krazyderek Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 ok, well i don't want you guys to just be like "ya that'll probably work" but i thought up an idea for the chrome finish on guitars, let me know what you think, i'm open to critique, if anyone else has an idea of how to do it, please tell me ok, to a finished body (bare wood) 120 grit, 4 or 5 lite coats of sanding sealer, 200, primer, 320, primer, 400, chrome, 600, chrome, yada yada.... 2000 grit.. chrome, then buff and one last coat of chrome paint to get that mirror smoothness and look, then over that a couple coats of laquer, with wet sanding (about 600-800 grit -ish) after the first coat and before the last then 2000 grit wet sand buff again on a buffing wheel? i think the key is finding a good chrome paint that will actually refect an image, not just a dull chrome shaded colour.. i also have not been able to locate sed paint as of yet... anyone? does that sound about right? or completely wrong? i'm just kinda guessing, since it's 3:32am here,.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 not sure if this is possible, but if you could get a layer of chrome mylar under the clearcoat it would be just like a mirror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbish247 Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 I see an ad for a place around LA that chrome plates guitar bodies every once in a while on ebay. You can start your sherch there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 I see an ad for a place around LA that chrome plates guitar bodies every once in a while on ebay. You can start your sherch there... ask lgm about that, they managed to ****up one of his guitars.. ...i think it was lgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Yeah dont go to Historical Arts or Guns Girls & Guitars. They do a good Chrome finish but their attention to detail sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 it was guns girls and guitars that did lgms(if it was lgm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Rich from Ibanez Rules had one too, it was not good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 My friend has a Joe Satriani "Chrome Boy"... the exact same finish your talking about.. they used some kind of aircraft paint if i'm not mistaken.. but they only made so many of those guitars.. not quite sure.. but I think there are alot of problems with doing a chrome finish.. since it doesn't like to stick to wood very well.. lol.. anyway... good luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 The JS 10th wasn't made from wood it was made from something called Luthite. Only the JS2 was wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlexVDL Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Try ChromeFX.... Brian posted this link a couple of weeks ago. It looks like REAL chrome and you can spray it on!! chromeFX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy McFeely Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 the way all of the shops that actually do a good job (i'm not into name dropping), what they do is put a magnetic primer, well one that can be electricly charged, then charge it, and dip it in the solution, and add a jolt of elecricity to the mix and viola, you have a finish, but like everyone said, it still doesn't like wood much. other places use some sort of vacuum process, but i haven't seen it done. wayne charvel once had a guitar made out of metal, an alloy of some sort. that waould probably be the best way to get a chrome guitar. might be heavy as hell, but the sustain!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goth_fiend Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 the chrome boy guitar is made out of luthrite but thats just a heavier version of styrofoam no joke, you might want to check out the idea of a gold leaf like idea with your chrome body(if they make such a product) then clear coat it that might work but again i dont really know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 My friend has a Joe Satriani "Chrome Boy"... the exact same finish your talking about.. they used some kind of aircraft paint if i'm not mistaken.. but they only made so many of those guitars.. not quite sure.. but I think there are alot of problems with doing a chrome finish.. since it doesn't like to stick to wood very well.. lol.. anyway... good luck... As has been said, the JS10th's are luthite, the JS2 was wood but VERY problematic. The JS's are real chrome plating. There are a couple problems with this. 1. Chrome does not expand or contract well with wood, hence going to luthite for the JS10ths. 2. It is not a paint at all. The JS's are done with a conductive paint, which has to be completely and perfectly smooth, any hint of the finest flaw will cause problems. Then they are plated with I believe copper or brass or something as the actual chrome will not plate on the conductive paint. Then the chrome plating is put on. The problem with this is, the chrome plating is more like a jacket that can't be taken off, it doesn't bond really well to the body itself. that is why when you see a 10th that has a chip, it tends to flake away quite a bit. 3. It is ULTRA expensive to do true chrome plating It wasn't me that had a guitar plated by the butchers on ebay, but I've seen many pic's of them and heard from Rich what they did on the one he bought. He just bought it from ebay to see what they looked like, it was already plated. I've looked at what they consider a 2nd and if it was me and I had something come out looking like that I wouldn't even consider it reject bin material never mind factory second. There are a couple different kinds of paint that are supposedly chrome looking now, one is very expensive to get started with but it is actually even conductive, I think this is the process that VH guitar store is using. I looked at it, but I simply don't get enough inquiries for chrome guitars to want to make the initial investment. Perhaps once I'm moved into the new shop with the better spray booth I'll consider it more. The chrome vinyl or mylar does look like chrome, and for small area's it works fine. The problem with doing a full body front with it is that very little in the way of clear sticks to the chrome mylar. You need to scuff it, and then it doesn't really look chrome anymore. Also, with all self adhesive mylars or vinyls, your bond is only ever as good as the self adhesive backing. If it should start to lift either from heat, or a chemical reaction, you have to start over. I'm going to play more with the chrome finish stuff though to possibly offer a psuedo chrome finish, the chrome process that even VH is using is expensive, I believe in around $400 a guitar, however with the cost of the actual paint, I fully understand his price, it's less than I would probably do it for, along with that it's a b*tch to apply it from what I understand. You can't sand it out or polish it, so if you get a dust speck, you either live with it, or start over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 well, that's a honkin reply lgm, thanks for all the input i think i'm going to try the chrome FX....... and OMG i just looked at the prices, 3600$ US and the equipment is another 3600$US... well F*CK THAT!!!!! hopefully the sheeting is a bit better priced.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the third eye Posted July 4, 2003 Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 It wasn't me that had a guitar plated by the butchers on ebay, but I've seen many pic's of them and heard from Rich what they did on the one he bought. it was rich i was thinking of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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