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Someone Tell Me This Is A Bad Idea...


bigdguitars

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In my house, its a tri level. I have a crawl space underneath the house, its heated, and moisture free, have a dehumidifier running 24/7.

Its enough room to stand up bent over. and its a huge area, like 20x30 or something.

So what if I tapped it off from the rest of the house, put in my explosion proof fan as a port out to take out the fumes.

I could probably finish a guitar on my hands and knees, with little problems.

Would any of you advise for or against this setup? it would just require me to crawl around....

thoughts?

-Derek

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Hehehe... B):D:D

Yes, it took me (being hardheaded and all) quite awhile to be OK with the fact that I couldn't shoot in winter, and finally finally finally just accepted it and moved on.

It worked out tho, because that's when I either:

Study archtop construction (Christ there's a ton of info out there on the internet on that, I could research that for several months straight, and already have in past winters)

Work on my amps (tuneups, mods, recovers, speaker swaps, new cabs, whatever)

Gather ideas for the next season

Draw up new guitar designs

In other words, what you may not realize is that down time is good time if you know how to utilize it to your advantage. You can continue to chase down a fish you can't catch, or pick a few other fish you can catch.

There are lots of other things that usually fall by the wayside when you're building full steam, but when you have to give up finishing, it opens the doors to those things that once took a back seat.

Gotta get your head right to see that tho, at least it took me awhile, it's an attitude adjustment to look at things a bit differently... :D

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Hehehe... :DB):D

Yes, it took me (being hardheaded and all) quite awhile to be OK with the fact that I couldn't shoot in winter, and finally finally finally just accepted it and moved on.

but ...but...sputter...sputter...what about the guy in the Stew Mac tutorial? The one shooting with rattle cans in the winter...outdoors...holding the damn thing by a stick...he gets a perfect finish out of it...

sure, he's obviously an expert....but ...but.... I can't wait that long!

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There isn't a finish manufacturer out there that would recommend you shoot a finish below 45 degrees, most are 50 degrees or better.

Now, who do you think knows the product better, you and I, or the people who MAKE the freakin' stuff?

:DB):D

PS, Dan Erlewine is THE MAN. I learned quite a fair share of what finishing skills I have from Dan, so I don't know quite what to say, except I haven't seen the video of him shooting in freezing weather.

PPS, speaking to shooting in a crawlspace...

...there isn't a guitar ON THE PLANET:

Worth dying over

Worth getting your arm and fingers burned to an unrecognizable burnt stump over

Worth getting your face forever MELTED and DISFIGURED over

Think of the guy in the 'ONE' video for a reference here.

Or the guy in 'Don't Go In The Cellar''...You wanna be that guy?

Kapich?

Unless you -want- a career in horror movies being the one everyone can't wait to see, know what I mean?

Stay Safe will ya?

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Let's see... to spray finish, you need a place that:

• Has moisture control

• Has temperature control

• Has good ventilation

• Has good lighting

• Has electricity for a compressor, or airlines from a compressor

• Is comfortable and fairly non-restrictive

• Does not sicken the significant other with fumes

If you set up a rig with a swivel and small hook, you can hang your guitar body/neck/etc. from that, and spin it around, as necessary, while shooting. This will allow you to sit on a stool. Add 2 or 3 small spotlights/worklights, and you should be able to shoot a nice finish.

So it is possible... but like Wes said, there are other things to work on, too.

D~s

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So it is possible... but like Wes said, there are other things to work on, too.

D~s

Wes? :D ? I think your talking about Drak here Bud! But I think that like the last statement that Drak posted, if anything goes wrong... anything, like a little build up in fumes and somenthing ignites, I think that your house will be in the air, and you wil;l be charbroiled... I guess that I will do as Dan and risk having to do a lot of sanding... I'm getting quite good at it, than risk going up in flames. I will save some money and make a proper paint booth once I get my own house.

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PS, Dan Erlewine is THE MAN. I learned quite a fair share of what finishing skills I have from Dan, so I don't know quite what to say, except I haven't seen the video of him shooting in freezing weather.

Hi,

Here's the link:[There's Snow in them darn hills!

Not only is he shooting outdoors, but he's bringing the thing back inside to his presumably warm workshop...that's supposed to be another no no, right?

Anyway, I'm going to give it a shot, worst that can happen is I strip it down again come Spring...or find a friendly body shop...

But I'll be able to set up a reasonably dust free space inside a big ol' drafty barn...I figure I'll do the painting outside then scoot it in there to dry a bit...I also plan on wearing a respirator...I did a little test spraying this afternoon, just a couple of psschts outdoors, and you can tell that stuff is nasty

I definitely would NOT do this in a confined space without some heavy duty professional equipment....

Edited by idch
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I inherited a paint booth when I moved in the house.

It's called...

The Maple Tree Out Back

:DB):D

PS, that bit about shooting outside in the cold and bringing it indoors?

Well, I watched my very own body bubble up under the finish from heat expansion, not to mention the finish remaining soft.

But alas, some others have heads as hard as mine, and need to see these things for themselves just like I did, and that's OK.

You'll get reeeeal good at stripping finishes off, and that's yet another talent to get better at.

BTW, I'll have the tissues ready for yez, cuz I knows how it feels. :D:D

Know what I hate about stripping the most?

Those damned inside curves on the upper horns. JEEZUS they're a pain in the arse to get 100% perfectly clean again, and if they're not 100% perfectly cleaned up, and you shoot over them again...

Refinish Number Three, ...Comin' Up!

Bwahahahahaha!!!!!

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neither i nor www has replied to this topic,so which wes are you referring to?

Wes? I think your talking about Drak here Bud!

Yes... I typed the wrong name. But it looks like you guys eventually figured that out.

BTW: "Bud" is my oldest brother's nickname. I'm Doug.

D~s

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Well, I watched my very own body bubble up under the finish from heat expansion,

Hey, that reminds me of a scary sci-fi movie I saw when I was a kid...

But yeah, you figured it out...I'm stubborn and I just need to make my own mistakes...only way to learn. I already stripped this body once...if you notice, my design doesn't have too many curves to it

:DB)

I get your point about moving the body inside...but I'll be able to leave it to dry for a while in the barn...I'm going to construct a little shelter for it in addition to that, just need to make sure the cats can't get in there...after that, I can leave my office/studio/practice space/workshop unheated for a couple of days , it'll be warm enough.

How long do you think the clear coat needs to dry before it CAN be moved inside?

Right now, it still gets into the low 50s during the day...

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You'd be better off renting some space thats already set up for spraying if you want to get finishing done that badly. Heres something you could try. Hang a chunk of plywood in your crawlspace and give it a quick rattlecan shoot. Use anything that doesn't smell up the place, enamel, poly whatever. Leave it there for a week and then go look at it. I'll guarantee that there will be dust and crap stuck to it that has filtered down from people walking around upstairs. :D

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