fun without bondo!!

[kelly user]

Well our very own fett has presented me an opportunity. He gave me a strat body to do with as a please. as you can see he send me the body full of paint and paint, which BTW was impossible to remove. i started off with 60 grit, the body laugh at me. So i moved on to 50 grit, worked like a charm. then i followed with 60 grit, then 100 grit, then 150 grit. i'll post teaser pics in a few mins.

let it be known i have no idea what i am doing. i read a lot and going by common sense. wish me luck!

[kelly user]

some finish body sanding pics.







those were inside, these are outside the color of the wood is closer in these.









here are materials




and my trusty sanding block


just to clarify, i am not a lazy ass. the reason i didn't sand the cavities is because the paint in there is metallic from what i have read, for ground purposes.

a sanding block is a must because if your use your fingers there will be an uneven amount of pressure and make uneven surfaces. i figure this wood to be alder, ash or poplar.(denny corrections here are welcome)
i know rust-oleum rattle can paint to be extremely high quality, so i bought the primer from them, it is white by the way. you always want to use a light color primer like white or grey so it is easy to cover whatever your base coat may be. i didn't feel the need to seal the grain because it is tight and won't suck up to much paint.

-Eric
P.S. any older members that want to butt in and offer advice, i would greatly appreciate it. Mark hack away!

[kelly user]

this sand paper will sand though anything in a heart beat i highly recommend it.
here are the before pictures, the other ones were kind of small.


if you looks closely you can see are the sealer and paint left.
-Eric

[59custom]

Good job, I use a citrus paint stripper. dump it on go drink beer an hr later plastic putty knife removes 90% and no chance of changing the orig.shape contours and lines of Body. Let it sit over nite light sand and primer the next day. You may also want to consider using a automotive grade primer that laquer thinner will not wipe off. Also JMO I would try some stripper down in the routes and redo with the correct non- conductive shielding paint(black). I have used the method that you used but only when trying to save a finish under a refin. I revived a old strat with 2 seperate coats of white and saved the most of the orig. sunburst finish underneath. This does take forever this way. Good luck

[kelly user]

i was thinking of doing the automotive. but i think i will use this mostly as a sealer, my uncle is a pro body worker, so i'll hang out with him for a day or two and have him help me.

now for the cu de graw
i don't know what to do for the design, i want a frankenstrat tribute, but i got a no go by fetty

[Model1VH2]

You did a great job sanding, but I'm with 59Custom ...
I use Klean Strip chemical stripper.
Works like a charm and gets into those hard to get places too, like pickup and control cavities.

I would also recommend sealing the grain.
If you want a nice looking paintjob, I'd seriously recommend paying a little extra attention to your body prep.

I don't recommend using spraypaint, but if you must, at least stick to the same brand and type to help eliminate chemical reactions.

Good luck.

*edit*
Dude, if your uncle works in a body shop, take advantage of it and LOOSE THE SPRAYPAINT!
You'll be SOOOO glad you did.

[Bengal65]

Nice job on the sanding! I bet it took awhile. I wouldn't recommend the Rustoleum sanding primer. That stuff takes forever to dry. I'm assuming you are doing a solid opaque finish. And if you go with a 2 part Urethane finish, I wouldn't want that Rustoleum underneath. I'd go with what your Uncle would recommend. A good Urethne primer like PPG DP series is the way to go IMHO. It's a 2 part Urethane. I use DP48 which is the white primer. Dupont makes a similar product. You can use glazing compound over the DP to smooth the areas and get your contours dead on. Then you can shoot another coat of the DP on before going to color coats.

[Racerx2k]

Agree. If your uncle's a paint and body guy, take advantage of his resources and experience, and use the automotive urethanes he may already have in surplus, AND he already has the right spray equipment. You will end up with a MUCH better finish, that'll last MUCH longer.

[kelly user]

racer in case your wondering, i didn't find the body i wanted, i want a body like this one.

[Racerx2k]

No prob. Put mine up on Evilbay.

[straycat]

Seal the wood by all means.I know the grain looks tight but from experience once the primer hits the wood it will open the grain.

[kelly user]

any ideas on sealers, local preferably, like home depot. i asked a guy there for wood sealer. so he walked me around a bend and showed me Thompson water seal for decks. idiot. so i walked around to the furniture section of the paint department and didn't see anything that would suit my needs.
help!

[Model1VH2]

any ideas on sealers, local preferably, like home depot. i asked a guy there for wood sealer. so he walked me around a bend and showed me Thompson water seal for decks. idiot. so i walked around to the furniture section of the paint department and didn't see anything that would suit my needs.
help!

I use acrylic urethanes and was recommended a 2-part epoxy sealer/primer (Dupont) from my supplier. Seals the grain and acts as a primer all in one process.
I've done several guitars with this stuff and it works great!

[kelly user]

I use acrylic urethanes and was recommended a 2-part epoxy sealer/primer (Dupont) from my supplier. Seals the grain and acts as a primer all in one process.
I've done several guitars with this stuff and it works great!

cool i'll keep an eye out for it.

[Guitardude86]

I thought the thread was named "fun without Bono".. I was right in a way