Finishing Advice on doing a "nudie mag guitar"

[tonemonster]

OK, I have this old clunker of a guitar hanging around, and its certainly playable, but cosmetically kinda junkie, and I wanna give it some "life"

I wanna do a "nudie mag" finish on it where I clip a bunch of pics of hottie women out of skin mags and somehow glue them to the guitar and finish over it.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on this.

any glue methods or ideas to keep the photos looking good?

any ideas on a finish, clear coat, or laquer to spray over the pictures to protect them from scuffs & scrapes?

I am all ears on this one.

Thanks!!!!

[wilkinsi]

Ask the Custom Shop to do it! Then wait for their response...

[DonP]

Not sure of the glue, but there is something called Build 50 that puts a thick coat of clear on anything. It can be used for bar tops. You can set change (pennys, quarters) on the bar top and pour this on it to "see through".

I think ESP used it in the 90s when they made the money guitar (dollar bills glued onto the body).

[Newc]

ModPodge available at any craft store or WalMart. Most folks use it to seal jigsaw puzzles when they finish them. Dries clear and fairly resistant, but I've never seen anything sanded to a smooth glossy finish with it.

A good old can of spray clear might do the trick well enough, but be prepared to let it hang for about 3-6 months to let it completely dry.

[tonemonster]

any ideas on glue??

maybe just some elmers applied with a disposable paint brush?? or spray adhesive...??

I am thinking that thick pour on finish stuff would be cool. probably spendy though.... I will look at the hardware store. I am keeping this project simple. Newc, would spray clear take that long to dry???

next question. I have access to a auto body shop of my friends. what about spraying it with actual automotive clear coat????

[metalchurch79]

Spray adhesive will do the trick for you.
And yes paint dries from the inside out so it may take up to 6 months for it to fully cure.
It can probably be handled in 3-4 weeks but you have to be careful with it.
The key is to spray very light coats and let it go for a few days and repeat.
Wet sanding with 1500 grit between coats will help it dry faster as well, because it opens up the pores of the paint, allowing it to dry.

After you spray a few light coats, lightly wet sand it after it dries to the touch, then hang it to dry by a string tied to the holes in the neck pocket.
Also a fan blowing in the body as it hangs helps it dry faster as well.
Wait a week or so and repeat.

[tonemonster]

I just talked to the auto body guy, and he said no problem. he said just degrease the surface really well and lightly scuff it to glue the pictures on it. then he can clear coat right over it. The automotive clear dries fast, and its very durable. should work ok. And keep in mind, we are kinda polishing a turd here so to speak, so its not like its got to be perfect. good learner project.

[tonemonster]

well, the project has begun.

I degreased, and scuffed the finish on the old clunker Kramer tonight. I glued a few pics on the back of it just to try it. if all goes well, I will move to the front and finish the whole thing. then the body shop guy will clear coat it for me.

If its OK to post the nudie mag guitar here, I will post pics. I dont know what the policy is regarding a guitar with nudie pics on it so I figured I better ask first so I dont get in trouble.

[Newc]

As long as you put NSFW in the title to let people know it's Not Safe For Work (so the slackers goofing off on the JCF when they should be working don't get busted for viewing titties in the workplace )

[tonemonster]

sounds good. thanks Newc!

[Rich#6]

I did something like this with guitar pictures. I used a glue stick. I used a rattle can to finish it but I could never get it flat and when I had sprayed too much it started to lift. It did dry to the surface though.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l167/fosterdragon/jacksonguitarbodyofguitars.jpg

[sully]

shooting clear coat straight over the pictures is going to soak the pictures, and the back of the paper will shine through. gonna have to do a LOT of dust coats first.

sully

[Newc]

shooting clear coat straight over the pictures is going to soak the pictures, and the back of the paper will shine through. gonna have to do a LOT of dust coats first.

sully

You could scan the images first, then print them out. That will take care of the back showing through.

However, the ink in a standard inkjet printer doesn't like anything wet, so it'll most likely run. You could laminate the pics, but then you end up with a fairly thick plastic coating which will be impossible to get flat.

A third alternative is a thin plexiglass top with the pics under it. Glue or nail that to the body.

Or you could try to put white stickers like address labels on the backs of the pics. That might help with bleeding.

[tonemonster]

Cool!!!

[Spivonious]

What about just using a clear laminate, like they sell in office supply stores? That should keep the clear from soaking the paper, and not add too much height in the process.