Help! Refinishing A Yamaha Rgx A2

[mattdude]

Hi!

I have recently acquired a badly beat up Yamaha RGX A2.

My luthier is going to patch up all the holes in it and I would like to paint it myself.

Does anyone have a recommendation as far as type of paint -- how much stripping to do --

I would like to preserve the tone of this instrument --

Also I would like to preserve the horizontal and vertical lines on the body that seem to be part it's current poly finish --

Thanks for any help!

mattdude

=)

[Foggy]

Hi!

I have recently acquired a badly beat up Yamaha RGX A2.

My luthier is going to patch up all the holes in it and I would like to paint it myself.

Does anyone have a recommendation as far as type of paint -- how much stripping to do --

I would like to preserve the tone of this instrument --

Also I would like to preserve the horizontal and vertical lines on the body that seem to be part it's current poly finish --

Thanks for any help!

mattdude

=)

A picture of the guitar would help assess the degree of prep required

The finish you use will depend very much on the kit that you have (or are prepared to buy), where you live (regarding local regulations) and what facilities and basic knowledge you have, though there are already lots of very informative threads and tutorials on here covering the preparation, painting and finishing of guitars to guide you.

Jim

[mattdude]

er -- ]

Edited December 1, 2008 by mattdude

[mattdude]

Hi Jim --

Thanks for your reply --

I cannot take picture at the moment as the body is being filled by my luthier --

However -- I am thinking that due to the extensive amount of filling he is going to have to do --

I intend to go with a SOLID WHITE COLOR finish . . .

Could anybody comment on:

1) Would it impact the sound of the instrument to just paint over the existing poly?

2) Should I strip it to bare wood?

3) As far as painting -- I do have access to a spray booth as my brother works for a kitchen manufacturer and they spray their own doors there ... I was thinking - one of their kitchen styles is called 'AUTOMOTIVE' -- and I believe they use actual automotive paint -- Could I spray my guitar with this???

Ideally I think I'd like to respray a poly on there to make it how it's 'supposed to' be,

but I would be open to any recommendations as far as nitrocellulose vs poly vs automotive "kitchen" paint -- and where to acquire such paints --- (I'm in Canada)

--On an interesting note -- there is a website with a guy who painted a classic car with Tremclad Paint using a foam roller with great results!

Here's the explanation: http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread/t-117715.html

and the photo: http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d...in/DSC02769.jpg

Anyone tried this on a guitar??

Thank You!

Matt

Edited December 1, 2008 by mattdude

[mattdude]

Ok

I was just wondering should I use a) automotive paint???

nitrocellulose; or

c) 'poly' which is how I believe it's currently done --

only I don't know where to buy white 'poly'

Thank you for any suggestions!!!

mattdude

Edited December 1, 2008 by mattdude

[mattdude]

here's an rgx a2

Edited December 1, 2008 by mattdude

[Foggy]

Hi Jim --

Thanks for your reply --

I cannot take picture at the moment as the body is being filled by my luthier --

However -- I am thinking that due to the extensive amount of filling he is going to have to do --

I intend to go with a SOLID WHITE COLOR finish . . .

Could anybody comment on:

1) Would it impact the sound of the instrument to just paint over the existing poly?

2) Should I strip it to bare wood?

3) As far as painting -- I do have access to a spray booth as my brother works for a kitchen manufacturer and they spray their own doors there ... I was thinking - one of their kitchen styles is called 'AUTOMOTIVE' -- and I believe they use actual automotive paint -- Could I spray my guitar with this???

Hmmmm.............where to start?

I think the best thing here is to go back to the beginning of the process and work through the options.

Starting with your beat up guitar - before any filling is done you ideally should have decided whether you were going to strip back to bare wood, seal, fill, and prime, OR, rub back the existing poly finish (removing any potential contaminants and roughing the whole surface with 800 wet and dry) before filling, rubbing the filler down and priming from there.

Once you're at the stage where the guitar body is primed and perfectly smooth (that will probably take a while), then automotive paints are fine if you have access to them (local autobody repair/sprayshops will often sell you some if not). Many factory guitars were traditionally finished with automotive paints anyway.

Then once the guitar is prepped, primed and basecoated, all you need to decide is what clear you're going to use to seal it. As you have access to a proper sprayshop you've no real problems here, you just need to decide which finish you're going to use and do a bit of homework on how to apply it - again, many, many threads and really good tutorials on that subject here.

One bit of advice though - the most important single factor to a really good finish is the preparation. Skimp on the prep and your going to end up with a duff finish almost guaranteed. So take the time getting your guitar filled, primed and rubbed down until it is 'perfectly' smooth. If you see any little blemishes at all in your primer coat as you rub it down, either rub them out if you can without going through your primer coat, or if not refill the mark, rub down and re-prime again. Very minor marks/scratches can sometimes be filled by simply shooting another primer coat alone - but never be tempted to think...........Ahhh well, it'll never be noticed anyway - 'It will' - and it will irritate the hell out of you if you take pride in what you do, so take the time to get it right, right from the start.

It'll be worth it in the end

Jim

Edited December 2, 2008 by Foggy

[mattdude]

Thank you very much for your response Jim!!

I have a lot more clarity to reference from as far as what I should be doing . . .

A coupla quick questions come to mind:

--Why is it that you say I should know before having the body filled whether or not I will be stripping the whole thing?

--Should I strip the whole thing?

It seems that just scruffing up the existing poly could save me a lot of Time and Money

--Would there be a noticeable sacrifice made in terms of the guitar's tone by having the extra amount of paint

clinging to the wood?

(BTW -- It is not too late for me to change the course of the body-filling as my tech has not

started that yet -- Plus he offered to email photos of the 'before' condition! so...)

Thanks for all your tips -- I will definitely use as a reference!

Matt

How much clear coat should I buy? =)P

[Foggy]

Thank you very much for your response Jim!!

I have a lot more clarity to reference from as far as what I should be doing . . .

A coupla quick questions come to mind:

--Why is it that you say I should know before having the body filled whether or not I will be stripping the whole thing?

--Should I strip the whole thing?

It seems that just scruffing up the existing poly could save me a lot of Time and Money

--Would there be a noticeable sacrifice made in terms of the guitar's tone by having the extra amount of paint

clinging to the wood?

(BTW -- It is not too late for me to change the course of the body-filling as my tech has not

started that yet -- Plus he offered to email photos of the 'before' condition! so...)

Thanks for all your tips -- I will definitely use as a reference!

Matt

How much clear coat should I buy? =)P

If your applying a solid colour to the guitar, then unless the paint already applied to it is either very thickly applied, very badly applied, or so much of it is damaged as to warrant removing whats left, then more often than not you're better off just rubbing the existing finish back, filling where necessary and priming prior to basecoating. To take the guitar right back to the wood is fine enough if that's the way you want to do it, but you'll then have to re-seal the wood and prime from scratch again - a process that has already been done once when the first paint was applied.

To work over the existing finish you'll have to rub it right back anyway to remove anything that might affect subsequent coats of paint and lacquer, as well as to give the new paint a rough enough surface to 'key' onto. This rubbing down will reduce the original paint layer(s) right back anyway, so your new paint and finish (applied properly) will only replace pretty much what you've removed. Remember, we're not plastering paint and finish on here - and there's lots of rubbing down between finish coats (and almost certainly before final polishing your first few times round), so the extra thickness of paint is miniscule. There will inevitably be those that disagree here, but personally I think that unless you have an incredibly fine ear for tone I'd very much doubt you'll perceive any difference at all if you do the job right. Plaster umpteen layers of paint and finish onto the guitar and then don't rub down properly during the finishing stages - yes there will likely be an effect, but bodged like that, the detrimental effect to the tone will simply just reflect the mess the guitar will look anyway.

Regarding the amount of finish you'll need - all depends on what finish you decide upon and how well you can apply it - but if it's you're first time I'd advise erring on the generous side, you then have enough to practice with (always adviseable) and - should it not go on right the first time - enough to redo the finish as necessary to get a good result.

Hope this helps

Jim

Edited December 2, 2008 by Foggy