Any Tips For Shooting Urethane Guitar Bodies?

[Stew]

I'm about to start a large shipment of bodies for painting. I'm going with automotive House of Kolor urethane for the finishes. I'm going to do some of the prep work before having my painter shoot the color and clear coats. I'm choosing this because these guitars will need to preserve the artwork and to lower the chance of chipping, fading or yellowing. I'm new to the whole urethane game.

My painter normally shoots custom cars and hot rods. I'll need to rig some sort of body suspension or at least hanger mechanism to hang the bodies for drying (using a handle mounted to the neck pocket).

Any tips I need to keep in mind? I'll be also using transfer decals for some artwork so I'm also wondering if I can use vinyl sealer as my base coat before shooting the urethane color and clear coats.

Any help would be great from you experienced folk.

- Stew

[Maiden69]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC02909.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC02031.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC02011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v195/Maiden69/DSC01887.jpg

Here are the pics of mine in action. This one is made with a suspension shockabsorber for the rear hatch of cars. I like it because I can secure it to a table and turn the guitar around to shot the paint as the body lay flat (horizontal to the floor, it helps to lay a nice fat coat without runs. If turn the guitar is not of your concern just a 1"PVC pipe heated and flat on one side with 2 holes can be used.

[Stew]

Thanks Maiden69.

Problem is, it's not a garage with suspension beams to hang bodies from ( I usually use a clothing wire hanger wrapped around a beam and use the hole on the paint handle to hang the body from the rafters).

But my guy works in an industrial area with huge vaulted ceilings, nothing to hang things from. He usually props quarter panels to dune buggies on wood braces, nothing hanging.

I may need to get some metal mobile wardrobe rack and use that to suspend the drying bodies.

I guess I'll need to hunt around the finishing forums to answer my other question?

[Southpa]

I guess you would need a couple wardrobe racks if you are going into assembly line production. One for shooting and one for drying. If you are using automotive base/clear system then I would stick with whatever primer is most compatible for base/clear urethane applications. What do they usually use on cars?

Edited October 31, 2006 by Southpa

[Stew]

Well see that's the problem. He's used to spraying onto 1500 grit surfaces, not 220 grit wood. I talked to an automotive paint supplier and they say whatever clear coat you used will work fine as a basecoat. Then shoot your color coats followed by your clear coats again. I think we should just use a sacrificial body to see what happens. It won't be assembly line like 100 bodies, more like 5 bodies total.

[Maiden69]

The one I was suggesting is lie mine, but with a hollow top, like a 1" pipe, and then you can have a rack on the floor with wheels (like the one for multiple guitars) with a smaller diameter studs on it, you finish to paint the guitar and can slap it in the rack and asfter 10 are done to the oven, or where ever you are going to set them to dry. I pointed mine because I like the ability to use it like a rosetier to turn around the body, I hang mine once finish to shot because it is only one! But on more than one, a floor stand will be the bast bet. If i find an ilustration of what I mean I will post later, now, I'm in the office and almost all good sites are blocked!

[Stew]

Maiden69, I know what you mean. The Fender Custom Shop has something that looks like a Christmas tree with upward pipes.

[PaintIt]

Well see that's the problem. He's used to spraying onto 1500 grit surfaces, not 220 grit wood. I talked to an automotive paint supplier and they say whatever clear coat you used will work fine as a basecoat. Then shoot your color coats followed by your clear coats again. I think we should just use a sacrificial body to see what happens. It won't be assembly line like 100 bodies, more like 5 bodies total.

The only thing 1500 grit is used for is polishing the clear. If your guy is spraying over surfaves sanded with 1500 the adhesion is really poor. A good filler primer can cover 80 grit scratches in a few coats. After that it needs to be sanded to about 400 grit for the basecoat. Basecoat is not generally sanded before clear unless it has been coated with intercoat clear ( clear basecoat ) to allow for artwork and the paint being open longer than the recoat window ( about 24 hrs ). If it has been coated with intercoat then it can be scuffed to allow the clear to get a mechanical adhesion. Using products from the same paint system is a good idea.