Another primer question

[Crusher]

OK, I put on about 5 - 7 thin coats or Primer, letting each coat dry about a half hour in between. The guitar is just about fully covered in Primer, but you can still see the sanding sealer underneath if your looking for it. I notice that there are very little bumps in the finish, looks like dust specks in some areas.

I'm going to let it dry overnight, so tomorrow morning, do I just wet sand with 400 grit to get it all smooth again? If I end up sanding down to bare wood, I shoot it with primer again right?

Thanks again! I hate to be a pest and have you guys hold my hands thru this, but I want it to come out looking like a professional job

[sully]

if you laid on that much rattlecan primer in one day, i'd let it sit at least 24 hours before sanding it.

check out reranch.com; there's great info there.

[Model1VH2]

I hate to be a pest and have you guys hold my hands thru this, but I want it to come out looking like a professional job

I hate to sound like a dick, but if you wanted it to look "professional", you should not be using spraypaint.
At the very least, you should have taken everyone elses advice in your last thread and not applied 5-7 coats of primer.

[Crusher]

I hate to sound like a dick, but if you wanted it to look "professional", you should not be using spraypaint.
At the very least, you should have taken everyone elses advice in your last thread and not applied 5-7 coats of primer.

Reranch.com site is down right now. I'm sure I can get a professional looking job with spray cans if the prep and painting technique are correct. I'm not looking for a NAAM/Show quality award winning paintjob, just something that looks nice, the color is even and doesn't have runs/orange peel.

I put on very, very thin coats of primer, very fast passes, I can still see the bondo & sanding sealer underneath. I DID take everyone else's advice and not used too much, I didn't even use a full can. My 5 to 7 coats are probably like someone else's 2 to 3 coats.

This area is to help people with their questions and there are a lot of very skilled and smart people here that are more than willing to help. You appear to not be one of those people. If you have nothing to contribute, then stay out of my threads.

[Model1VH2]

This area is to help people with their questions and there are a lot of very skilled and smart people here that are more than willing to help. You appear to not be one of those people. If you have nothing to contribute, then stay out of my threads.

My "contribution" was to advise you not to use spraypaint if you wanted to achieve a paintjob that looked "professional". Sorry that's not the advice you wanted to hear, but if a professional paintjob is what you're looking for, it's been the best advice thus far.

BTW, it would be much easier to "stay out of your threads" if you didn't continue to posting the same questions over and over in duplicate threads. As a matter of fact, there's a very informative "sticky" on this very subject. If you had bothered to look, you may have found the information you needed without having to post at all.

[Crusher]

I have read the stickies and know the instructions, my questions were specific and I'm looking for any real world experience and tips, not just "do this, then do that", you know promote a conversation.

If you go back & read my threads more closely, you would see that they aren't duplicates, the first primer thread was before actually applying it to the body, the second was for after the primer is already applied.

[Bengal65]

Crusher,
You are on the right track. Once the Reranch site is back, follow the Reranch 101. It's primarily for Nitrocellulose lacquers, but the "rattlecan" acrylic lacquers are very close in application and cure times. The 101 instructions are very good and you can achieve that professional look your are desiring.

[krimson]

Prep is key when it comes down to professional looking paint. If your prep is sloppy your paint will be sloppy. Orange peel and small runs can usually be watersanded and buffed to a mirror finish.

As for not getting a proffesional looking finish from rattle cans I would disagree, but I will state that it would be much easier to obtain a professional finish using professional equipment. In end it doesn't matter if you have great equipment or you are using rattlecans, if you don't have the skill (not saying that you don't).

A piece of advise when you paint. Spray nice light, even coats and build them up, don't trying to spraying thick coats. You have to be patient, even if it takes 3 or 4 coats before the color starts to cover the primer. Many people spray thick coats in a rush to see results and end up causing the paint to run.

[DonP]

Don't sand the primer too smooth. That's what I did and the following coats had nothing to grab onto, making chips easier than they should be. I'd say don't sand finer than 320 myself.

[Model1VH2]

I have read the stickies and know the instructions, my questions were specific and I'm looking for any real world experience and tips, not just "do this, then do that", you know promote a conversation.

If you go back & read my threads more closely, you would see that they aren't duplicates, the first primer thread was before actually applying it to the body, the second was for after the primer is already applied.

Crusher, I can assure you I have "real world experience" in rattlecan paintjobs.
It's my "real world experience" that's advising you against spraypaint.
And if your intent is to "promote a conversation", then I suggest you be open to ALL suggestions and not just those you choose to hear.

Yes, you can achieve what APPEARS to be a "factory finish" with acrylic lacquer however there are SEVERAL disadvantages that you (and those encouraging you to use acrylic lacquer) should be made aware of ...

1) It is extremely soft and will NEVER be as durable as a true factory finish.

2) The results you see the very first day you compound and buff your finish will deteriorate and look like total shit within weeks, maybe even days after.

3) It is very suseptable to damage and chemical reactions. Chemical reactions can happen for MANY reasons, some self inflicting, others not, and during any given point of the finishing process ... while curing, wetsanding, compounding, buffing, or even after your project has been completed.
It is VERY unpredictable.

4) Acrylic lacquer will take up to a year to fully cure. Yes, after 2 or 3 months (which is ridiculous in itself) you CAN begin wetsanding however this does NOT mean your paintjob has cured.

5) Because Acrylic Lacquer is so soft, you can't store your guitar in a case without the fur in the case leaving impressions in your finish.

6) You can't place your guitar on a guitar stand either or the rubber will eat away at the paint.

7) You can never lean the body up against anything or it will leave impressions of the object that you it comes into contact with.

8) When reassembling your guitar, any pickgaurds and/or hardware that comes into direct contact with the finish will sink and cause the finish around it to wrinkle.

9) Using Acrylic Lacquer will kill your tone, period.


Again, I have done MANY rattlecan paintjobs and would be more than happy to show you many pics of paintjobs that look totally "professional". You may have even seen my guitars on websites that promote books and videos that teach you how to paint with rattlecans! But I can assure you what pictures you may see will NOT give you a clear understanding of what I'm trying to tell you. Viewing pictures alone can be very misleading if you don't know the story behind them.

Simply put ... those rattlecan paintjobs don't even last as long as the time you will spend trying to complete them, period.

[Crusher]

Thanks everyone! I'll keep you updated with my progress

[Model1VH2]

Crusher,
You are on the right track. Once the Reranch site is back, follow the Reranch 101. It's primarily for Nitrocellulose lacquers, but the "rattlecan" acrylic lacquers are very close in application and cure times. The 101 instructions are very good and you can achieve that professional look your are desiring.

Pardon me for asking, but are you the same Bengal65 who posted on Guitars101 that your Krylon Tiger Paintjob (which looked great BTW) turned to total shit shortly after it was completed?

Maybe that was someone else.

[fett]

:ROTF: This whole Crusher Series has been very eye-opening. I have learned a few things. NO 1. If I decide to do a refin, I'm sure as hell not going to tell you guys. NO 2. I think you talked me out of it. And C. What am I going to do with all the cans of spraypaint I have?

[Bengal65]

Pardon me for asking, but are you the same Bengal65 who posted on Guitars101 that your Krylon Tiger Paintjob (which looked great BTW) turned to total shit shortly after it was completed?

Maybe that was someone else.

That's not me and I see you only come to this forum seemly to attack people in this forum rather than suggest solutions and mostly appearing in the Q & A section. Acrylic lacquer can do a professional job. It was used by Fender and Gibson for years (all automotive colors offered) and it doesn't kill tone. In fact it is better for tone and the resulting finish is much thinner. The only reason factories are not using acrlylic lacquer any more is it's costly to production and it's not environmently friendly. Granted rattle can acrylic lacquer is a different formulation than bulk mixes of commercially available acrylic lacquers, but its' not far off.
I've been doing custom cars, motorcycles and guitars now for 28 years, starting with Nitro, then acrylics, and Urethanes. Such products that I use are Dupont, PPG, RM, Sherwin Williams, and House of Kolor and a few rattle can jobs in between.

The other things about curing, stands and cases etc. are true. Acrylic lacquers do take a lot longer than the acrylic urethanes, which I guess your are saying "factory". Acrylic can look very good it just takes longer and some of the precautions you have to take with an instrument finished in Nitro you have to in Acrylic lacquers.

[Crusher]

:ROTF: This whole Crusher Series has been very eye-opening. I have learned a few things. NO 1. If I decide to do a refin, I'm sure as hell not going to tell you guys. NO 2. I think you talked me out of it. And C. What am I going to do with all the cans of spraypaint I have?

No kidding huh?