an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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oid
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by oid » Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:07 am

Milk paint is great stuff and comes in nice colors, generally made with the old natural pigments like burnt umber, lamp black and so fourth, but it is not very robust and easily damaged. The traditional technique is to either give it a regular fresh coat, eventually you get a thick enough layer that damage just uncovers the previous coats instead of the bear wood, or give it a few coats of a drying oil like boiled linseed or tung to give it a hard clearish coat. It is not the best finish choice if you want high gloss though, you could buff it up to a gloss but it would be a tricky process due to its somewhat fragile nature.

Milk paint is actually one of the finishes in the running if I decide to strip down my AVRI.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by JVG » Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:47 pm

I agree with the idea of buying a black body from MJT, using the wood of your choice and finished however you want (in terms of relicing, or lack thereof). Selling the MIJ body will largely subsidise the cost.

I've got nothing against home spray jobs, but don't do your first one on a perfectly fine MIJ body, because you will make mistakes. In its current state, the body will have decent resale value. If you paint it at home, you can forget about ever getting much for it.

All the best!
J

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by timtam » Wed Nov 21, 2018 5:06 pm

You can get a JM body for US$70 to practice on ...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DIY-Unfinished ... 2481578082
... or around half that for strat style (although don't expect quality).
"I just knew I wanted to make a sound that was the complete opposite of a Les Paul, and that’s pretty much a Jaguar." Rowland S. Howard.

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by aliendawg » Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:12 pm

I'd try and sell the body then buy a black one.
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by HNB » Wed Nov 21, 2018 6:19 pm

As an idiot who ruins nice guitars by painting them, I would say go for it. (But not indoors where you will die.)
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by rank » Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:05 am

Find a car dealership that paints cars & see if they will paint it for you. They will not charge much & it will be professionally coated (more than likely). I had a guitar painted this way & it looks great.
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by Debaser » Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:14 am

I’ve done a refinish and a few rebuilds, all with nitrocellulose lacquer while I lived in a multi level apartment. Granted, I was on the top story, I had two large balconies to choose from, and a storage unit on the smaller balcony. First I made a small frame to hang the guitar, then covered it with some plastic sheeting. This was the drying space I setup in outdoor storage space. I sprayed only outside, I’d make everyone sick with VOCs otherwise. If you can’t get outside, on a rooftop, then I would look elsewhere, like body shops as people suggested. Otherwise, you spray your daily 3 coats in open air, then hang in storage between coat schedules and final curing.

I’d never try to spray in the house, unless I planned on wearing my respirator mask for a few hours or more and lived alone. Also, fans and nitro don’t mix, smh. You know, I never had any complaints, and considering all the unwanted cigarette smoke I inhaled from the neighbors, it seemed fair.
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by Danley » Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:48 am

I wanted to mention something about whether fans could cause uneven curing of the nitro, but figured someone with more expertise should field that :)
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by sndansby » Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:21 am

Thanks guys for all of your help and happy holidays. I am receiving the guitar tomorrow and I will decide once I see it. If I paint I will not do it indoors.

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by parry » Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:27 am

Whatever you "do" - please document and share.

For science ;)
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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by oid » Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:19 am

Danley wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 9:48 am
I wanted to mention something about whether fans could cause uneven curing of the nitro, but figured someone with more expertise should field that :)
They help the curing, the solvent that evaporates out of the finish is just as much a solvent to the finish as the liquid solvent so getting those fumes away from the guitar is a good thing. Air flow is your friend. If those fancy car sized paint booths did not have the air in the booth constantly replaced it would take forever for those cars to dry. This is also why our cans of lacquer do not cure, there is no where for the solvent to evaporate to unless we forget to put the lid back on.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by blimpage » Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:10 am

oid wrote:
Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:32 pm
You can also brush on lacquer which makes life easier for apartment dwellers, still need a fan and a window while applying if you do not want to go loopy. Spraying is fairly new to lacquer and it was brushed on for centuries prior, just look at all that fine Japanese and Chinese lacquer work. Main thing is consistency, you can buy it thinned for brushing, just need to make sure it stays that consistency, if you leave the can open while you work it will thicken as the lacquer thinner evaporates out and by the final coat you will likely have brush marks that you will have to sand out. Pour what you need for a coat into a jar and close up the can, you will be fine.
This is some good wisdoms. oid, massive thanks to you for always sharing your seemingly unending knowledge in a way that even idiots like me can understand. And for always being positive and encouraging! sndansby clearly wants to get their hands dirty, so let's help em do it right. 😄
parry wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:27 am
Whatever you "do" - please document and share.

For science ;)
+1 to this, we need pictures!

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by oid » Sat Dec 01, 2018 3:42 am

blimpage wrote:
Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:10 am
This is some good wisdoms. oid, massive thanks to you for always sharing your seemingly unending knowledge in a way that even idiots like me can understand. And for always being positive and encouraging! sndansby clearly wants to get their hands dirty, so let's help em do it right. 😄
I am just trying to give people what I had, enough ignorance to not know better. I learned most of my skills by just following through with my ideas, I made alot of mistakes, and I learned even more figuring out how to fix them, sometimes the mistakes even lead to something better. Sure it is possible to ruin a guitar doing this stuff, and I have ruined a few but I learned more from those mistakes then I have ever learned from books, the internet, or people. The only way you can really ruin a solid body refinishing is by giving up, you may have to do a lot of sanding, and you may sand through and have to do more finishing just to do more sanding, but anyone with some determination will end up with something pretty great!
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by NateD81 » Sun Dec 02, 2018 8:10 am

oid wrote:
Sat Dec 01, 2018 3:42 am
blimpage wrote:
Sat Dec 01, 2018 2:10 am
This is some good wisdoms. oid, massive thanks to you for always sharing your seemingly unending knowledge in a way that even idiots like me can understand. And for always being positive and encouraging! sndansby clearly wants to get their hands dirty, so let's help em do it right. 😄
I am just trying to give people what I had, enough ignorance to not know better. I learned most of my skills by just following through with my ideas, I made alot of mistakes, and I learned even more figuring out how to fix them, sometimes the mistakes even lead to something better. Sure it is possible to ruin a guitar doing this stuff, and I have ruined a few but I learned more from those mistakes then I have ever learned from books, the internet, or people. The only way you can really ruin a solid body refinishing is by giving up, you may have to do a lot of sanding, and you may sand through and have to do more finishing just to do more sanding, but anyone with some determination will end up with something pretty great!
As a teacher of middle schoolers, I wholly subscribe and can attest to the learn from your mistakes theory :D . As long as the OP is ok with the possibility of creating a lot of extra work, then I say go for it;
As mentioned by many, experience is an excellent teacher!

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Re: an idiot with a new guitar, spray can, and a dream

Post by Danley » Sun Dec 02, 2018 9:44 am

Yeah, maybe he should try to get some 'experience' on a cheap Squier first though.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

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