bluesy Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 I have not sprayed a guitar before, but I will be spraying my current build with white acrylic, and it will have black bindings. So, I plan to mask the bindings as well as I can, and scrape them for neatness later if necessary. I will be spraying multiple coats as recommended, starting with undercoat/primer then white colour coats. My question is about removing the masking tape. Somewhere I have read that there is a best time to remove the masking, and it's before the paint is fully dry. If this is correct, how do I do that, given the multiple coats and the time periods between them? Surely I don't have to remove the masking and remask it between each coat, or do I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 (edited) Just after the paint flashes. ie. as soon as it is no longer wet to the touch. I've masked the waterline on many boat hulls and right after rolling and brushing on the anti-fouling paint the tape is pulled off. I got in **** if I left it too long. Same deal with most anything else you paint, be it cars or guitars. Leave the tape too long and the paint may bond tighter to the tape than to the substrate you are painting. That means the paint could lift off or chip along the edge of the tape. You can shoot 2 or 3 times in one session but I would recommend pulling the tape after each session. Then remask the next day. If you are really concerned you could carefully cut the ridge down (w/ a sharp razor) that was formed by the paint between each shooting session. Another method is to practice rolling your tape edge up off the surface, as evenly as possible, so that when you spray the paint it feathers down to nothing rather than forming a solid ridge. Edited October 16, 2008 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted October 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 Just after the paint flashes. ie. as soon as it is no longer wet to the touch. I've masked the waterline on many boat hulls and right after rolling and brushing on the anti-fouling paint the tape is pulled off. I got in **** if I left it too long. Same deal with most anything else you paint, be it cars or guitars. Leave the tape too long and the paint may bond tighter to the tape than to the substrate you are painting. That means the paint could lift off or chip along the edge of the tape. You can shoot 2 or 3 times in one session but I would recommend pulling the tape after each session. Then remask the next day. If you are really concerned you could carefully cut the ridge down (w/ a sharp razor) that was formed by the paint between each shooting session. Another method is to practice rolling your tape edge up off the surface, as evenly as possible, so that when you spray the paint it feathers down to nothing rather than forming a solid ridge. OK, thanks for the advice, it's as I expected - the paint has to be quite green. Masking the binding on the sides of the guitar is no trouble, but I expect masking of the thin edge on the top and bottom of the guitar is going to be a painful, or at least slow, process. Also, as my masked edge is the paint/binding join, I was plannning on not scraping or sanding the binding until after painting, so the paint may fill to the level of the binding, to some extent, assuming the binding is installed a little proud of the wood. It's going to be a learning experience, but it looks like I can recover from any early mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 (edited) If the binding is higher than the surrounding surface you can leave the tape on for much longer because you already have a dividing line. The tape will separate from the paint more uniformly. Make sure you use good tape, its amazing how much a difference that makes. 3-M blue tape is the best, a little expensive, but you can leave it on longer without any problems like having to scrape off glue residue or adverse reactions. If that is the case then you can fill it up to the level of the binding, but have to be more careful as you approach that mark. I would finish the binding first as much as possible, mask it and then shoot your primer and color coat. When you have enough paint on pull off the tape and let it cure with only minimal attention needed on the binding. Mistakes DO happen and the more time you have to spend shaping something with sharp tools or coarse sandpaper adjacent to a fresh paint job the better the odds are for screwing it up and having that bad feeling. All thats needed after that is a good clearcoat. Edited October 16, 2008 by Southpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesy Posted October 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 Yes I have a supply of the good quality blue masking tape. For the very narrow edge of the binding, it has been recommended to get the fine automotive detailing tape. If the blue tape is hard to apply, I'll get some of that as well. I note you recommend a clear coat. I was discussing this in another thread. It's another decision I need to make... Thanks for all the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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