Jump to content

Words On The Guitar


Recommended Posts

I plan on makin a guitar and when it comes to finishing i want to etch words into it. Now how would I do this? would this work? After i finished my colour coats and let dry for a few days. should I use a solderin Iron or a Dremel to etch in words so that the colour of the wood is showing through? After the words are etched should I sand Seal over top of it all so it is level? or would the aerosol sanding sealer, have any negative effects you could think of?, and then i will apply my lacquer... any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would suggest doing it the other way. Make your words out of whatever solid, non-porous material you like. Very thin plexiglass would be an option you can get it at Lowes & Home Depot cheap. Attach it to the body somehow, but not with glue. Glue will discolor the wood when you put a finish on it. After the rest of the body is sprayed, the words can be removed, leaving bare wood.

It might be possible to do it with blue painter's tape. I used it to mask off the sides & back of teh headstock I just painted, and the very mild adhesive left no residue on the wood. You could lay the paint down, then CAREFULLY cut out the letters with an x-acto knife. If you do this, be very careful not to gut into the body too far. After the letters are cut out, make dang sure the edges of the tape letters are secure. When the letters are removed, any paint that crept under the tape can be carefully scraped off.

With either method, have an x-acto or razor blade with you when you lift the letters. First, take your time and gently peel the barrier away at an angle. If the paint wants to peel when the letters are lifted, gently cut around the lettering with the blade, then slowly lift again.

I wouldn't try to rout out the letters with a dremel. It's be way too easy to accidentally take some wood out. If that happens, you're in a really bad place. If the paint job flops, you can sand it off & have another go. Once the wood is gone, it's gone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mask mine off with blue painters tape. I put down a block of painters tape, take a computer print out, spray mount it down, then trim it out with an exact-o knife. I have a video of it on the tube.

Note: Make sure you seal bare wood first. If not you will get bleed through under your tape.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember the How I Met Your Mother episode with the wedding where someone says "We thought of Indian Headdress before hat?"

I would find a vinyl cutter at a local sign or paint shop and pay them to cut masking vinyl for you. It would be easy enough once you found fonts/font you like to vectorize them and cut.

Make sure they use masking vinyl as it is low tack and works better with fnishes. Regular vinyl has a different adhesive that is more likely to leave residue and reach poorly with many finishes and is just plain harder to remove.

If you want the hand cut/done look get some transfer tape (really wide masking tape used for applying cut vinyl) or masking vinyl and mark and cut it by hand. If you use transfer tape or Automask as its sold under for masking, then you will need to apply it to your surface and cut it there and remove the parts you don't want. You can do this with a FRESH and SHARP blade and light touch and not cut the substrate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Remember the How I Met Your Mother episode with the wedding where someone says "We thought of Indian Headdress before hat?"

I would find a vinyl cutter at a local sign or paint shop and pay them to cut masking vinyl for you. It would be easy enough once you found fonts/font you like to vectorize them and cut.

Make sure they use masking vinyl as it is low tack and works better with fnishes. Regular vinyl has a different adhesive that is more likely to leave residue and reach poorly with many finishes and is just plain harder to remove.

If you want the hand cut/done look get some transfer tape (really wide masking tape used for applying cut vinyl) or masking vinyl and mark and cut it by hand. If you use transfer tape or Automask as its sold under for masking, then you will need to apply it to your surface and cut it there and remove the parts you don't want. You can do this with a FRESH and SHARP blade and light touch and not cut the substrate.

well the decals i was thinking of are vinyl. go to best-decals.com they have many options and colors and fonts, and you can create your own with your own text and font. depending in size, you should be able to to get it for under 10 bucks. if you want it really big, still under 20, but it is worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is that material they may use and it interacting with the paint, leaving adhesive behind, etc... I've taken some kustom paint classes and they address specifically using the right materials and interactions of things like frisket and the wrong vinyls. Unless you know for sure what they are going to use you are asking for trouble. It's a regular post on the kustom paint forums of people having this problem.

I wasn't trying to pick on anyone just be a little funny.

Edited by syxxstring
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is that material they may use and it interacting with the paint, leaving adhesive behind, etc... I've taken some kustom paint classes and they address specifically using the right materials and interactions of things like frisket and the wrong vinyls. Unless you know for sure what they are going to use you are asking for trouble. It's a regular post on the kustom paint forums of people having this problem.

I wasn't trying to pick on anyone just be a little funny.

well i have used many types of clear over them and never had a problem. rattle can, urathane, acrylic enamel, and some cheap laquer. none of them reacted negativley with the vinyl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...