Paint your own guitar

[rjohnstone]

+1 Got to find out what that 2 pac urethane is. How did you get that yellow burst by not-spraying? Did you paint with a brush? *confused*

EDIT: Or, did the guitar come with a yellow burst and you painted the black stripes?

He did spray it... he just didn't use spray paint.
The paint he is referring to is basically automotive paint.
It's not something you just "go get".
You need the proper equipment and training to use it.
The shit will kill you if you're not wearing a proper mask when spraying it.

[Bengal65]

I got the book for laughs. (I have painted professionally for years)The basic techniques as far as prep, application and buff out are good. Just don't use aerosol spray paint as stated above. Use a good 2 part acrylic urethane applied with professional equipment. You will be glad you did.

If you want a basic job, do the prep work and have a autobody shop near you shoot it for you. Then, you can buff it out according to the book's instructions.

[dimobag]

That tiger paint is soo tempting... wonder how my guitar would look with that.

[Model1VH2]

+1 Got to find out what that 2 pac urethane is. How did you get that yellow burst by not-spraying? Did you paint with a brush? *confused*

EDIT: Or, did the guitar come with a yellow burst and you painted the black stripes?

rjohnstone's right, I painted it all.

To get the white burst, I first painted it yellow, traced and cut templates of the front and back of the body from posterboard. Then I taped the templates about an inch above the body and sprayed the sides white. The burst was created from the overspray.

[jwoods986]

I just purchased it recently as I'm planning on painting my next mutt project. Newc should be able to give you an objective review, as will I once all is said and done. After reading thru it, though, seems you can't go wrong using it since each step is thoroughly covered, not to mention the fact that you can contact him directly for advice if you run into any problems.

Have you tried it yet, Mark? Or anyone else here?

[mm2002]

That guy is teaching you how to achieve "somewhat acceptable" results by using spray cans assuming you don't have professional spray equipment or the knowledge/training to use it. The end result will be just that....somewhat acceptable. However, if you're extremely "picky" about paint work, or have the eye of a pro, you're not going to be satisfied with the results in the long run. It's kinda like painting your car in the garage with krylon, and attempting to buff it to perfection....it just isn't going to happen. Now, don't get me wrong, if you are the average person with absolutely NO comprehension of what really GOOD paint looks like....you'll love it. Remember, everyone has their own eyes, and their own set of standards of what looks "good".

[Bengal65]

That guy is teaching you how to achieve "somewhat acceptable" results by using spray cans assuming you don't have professional spray equipment or the knowledge/training to use it. The end result will be just that....somewhat acceptable. However, if you're extremely "picky" about paint work, or have the eye of a pro, you're not going to be satisfied with the results in the long run. It's kinda like painting your car in the garage with krylon, and attempting to buff it to perfection....it just isn't going to happen. Now, don't get me wrong, if you are the average person with absolutely NO comprehension of what really GOOD paint looks like....you'll love it. Remember, everyone has their own eyes, and their own set of standards of what looks "good".

+1 From one Mark to another, I agree 100%

[jwoods986]

Wow, we've got a lot of Marks here. And I've got a brother named Mark

So, does anyone know a good paint person in the Atlanta area?

Model1vh2 - where are you located? I LOVE that tiger on the wolfie.

[scotty]

That guy is teaching you how to achieve "somewhat acceptable" results by using spray cans assuming you don't have professional spray equipment or the knowledge/training to use it. The end result will be just that....somewhat acceptable. However, if you're extremely "picky" about paint work, or have the eye of a pro, you're not going to be satisfied with the results in the long run. It's kinda like painting your car in the garage with krylon, and attempting to buff it to perfection....it just isn't going to happen. Now, don't get me wrong, if you are the average person with absolutely NO comprehension of what really GOOD paint looks like....you'll love it. Remember, everyone has their own eyes, and their own set of standards of what looks "good".

I was aware of this but just didn't want to accept it.

[Bengal65]

As I posted earlier, I have the book. I purchased it for the fun of it and curosity mostly. The basic techniques are good, but the paint material selection is a poor choice for a pro result. I haven't looked at the book lately, but I think he tells you to wait, 4-6 months to let the paint (acrylic lacquer, automotive spray paint) cure before buffing out the finish. With acrylic urethanes, the buff out occurs within 48-72 hours. I usually go with 72 hrs. to make sure the finish is good and cured.

[Model1VH2]

I guess what bothers me most about the PYOG books is that they mislead alot of people into spending 6-months to a year to complete a paintjob they think will be a true "factory finish".

No offense, but most of the people who buy these books have little to no experience painting anything and they will be amazed at the initial results.
However ... they will also soon discover what 30+ coats of clearcoat does to the sound of their instrument. They will soon see the paint begin to shrink and crack a couple months later, they will soon discover that the paint is so soft that anything that comes into contact with it will leave impressions (including clothing), they'll take their guitar out of the case and find impressions left from the protective "fur", they'll find that the rubber from their guitar stand has eaten right through the finish, and they will soon notice that all their hardware (pickguards, neckplates, etc..) has begun to sink into the many layers of paint.

Those who have used these books know what I'm talking about.
To those who are considering it ... please don't waste a year of your own time to find this all out on your own. Take it from those who have "been there, done that". Do it right the first time with the right stuff, or get someone else to do it for you.

[Tekky]

How come they can have an exact copy(?) of a George Lynch´s Kamikaze among the testimonials??

http://www.paintyourownguitar.com/testimonials.html

I am sceptical...

??

Both Kamikazes in there are distinctly different from George's. The Kamikaze 3 (I think - Gray/Black/White) is a Kramer. (despite ESP ownership of Kramer back in the day they are different animals by the time that George received his Kamikaze 3, Kramer was no longer making guitars.) The Kamikaze 1 has a pickup selector (George uses a push/pull knob for pickup selection on his guitars), slanted neck pickup (George's is straight), and the tremolo is recessed. (George didn't have a recessed tremolo until his original Kamikaze 3.

[dimobag]

So if you want to paint your guitar, what paints sould you use? If you paint ti your self.