Best vintage Lake Placid Blue (LPB) spray rattle can. Show your examples. PIC HEAVY

[MrJagsquire]

I really like that darker shade of LPB that your guitar has changed to as the clear has yellowed. In fact I'd say I'd prefer the guitar without that 'tort' pickguard at all (not a fan personally) and just a mint green or maybe partchment 'guard instead.

I gag whenever people mention 'tort' on these forums.

[Spitfire7]

I really like that darker shade of LPB that your guitar has changed to as the clear has yellowed. In fact I'd say I'd prefer the guitar without that 'tort' pickguard at all (not a fan personally) and just a mint green or maybe partchment 'guard instead.

I gag whenever people mention 'tort' on these forums.

Hahaha, we are so so way far off from even going in the same direction, but that's nice to know your personal taste. If you wanted to go with my old paint color, it started as this same bright LPB that I will be painting it again, but with a StewMac amber clear nitro I believe or something similar. It came to me somewhat light metallic blue aquar color and then within a year or so started going green. I actually really didn't like that and quite enjoyed the bright blue for the short time while I had it for a year or so. Since then I've always wanted the bright blue again and now is the time.

You will get a kick out of these. I've learned to appreciate both and also enjoyed it with a Spitfire mint guard. I went through the mint green guard phase for a while too especially since I had the supply to make awesome vintage nitrocellulose mint guards. This is back when the paint still had a little blue to it.

[MrJagsquire]

My sincere apologies as I've just noticed your signature and made the connection about you being a supplier of tort guards.

While I can't help what I've written, it wasn't meant as a dig against your business.

(I do like your other photos though ).

[Spitfire7]

My sincere apologies as I've just noticed your signature and made the connection about you being a supplier of tort guards.

While I can't help what I've written, it wasn't meant as a dig against your business.

(I do like your other photos though ).

Haha, no all good man, you have a right to your opinion and personal taste. Tort is not for everyone. That's why I make mint guards too .

[Spitfire7]

Here is an update. The stripping and painting has begun.

The disassembly begins. And just a note, the color doesn't look like this in these first few pics at all. Its more of an OTM green in person.





I looked at all the wiring and decided to just tape it off instead of undo everything.



This part was painfully fun. I always wondered what it would be like to take a razor blade to the finish since I've always taken such great care of it until now. It made for some great cringe worthy moments.





Did a test spray and here's the new color and how it will look in room light. Very bright vibrant blue. This is what I was always wanting and got a dark green OTM instead.



Ready to sand off the headstock. Here is a better representation of the color, but still not exaclty. This looks kind of cool here, but in real life it doesn't look like this.






It used to be a Seafoam Green.





Made the new Spitfire Tort pickguard for it and wanted that vintage bright red slightly fading into orange. I love it.



Testing it out over the color for the first time. Oh its going to look so good.




The body is ready for lacquer.




Getting headstock taped off. Ready for lacquer, primer, and paint.



Primer


First coat.




5 coats later. That's a great look and great LPB color. I am very happy with it.




Lacquer has dried and now ready for primer.




Going through some more sanding



Final coats of primer.


This would look great as a white Jag as well. Humm, maybe next project.


Painting the body has begun. This color is sooo good.




I couldn't wait to see how it's going to look. This is going to be perfect and exactly what I have always been wanting.





Letting it cure overnight and then will do lightly sand with 1000 grit and then lay on the clear coat soon. To be continued.

[bodhi]

Hmm, what's the point of adding a base lacquer layer under a white primer?

[Spitfire7]

Hmm, what's the point of adding a base lacquer layer under a white primer?

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or actually really asking. The body was already deeply coated in lacquer and I sanded through in some areas which opened up fresh wood which you can see in one of the pictures. When laying down some primer, it wouldn't coat the bare wood and created rough grain and pattern and would coagulate around those areas unevenly.

So I sanded the bare wood areas with 1000 grit and then laid down lacquer making everything even and uniform. Then laying on primer went on smooth and uniform over the lacquer which soaks into the wood and seals it. Spraying primer over lacquer areas vs bare wood reacts very differently and you get very different uneven results. Also alder wood drinks lacquer and needs many coats. That's the point.

[bodhi]

It was a honest question I've been looking at how people do finishing work, and if people are working from an unfinished body I can't recall any of the instructions talk about adding lacquer specifically, though I guess technically sanding sealer and epoxy finishes and the like on bare wood essentially do the same thing with different products...

[Futuron]

I've never seen anyone put lacquer on bare wood before an undercoat, either. Sanding sealer, absolutely. Unusual.

[Spitfire7]

It was a honest question I've been looking at how people do finishing work, and if people are working from an unfinished body I can't recall any of the instructions talk about adding lacquer specifically, though I guess technically sanding sealer and epoxy finishes and the like on bare wood essentially do the same thing with different products...

Yeah it's doing the same thing. I guess I could have used an epoxy as well, but my first thought was to keep an acrylic compatibility through all the steps. My base paint is acrylic, primer acrylic, so I was thinking a lacquer acrylic will blend well and it did great. Maybe overkill, but so far so good and the base laid well and looks great.

Clear will be coming soon once the headstock decal comes in hopefully this coming week.

[gerardguey]

Phew, that looks sick so far. I have a surf green CV JM body that I bought on a whim that I am thinking would look good with this treatment. (Squier's current surf green is one of the ugliest surf greens ive seen imo)

What kind of clear coat did you say you were using for this?

[N0_Camping4U]

Will this clearcoat eventually check? Or will it check if you purposely induce checking?

[Elvis63]

Stunning so far—love the Spitfire.