painting?

[sl2lover]

Has anyone ever painted their Jackson? Any tips? I would like to paint mine metallic black! Is their a way to get a hold of the same paint Jackson uses?

[Widowmaker]

Re: painting?

They use a polyester type paint with a hardener catalyst. I doubt you'll find it anywhere. Just use automotive laquer. However, it has a much longer drying time than poly. And it is way more fragile. Poly can be like rock!

[rjohnstone]

Re: painting?

Polyester... [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]
I think you meant to say polyurethane [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]
And you can buy it at almost any paint supply shop. Hell even Home Depot sells some in the spray paint section.
Min-Wax now makes a polyurethane clear coat in a spray can... works great.

[Chrisb]

Re: painting?

Luthier Mercantile sells some very good painting supplies for guitar makers. May not be exactly what Jackson uses, but pretty damn close.

http://www.lmii.com

[mm2002]

Re: painting?

[ QUOTE ]
Polyester... [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]
I think you meant to say polyurethane [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]
And you can buy it at almost any paint supply shop. Hell even Home Depot sells some in the spray paint section.
Min-Wax now makes a polyurethane clear coat in a spray can... works great.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's actually partially correct. The base color is usually polyester, the clear is polyurethane. Some base colors are catalyzed, some aren't. All true polyurethane clears are. The stuff you buy in spray cans isn't a true poly.

edit: and yes, some clears are polyester too!

[wilkinsi]

Re: painting?

to repaint a guitar, don't you have to sand it down first, or do you just paint on top of the original finish?

[Bengal65]

Re: painting?

It's best to strip it to wood and start over (strip, sand/seal, prime and perform your color system and clear)
For a metallic or any other color I would suggest if you can get a sample of the color, another guitar that is metallic black or if your not picky make a trip to the auto paint supply house and they will match the color and mix the way you like. Also, get some PPG DP series primer (I suggest white) I like the DBC Urethane, base coat/clear coat. For an economical clear, I'd go with PPG Omni 2 part clear. This paint is very similar to what Jackson, Charvel and Fender uses. The PPG paints in urethane are used by Warmoth as well. Of course with these paints you need the equipment to do it.
Another route is to use spray cans obtained from a auto parts store. These of course will not be as durable as the multipart paints.

[eddie_van_earache]

Re: painting?

ask 20 people get 20 answers. This is the holy grail question

[cookiemonster2]

Re: painting?

Why use paint when you could use...

[Bengal65]

Re: painting?

[ QUOTE ]
Why use paint when you could use...



[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Hey I got to try that! My best recommendation for finishing or re-finishing for that matter is in 2 locations:
1) StewMac, Dan Erlewine, Guitar Finishing Books and Videos and 2) For Nitrocellulose lacquer finishes, www.reranch.com, Finishing 101. These are the best IMHO to go to first. If it's too complicated, go to a guitar refinisher. Or, if you have a buddy that owns a body shop head over there for some assistance.

[Crusher]

Re: painting?

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[sl2lover]

Re: painting?

Thanks a lot guys, but fortunatly I live around many awesome custom car painters that'll do the actual painting for me! I was just curious to what paint to use, and steps to take!

[wilkinsi]

Re: painting?

how fortunate... for you.

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what? you live in the uk and consequently have no formidable guitar shops? hurururururur! (kilroy impression)