paintjob question for a project

[dfvxc]

I have a black KE3 coming to me. And I'm thinking of turning it into this:



So my question is... It's black already... Is there a way for me to just paint the top and get a decent result? Or do I really have to strip everything to get a decent result?

[Evol]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Possible,but very difficult,were you going to try this yourself or a refin shop?

I would strip it and do it right to save frustration,the sucky thing is with bevels you have to be VERY careful not to sand off too much of the wood.

[DonP]

Re: paintjob question for a project

I think you an sand it down to the sealer or primer. Here s something I learned: Battleship grey covers everything, and everything covers battleship grey. What this means is, if you don't take off all of the black, at least cover it in primer grey. Then the white will look good. If you do white over black, the white won't cover and you'll need lots of coats.

[delt]

Re: paintjob question for a project

I haven't had very good experience painting on top of an existing finish...... i could scracth the paint off with my finger nails.

[Evol]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Painting over existing paint is sketchy at best,the chances of the paint not being compatible with the undercoat can be a project-ruining adventure. I've had an entire paint job crack completely a week after being painted.

I guess you could always strip it chemically if you didn't want to sand it.

[mm2002]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Oh God, here we go again. So guys, exactly what paint isn't going to be compatible with a poly finish??? I've been waiting on an answer to this question for months now.
If you sand or otherwise strip off all of the existing finish you just cost yourself many hours labor in refinishing it. I've said this a million times and I'll say it again: LET THE ORIGINAL FINISH BE YOUR FRIEND!!!!
Now, if we're talking an old axe with a laquer finish that's a different story, but we're talking about a KE3. Proper prep is the key, not stripping the damn thing!

[DonP]

Re: paintjob question for a project

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't had very good experience painting on top of an existing finish...... i could scracth the paint off with my finger nails.

[/ QUOTE ]

Close to the same thing happened to me (It nicks somewhat easy). I sanded the existing finish too smooth. I probably didn't get all of the sanding dust either. I should have sanded with no finer than 320 grit as well.

[Evol]

Re: paintjob question for a project

[ QUOTE ]
Oh God, here we go again. So guys, exactly what paint isn't going to be compatible with a poly finish??? I've been waiting on an answer to this question for months now.
If you sand or otherwise strip off all of the existing finish you just cost yourself many hours labor in refinishing it. I've said this a million times and I'll say it again: LET THE ORIGINAL FINISH BE YOUR FRIEND!!!!
Now, if we're talking an old axe with a laquer finish that's a different story, but we're talking about a KE3. Proper prep is the key, not stripping the damn thing!

[/ QUOTE ]


Nitro laquer for one :




Don't have a pic of the other guitar,but once these were both sanded/reprimed and prepped correctly I have seen no other issues.

[mm2002]

Re: paintjob question for a project

"once these were both sanded/reprimed and prepped correctly I have seen no other issues."

EXACTLY!! I didn't say proper prep wasn't neccessary, I simply meant that you DO NOT need to strip it to the wood. You do have to prep the poly finish for proper paint adhesion. I probably should have clarified that but I figured it was a given. Think of the original poly finish as a sealer and wood grain filler, but that's all.

[dfvxc]

Re: paintjob question for a project

I want to do this myself.

thanks for the info guys.. I was looking through the past posts on this. and wow...

let me see if I got the basic process correctly,

I sand down the clearcoat to the paint, sand the paint so its not smooth, for new paint adhesion, then I paint it, and then sand it smooth, an then apply nitrocellulose clearcoat several times... and that's it?

[Evol]

Re: paintjob question for a project

[ QUOTE ]
"once these were both sanded/reprimed and prepped correctly I have seen no other issues."

EXACTLY!! I didn't say proper prep wasn't neccessary, I simply meant that you DO NOT need to strip it to the wood. You do have to prep the poly finish for proper paint adhesion. I probably should have clarified that but I figured it was a given. Think of the original poly finish as a sealer and wood grain filler, but that's all.

[/ QUOTE ]

These were sanded down to the wood and resealed and primed. I personally will never leave any finish on the guitar before using laquer,I've learned a very frustrating lesson there.

[THETRIUMPHOFSTEEL]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Im with mm2002. Ive never had any problems with painting over a poly finish, as long as its been sanded and then cleaned so the new paint will stick to it. Th only reason I have for stripping a body first is that thick poly finishes tend to choke the guitars vibrations a fair bit, and a nice thin nitro finish will let it ring out more; thus better tone!

[mm2002]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Thank you!
.....although, I really don't think the finish really deadens the tone all that much. Hell, EVH wrapped his in electrical tape and that didn't seem to hurt anything! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
J/K

[THETRIUMPHOFSTEEL]

Re: paintjob question for a project

Well, maybe it doesnt matter so much when you're using high outpurt pickups and a saturated preamp, but if youre playing something like a Strat or Tele clean through a Twin Amp you wouldn't beleive the difference.. I can really feel the guitar is more alive in my hands also.

Heres two axes Ive recently finished:
* Mex Tele. This one I stripped the thick poly coat off and refinished in Acrylic.


* Squier Showmaster
This one I just painted the Manowar graphic straight over the old finish.

[DonP]

Re: paintjob question for a project

[ QUOTE ]
Im with mm2002. Ive never had any problems with painting over a poly finish, as long as its been sanded and then cleaned so the new paint will stick to it. Th only reason I have for stripping a body first is that thick poly finishes tend to choke the guitars vibrations a fair bit, and a nice thin nitro finish will let it ring out more; thus better tone!

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's one of the reasons why Gibsons sound so good - thin nitro finish. I have a bare wood ESP neck thru body I bought at NAMM back in 1989 (the wood has been drying out slowly for 15 years). It has an ebony fretboard with crosses. I've been trying to figure out what to paint it, but I think a thin coat of Nitro Black (or white?) would be best. I'll save the graphics for my mutt projects.