Painting a guitar with spray cans?

[Bg]

I do miss Adrian for these convos. He really was/is the master of all things nitro and guitar finishing.

Tell that to my Ash custom where the paint flaked off whenever I looked at it . Don't think even he knew why.

[calling card]

I'm a member of a FB page dedicated to mostly auto painting, they throw rocks at anyone doing aerosol paint work. lot of motorbike guys post up stuff, some looks great and as good as out of a gun. Others post up the disasters at which point the howls of garbage! ensue from the masses.
It is achievable with quality cans & paint on something small like a guitar. It's all about getting the substrate right or what you are painting onto. Nitro will be lacquer thinned, it can react bad to any mineral oil products it hits.
I'm not one for sanding between coats, just pugs up the sandpaper & drags marks over what you've done. Definitely not something you do with metallics. I lay on about 3 coats one after the other allowing 5 - 10 mins flash time between coats. Assuming no bugs have landed during the process or lint drop into it. You're good to go on the clear, lay it on wet but not so much it sags, flash time between coats, about 3 or 4 coats (aerosol always takes a little more to cover well). No sanding between coats required, even if a bug does go in I ignore it & fossilize it forever. When it dries they rub mostly off leaving just the feet, can hardly see it.
Insects are so drawn to lacquer fumes...

The paint I based this on is PPG Deltron in aerosol can form and cleared with 1K acrylic lacquer.

[Molly]

One thing I found is that two or so weeks after admiring my mirror-like finish the paint had, by continuing to dry, lost much of its shine.

[Zaulkin]

I'm a member of a FB page dedicated to mostly auto painting, they throw rocks at anyone doing aerosol paint work. lot of motorbike guys post up stuff, some looks great and as good as out of a gun. Others post up the disasters at which point the howls of garbage! ensue from the masses.
It is achievable with quality cans & paint on something small like a guitar. It's all about getting the substrate right or what you are painting onto. Nitro will be lacquer thinned, it can react bad to any mineral oil products it hits.
I'm not one for sanding between coats, just pugs up the sandpaper & drags marks over what you've done. Definitely not something you do with metallics. I lay on about 3 coats one after the other allowing 5 - 10 mins flash time between coats. Assuming no bugs have landed during the process or lint drop into it. You're good to go on the clear, lay it on wet but not so much it sags, flash time between coats, about 3 or 4 coats (aerosol always takes a little more to cover well). No sanding between coats required, even if a bug does go in I ignore it & fossilize it forever. When it dries they rub mostly off leaving just the feet, can hardly see it.
Insects are so drawn to lacquer fumes...

The paint I based this on is PPG Deltron in aerosol can form and cleared with 1K acrylic lacquer.

How much can I expect to pay for the paint? I heard it was about $33 a can. How many cans do you think are required?

[GrantB]

One can almost buy a compressor, gun and 1lt of paint for the price of two can painted guitars.

Maybe.

[calling card]

Yes about the $30 mark for good can. Base/colour coat 1x can, should be ok if you unload 1x clear but I'd get 2x, it's the clear that is hungry. Got to lay it on glassy or it'll haze up & go crusty. Dry conditions too, it'll fog otherwise.

This is a cheap 1K acrylic clear option, I can endorse it as it's still holding up on the weathering on my car body (spot repairs). $16.99 from supercheap auto.


Haha I looked at all the empties as my project spiraled deeper & deeper, must have been a thousand bucks of aerosol cans. Relented & bought a new HVLP type gun & bulk paint. A lot of the issues I had was not getting the correct start & painting over failures. Oh they all climb up to the top surface like phantoms.

You'll have fun painting a guitar... no bogging, dust etc... be quite rewarding.

Anyway over to the nitro gurus now

[Zaulkin]

Yes about the $30 mark for good can. Base/colour coat 1x can, should be ok if you unload 1x clear but I'd get 2x, it's the clear that is hungry. Got to lay it on glassy or it'll haze up & go crusty. Dry conditions too, it'll fog otherwise.

This is a cheap 1K acrylic clear option, I can endorse it as it's still holding up on the weathering on my car body (spot repairs). $16.99 from supercheap auto.


Haha I looked at all the empties as my project spiraled deeper & deeper, must have been a thousand bucks of aerosol cans. Relented & bought a new HVLP type gun & bulk paint. A lot of the issues I had was not getting the correct start & painting over failures. Oh they all climb up to the top surface like phantoms.

You'll have fun painting a guitar... no bogging, dust etc... be quite rewarding.

Anyway over to the nitro gurus now

Thanks for all your input everyone! I'll refer to this thread. Probably better to wait until there are better conditions. Maybe it'll be a summer project?

[GrantB]

Yep...Winter can be OK when it's cold and dry...you want humidity down below 65% ideally. Cloudy coats is such a drag!

Spring not always good... can be...

[Capt. Black]

I do miss Adrian for these convos. He really was/is the master of all things nitro and guitar finishing.

Tell that to my Ash custom where the paint flaked off whenever I looked at it . Don't think even he knew why.

Touching it with those URINEUM coated fingers most likely!

[calling card]

Make a paint stick, piece of wood that fits neck pocket (loosely) drill & screw the stick to two holes in the body. You now have a ping pong bat like guitar body to manipulate when painting. Or clamp to a bench with body overhanging.

Do what that guy said earlier on and heat your cans. I immerse mine in a bucket of hot water, similar temp to a good bathtub experience. Jeez I re read this & it's like a JB alert

First coat, even horizontal runs, no wiggling back & forth. Don't expect it to cover fully or force it too, the first coat always looks like shit. Second coat will greatly improve, Third will nail it. Fourth is tempting but your can will be running low, at this point this where cans let you down as it'll spit and potential ruin your good progress.

Don't lean the can over too much, as above it'll spit and you'l swear. Blocked nozzle is also the enemy of aerosol fiends.

What ever paint you go for the clear and base must be compatible. I'm a fan of acrylic lacquer clear and it's always going to be 1K(no catalyst) in aerosol. Acrylic lacquer base coat will totally fuse in nicely.

I don't know a whole about nitro... do you guys spray a nitro clear?

I write all this shit not because I'm any great painter but because I've stumbled into so many ways of getting it wrong.

[GrantB]

Cans aside, here is an example of what not to do. If your guitar looks this orange peely, start again in my view.

http://www.offsetguitars.com/forums/vie ... 8&t=104501

[Molly]

This is the nitro I used last time:

[GrantB]

... do you guys spray a nitro clear?

.

Nitro is pretty forgiving. It will go on most things. It "burns in" properly only with existing nitro though. I've been able to lay shellac onto crappy wood with residual stuff in it, then slap nitro straight onto the shellac and away we go.

Shooting a nice finish in nitro is actually easy if you have all the basics right. Thinning mix, gun settings, air settings, weather.

[Zaulkin]

... do you guys spray a nitro clear?

.

Nitro is pretty forgiving. It will go on most things. It "burns in" properly only with existing nitro though. I've been able to lay shellac onto crappy wood with residual stuff in it, then slap nitro straight onto the shellac and away we go.

Shooting a nice finish in nitro is actually easy if you have all the basics right. Thinning mix, gun settings, air settings, weather.

The guitar in question does have a light nitro finish on it currently. ...But it's aged. Maybe if I take it back there will be a little bit left.

[Zaulkin]

Make a paint stick, piece of wood that fits neck pocket (loosely) drill & screw the stick to two holes in the body. You now have a ping pong bat like guitar body to manipulate when painting. Or clamp to a bench with body overhanging.

Do what that guy said earlier on and heat your cans. I immerse mine in a bucket of hot water, similar temp to a good bathtub experience. Jeez I re read this & it's like a JB alert

First coat, even horizontal runs, no wiggling back & forth. Don't expect it to cover fully or force it too, the first coat always looks like shit. Second coat will greatly improve, Third will nail it. Fourth is tempting but your can will be running low, at this point this where cans let you down as it'll spit and potential ruin your good progress.

Don't lean the can over too much, as above it'll spit and you'l swear. Blocked nozzle is also the enemy of aerosol fiends.

What ever paint you go for the clear and base must be compatible. I'm a fan of acrylic lacquer clear and it's always going to be 1K(no catalyst) in aerosol. Acrylic lacquer base coat will totally fuse in nicely.

I don't know a whole about nitro... do you guys spray a nitro clear?

I write all this shit not because I'm any great painter but because I've stumbled into so many ways of getting it wrong.

This is all so helpful. I have painted things before, but revising these steps is really awesome because I forget and start at zero each time.


...I'll make sure to give my can a warm bubblebath before I spray everywhere.