able to sand it consistently, without removing enough that would uncover the woods beneath the layers. On well-nigh projects, about three-4 coats are enough.
- Permit each layer dry out before applying the adjacent one. The fourth dimension it takes will depend on the product you lot're using, and the climate as well. On hotter days it can be anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour until it's dry to the touch.
- Consider the many applications that primers accept, and y'all'll know that you must brand sure you take one that is correct for the type of work y'all're doing
Again, testing is the best road to take. Become a like scrap of woods or a leftover from the cut, and (ideally) apply all of the steps above to ensure the issue will non just wait good but won't scissure or chip easily earlier yous become to do information technology on the actual guitar torso.
What kind of paint do y'all use on a guitar torso?
Talking about colors… well, if you didn't programme this from the outset information technology may accept longer to decide than what it took you to get to this part. There is a huge diversity of colors and finishes to choose from, readily available at any specialized store.
Equally far as paint composition goes, there are some proven kinds that professionals tend not to deviate much from, such equally polyurethane and nitrocellulose. The latter is more readily available.
What kind of paint practice you use on an acoustic guitar?
If you plan on doing decorations, it's prophylactic to use acrylic or oil paints, provided that afterward it dries you lot cover it with the appropriate stop coating.
When it comes to painting acoustic guitar bodies equally a whole, y'all'll notice lots of opinions arguing that thicker paint coats tin can modify the acoustic properties of the musical instrument for the worse.
Yet, this is highly subjective, since it's related to every private'due south perceptions.
If you're dealing with a corking-sounding or expensive instrument, and you want to be on the safe side, you tin always dilute the paint with h2o, alcohol, or similar solutions (always check the paint specifications). This will allow for thinner coatings that won't affect the audio of the instrument in a perceivable way.
Final preparations to paint the guitar body
- Independent of what you choose, ensure that you are in a dust-free environment (dust is volatile and tin end upward inside the pigment, which results in imperfections and smaller bumps after the finish.
- Besides, follow the instructions in the can/parcel closely, peculiarly when information technology comes to the drying period. The body tin hang through the holes where the cervix is bolted, but everybody volition accept their preferred way.
- Some even become every bit far as creating mechanisms to hold and simultaneously horizontally rotate the body. Y'all tin use your creativity a bit and attempt out to see what works best for you.
Rest assured that nigh starters won't get the whole process right on the outset effort.
When actually painting the guitar, spraying is the most common method, hence the need to have the whole body surface hands accessible.
Skills with spray cans volition develop over time, and yous should always aim to avoid runs.
Pigment runs occur when as well much is practical to the aforementioned spot, and gravity does its thing. Though having the guitar set on a apartment surface can avoid runs, the excess of pigment gathered will make for an uneven finish.
Tin can I paint a guitar with a standard brush?
If you lot are washed preparing a guitar body for paint, nothing will stop you lot from painting with a castor, other than the fact that the terminate production won't look the same.
Having a chip of feel using spray cans, over time you lot can become very similar results to what mass-producing factories and skilled guitars builders do. And then we recommend that you stick to spray cans, but in the end, it'southward your guitar. The same applies to the finishing coats.
To sum it up
The process of preparing a guitar body for pigment tin look daunting, but later on a couple of rides, you'll somewhen become the hang of all the steps information technology requires.
Following closely and developing the skills to master these skills volition get y'all much closer to a professional paint job.
When you did everything else related to preparing a guitar body for paint, all that is left is to apply the paint layers, stain, clear coating, polishing the body to make it smoothen, and reassembling all the parts.
Independent of whether you're restoring an former guitar or painting a new 1, if you lot're able to get it right you'll have an musical instrument that'll exist a joy to look at later completion.
But always bear in mind that in the case of restoration, the actual budgetary value of the guitar might decrease, since collectors will e'er prioritize original and well-maintained instruments.
Source: https://buildinstrument.com/preparing-a-guitar-body-for-paint/
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