What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

[vklobucar]

I just bought a great Jackson Firebird Pro and given that it has a few dings and chips I have elected to have it painted.

Do I need to strip it down to the bare wood or can I just bondo or putty the chips and have it resprayed?

If I do my own work outside of the painting what needs to be done before I bring it to the paint shop?

[mm2002]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Assuming you already have EVERYTHING stripped from the body:

#1. Use a wax/grease remover (solvent) and clean the whole thing thoroughly. (You can use hot soapy water but make sure you let it sit a couple of days to dry out before you do anything else)

#2. Wet sand the whole body with 320 or 400 grit paper and use a firm rubber backing pad. (3M wet-or-dry with a lightly "soapy" water mixture is the thing to use) Now, let it all dry out again.

#3. Now you'll be able to see all of the low spots (dents, dings, etc.).

#4. Break out the Bondo! Any shiny spots need to be "roughed up" so you'll get good adhesion, but if you're seeing bare wood, just slap a little bondo on it! Just hit the shiny spots with your 320 or 400 paper.

#5. Now "dry" sand the body with 320 or 400 (and the pad) to remove the excess filler and achieve a somewhat "flat" surface. Wipe all of the sanding dust off with a damp cloth.

#6. Spray about three good wet coats of primer surfacer and let it cure. Allow each coat to "flash" for at least 20 minutes before applying the next. If you have a paint gun and a proper respirator you can use a good catylized primer and it'll be ready to do the final sanding the next day. (Diamont DP20 RULES!!!) If you're using a "canned" primer or any type of laquer wait at least two weeks before you do anything else.

#7. Wet sand the whole thing (as above) with 600 wet-or-dry and take it to the painter. He'll be absolutely fucking amazed at your excellent prep work!!!!!!

Good luck bro, and don't forget pics!
[img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[vklobucar]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Thanks for the great advice!!!

I'll keep you posted.

[Hamner1]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

What do you guys use to take the paint and clear coat finishes off (sanding takes forever)?

[straycat]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Auto Zone carrys a product called aircraft stripper it does a great job very low fumes too.Apply a thick coat let it sit for about 45 min to an hour.Scrape off old finish with saw dust if you have any.Just rub the saw dust on and it will absorb some of the stripper as well as help take off the old finish.Saw dust works as an abrasive with out scratching the wood.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

One additional comment: when you wetsand, use naphta instead of water to avoid raising the grain of the wood.

[mm2002]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Originally posted by YetAnotherOne:
One additional comment: when you wetsand, use naphta instead of water to avoid raising the grain of the wood.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually bro, there's a downside to that. If you try to avoid raising the grain while in the prep process, it'll show up later in the finish. The best thing to use is water......let it raise the grain, dry it out for a few days, and then dry sand it to level the grain before applying the primer. Hell, if you reallywant it nice do that two or three times. If you'll do it that way the grain won't come back to haunt you later! Here's another bit of advice from my experience: If you're starting with a "bare wood" body, spray that SOB down with water and let it dry a few days before you even start sanding on it. You want to raise as much grain as possible before the final sanding/priming. Of course the more dense the wood the less this really affects things! It's still a good technique though.

[YetAnotherOne]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Thanks for the tips Mark. I've only done it a couple of times and both times were on fairly open-grained wood that required filler (swamp ash & mahogany). I dry-sanded to 320, applied an oil-based grain filler, dry-sanded with 400, then applied the finish. They turned out OK.

Are you using grain filler or just shooting primer on the bare wet sanded wood? I'd imagine that'd make a difference in the process?

[Evol]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

I've gotten good results using a sealer on the bare wood first,then sanding nice and flat and spraying it with primer over the sealer.It keeps the wood from soaking up primer and from having to spray too many coats of primer ( I try to keep my primer coats as thin as possible).Of course like was mentioned before on open grained woods you would need a grain filler first.

[mm2002]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

Yeah, you'll definitely want to use a paste wood filler for open grained woods but if you don't raise the grain a few times (the water trick) it can still show up later. Not always, but most of the time.

[mm2002]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

I can't believe this hasn't been moved to the tech q&a section yet??? Sully bro, you're slippin' dude! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[jackson1]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

If it is any comfort to you, i read your advice with great interest. GOOD post! [img]graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

/Henrik

[bombtek]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

hmmmm.......I'd say .....if it was my first attempt at painting a guitar......the best way to prep said guitar.....is to USE SOMEONE ELSES GUITAR!!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[mm2002]

Re: What is the right way to prep a guitar for painting?

No, use your own guitar. The best way to learn is by trying. Remember, practice makes perfect! If you do it on someone elses axe all you'll do is piss them off!! [img]graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]