Flip Paint Basecoat

[hexa-db]

Hi,

I've never got around to posting here but I've been lurking on & off for a while.

I'm repairing/refinishing a cheap & nasty BC Rich 7 string, it's currently in primer. I've decided to have a go at using some chameleon/flip paint (in a rattle can) over a black basecoat. I contacted the company that sell the paint to ask if I should wet sand the basecoat and they suggested not sanding the basecoat at all as any sanding marks would show up in the colour flip.

My thinking is that if sanding marks would show up, surely the inevitable orange peel from the rattle-can basecoat will too? Surely wetsanding the basecoat to 1500 would get it flat enough not to have visible sanding marks? (maybe even too flat for the flip paint to get a bond?). Should I just try to get the basecoat on as flat as possible and hope I can avoid the orange peel or risk some wetsanding anyway?

This is my first refinish attempt and I know it isn't going to be perfect as the guitar had so many dings and dents there was a limit to the amount of sanding and filling I can do - I'm expecting there to be imperfections (lots!).

[ihocky2]

I would head the manufactures advice. First, they are the experts on their products. Second, the scratches you make in the top coat won't show because you continuously sand them down finer until you polish them out. The scratched in the base coat would still be left to a certain extent. As you get into the wetsand and polish routine, you'll see that even 1500 leaves a very noticable scratch in the top. It is the fnal polishing that removes them.

[hexa-db]

I was kind of leaning toward that opinion. I'll have to be extra careful with the spraying of the basecoat!

At least if the flip looks a bit weird due to orange peel texture it'll look fairly uniform and I can pretend it was deliberate effect - sanding scratches would look a lot more obvious I guess lol