Guitar painting and spray gun advice need!

G

Gutted

Guest
Hi guys
So the thing is before i start painting with airbrush I repaired and fix electric guitars in my free time but I don't really touch the paint work. The main reason I don't head any equipment. But now I have nearly everything. I looking for a spray gun mini gun or full size. Because I have a few body what I want to repaint. Some only one colour some with Airbrush. If somebody have any Idea about this is gonna be great. First I don't want to buy a to expensive just some budget what i can use for a few project and if everything turn out good I will invest some high quality stuff
And I'm also interested about the methods. How you guys do this project. I read a lot about and watch a few videos as well. What paint do you recommend ect
If anybody have some advice feel free to comment! ;)
Thx a lot
Have good day for everyone
Cheers
Joe
 
Hi Gutted,

I build electric guitars so have some experience with the painting side of things. I generally use full size spray gear to do the guitars. I dont do any airbrushing on them as they are usually good figured wood so I use various coloured woodstains and laquer them. I have recently invested in a 0.8 mini gun but havent used it on any guitars yet.
I normally go one of two ways when staining a guitar
1) apply the stain direct to the wood using a sponge or cloth re-sanding between coats to as you will get some grain swell. Then apply the Laquer/clearcoat.

2) Add the stain (I use spirit stains and not a waterbased stains at present) to the laquer and spray the first couple of coats like this until I get the colour build up I'm looking for. Then finish off with a good couple of coats of untinted laquer. I would then follow the normal rules for buffing to a high gloss finish (i.e. leave to harden for about a week then wetsand with a really fine grit paper, apply cutting compound and them polish).

I have two examples on this thread http://www.airbrushforum.org/open-bar/3726-your-hobbies-more-then-airbrushing-6.html

Hope this helps

Andy
 
Thx Andy of course it's help. ;) are you use any paint as well or you always do with stain? Any gun brand what you recom for start? I see you are from U.K as well. Where I should buy a paint, lacquer ect. Do you know any good supplier? What brand I have to looking for? Sorry for the lot of question!
I can't check the link with my phone but I will when I get home
Big thank you!
Cheers
Joe
 
Hi Gutted,

I haven't used a solid paint as yet as the wood I tend to use just cries out to be shown (I have a bit of a wood fetish!). When lacquering a guitar you need to think long and hard about the type of clearcoat coz each has its pro's and cons. I went for a melamine lacquer which is a 1k type. The reason I chose Melamine was for scratch resistance ... it dries very hard and does not scratch easily. However every pro has a con ... I found out quite soon it chips easily when fitting the bridge anchor bolts! It also needs to be sprayed thinly and can take 20 coats to get a really deep gloss finish. I am going to try a 2k clear coat on my next guitar.

As for the supplier I used a local ish wood coatings specialist called Rydenor Paint Wood finishes in Thirsk. However next time I will try an automotive 2k clearcoat which would build up a lot quicker with less coats.

Oh ... while I remember on ... If you ever consider a sunburst type finish then you definitely need to add the stain to the lacquer. Looking from an airbrush perspective you could tint a clearcoat with a candy concentrate (Mmmm just might try that!).

I am sure that there are others on here that can chip in!

Andy
 
Good stuff, this is in my area of interest as well. I'm just starting out though ...

Hi Gutted,

I haven't used a solid paint as yet as the wood I tend to use just cries out to be shown (I have a bit of a wood fetish!). When lacquering a guitar you need to think long and hard about the type of clearcoat coz each has its pro's and cons. I went for a melamine lacquer which is a 1k type. The reason I chose Melamine was for scratch resistance ... it dries very hard and does not scratch easily. However every pro has a con ... I found out quite soon it chips easily when fitting the bridge anchor bolts! It also needs to be sprayed thinly and can take 20 coats to get a really deep gloss finish. I am going to try a 2k clear coat on my next guitar.

As for the supplier I used a local ish wood coatings specialist called Rydenor Paint Wood finishes in Thirsk. However next time I will try an automotive 2k clearcoat which would build up a lot quicker with less coats.

Oh ... while I remember on ... If you ever consider a sunburst type finish then you definitely need to add the stain to the lacquer. Looking from an airbrush perspective you could tint a clearcoat with a candy concentrate (Mmmm just might try that!).

I am sure that there are others on here that can chip in!

Andy
 
Gutted/Tau,

Anytime you want to bounce anything off me just give me a yell :hororr:

Andy
 
Wd 40

Hi all,
I think i may have made a rookie mistake! I've carved a web design in a strat body. Its two colours (Black and red). I had to cover certain parts using masking tape. When i removed the masking tape, there was some residue left so i used WD-40 to remove it. Im now worried that it may affect my final lacquer coats?

Do you know what i should do?
If i clean off the WD-40 with acetone or white spirits, would that work?
 
Hi Bricon, If you are ONLY looking to get rid of the WD-40 then surely just a normal dishwash soap with warm water will work? like a de-greaser?

EDIT - BUT it may well be worthwhile getting more advice from others :)
 
It's really fun to paint on guitars! If the guitar is painted or varnished already, it should be fine to paint on. If you have the time and are at home, it's good to apply a bit of primer to the area you want to paint first. Let that dry completely before painting on the guitar. It can be really fun to paint a space scene,landscape, fantasy art, pattern or design on your guitar. You can get some ideas at www.spraypaintartsecrets.com When your primer is dry, use blue painters tape and some sheets of newspaper to protect the parts of the guitar you want to leave unpainted. Then use your spray paints to add a design.
 
Wd 40

Hi all,
I think i may have made a rookie mistake! I've carved a web design in a strat body. Its two colours (Black and red). I had to cover certain parts using masking tape. When i removed the masking tape, there was some residue left so i used WD-40 to remove it. Im now worried that it may affect my final lacquer coats?
Do you know what i should do?
If i clean off the WD-40 with acetone or white spirits, would that work?
Any good degreaser will work. Then i would wipe down with alchohol if its absolvent based paint and odorless mineral spirits if not.
 
Hi Gutted,

I haven't used a solid paint as yet as the wood I tend to use just cries out to be shown (I have a bit of a wood fetish!). When lacquering a guitar you need to think long and hard about the type of clearcoat coz each has its pro's and cons. I went for a melamine lacquer which is a 1k type. The reason I chose Melamine was for scratch resistance ... it dries very hard and does not scratch easily. However every pro has a con ... I found out quite soon it chips easily when fitting the bridge anchor bolts! It also needs to be sprayed thinly and can take 20 coats to get a really deep gloss finish. I am going to try a 2k clear coat on my next guitar.

As for the supplier I used a local ish wood coatings specialist called Rydenor Paint Wood finishes in Thirsk. However next time I will try an automotive 2k clearcoat which would build up a lot quicker with less coats.

Oh ... while I remember on ... If you ever consider a sunburst type finish then you definitely need to add the stain to the lacquer. Looking from an airbrush perspective you could tint a clearcoat with a candy concentrate (Mmmm just might try that!).

I am sure that there are others on here that can chip in!

Andy
Do not use 2k over stain without a barrier coat of some sort. You do not want the 2k mixing with wood stains.
 
Most if not all guitar manufacturers are still using laquers on oem solid bodies afaik.
 
Ohh and now back to the original question. I think a 4oz hvlp mini gun with .8 tip is ideal. When it comes to mini guns you can get away with a pretty cheap gun. Not sure what you have in the UK. I got mine from a local tool place dirt cheap.
 
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