So does anyone like to paint guitars? Wanna paint mine?

[johnnyreece]

sounds like Tom is gonna spend more time at the Ranch…getting the bug.

Heya, Rawl! You might be onto something!

[beasleybodyshop]

Lacquer is the second easiest finish to repair and it's much lighter than all except for a french polish. Poly is impossible to repair and is more like velveeta made of plexiglass.

Using it from a can is annoying, and not even close to the atomization as with a spray rig. Lumpy piles.

Watch out for too fine of a final sanding. Instrument looks great until the finish comes of in a single sheet. I finish sand to 400. Moisture will turn steel dust embredded in wood grain into rust and the finish will get rust dots then come off in sheets too, so steel wool is umm.. not a good idea. #0000 wool is effectively 1800 grit. That is over sanding and the finish will not stay on forever.

If you hate lacquer you love to work really hard. If you use crap with plastic binders you may as well use poly. Use Deft brand, and not the premium, the standard is chinese without plastic binders. It shoots and works exactly as Gibson did it since the forevers ago if you drain the cans into a gun.



4 coats sealer, sand back, 4 coats clear within an hour and wetsand in 2 hours. Polish in 24. Boom.

Amen to this. I sprayed poly automotive finishes (Sikkens, PPG, Omni, you name it) for several years in the shop, and on my first guitar build i was like "Hey, this makes so much sense" No. Good Lord no. Lacquer is so much more forgiving in my opinion. Yes it takes longer, but It really looks better to me - so many cheap guitars were finished in polyester/polyurethane for so many years It just seems when I see one with a thick finish I feel like it was done cheaply - I mean a guitar is such a tactile thing, I dont rub my hands all over that 2003 Camaro I sprayed last week (well..... i have problems sometimes) Good luck, Reranch is a good place - they are local in my neck of the woods, wish the guy would let me just come by and pick up my paint, but i suspect he works out of a residential area and doesn't want to draw too much attention. 10 bucks to ship a rattle can three miles away? eh...its worth it.

[Structo]

Yep, good stuff from ReRanch.

Bill is a good dude.

[Leo_Gnardo]

OK, some terrific guitar finishes, now how about a pedal? This one crossed my fixit bench @ 15 years ago. Just had to take a picture. Back then on film. Just found this in my files o fotos & scanned it for your amusement.

Advice: don't take the brown acid, at least before commencing on your pedal painting project.

[Structo]

Whoa!

I think I just had a little flashback.

[Blindog]

Well, I've sure learned a lot from the posts in this thread! After much thinking, and some chatting with Miles (thanks man!), I'm gonna leave her au naturale for now. I'm liking the way the unfinished neck feels, and the tone is very different from any other Les Paul I've played...very "open" sounding if you will. Plus it's getting a cool patina to it. It's a '96, but I have no idea how long it's been natural. Anyways, thanks for all the input!

Mark

*edit* Why have my pics been posting upside down lately? Sorry, they were right side up before they were uploaded!

[tribi9]

You held your phone upside down when you took the pictures.

[NickC]

..........

*edit* Why have my pics been posting upside down lately? Sorry, they were right side up before they were uploaded!

I'm guessing you're using an iPhone? If so, the built-in gyro contraption is notorious for causing upside-down images without the users consent.