Looking For Some Advice Before I Start Spraying!

[houghster]

I have a pacifica that has been stripped, sanded, sealed and resanded.

I have a 3 acrylic lacquer sprays, white base, red colour coat and a clear gloss.

Before I start spraying I'm looking for some clarification of the spraying process as I've not refinished before. In my head, I'm thinking of a couple of thin coats of white to build a base, 15/20 minutes between sprays, once set wet sand to smooth (400 grit?). Similar process with colour, except more coats, wet sanding every 3/4 coats to remove orange peel. Once the colour coat has finished, similar process but with gloss clear?

The advice in the tutorial section appears to be about sunbursts and models, i'm looking to get a nice shiny red finish! Any help would be very much appreciated.

[guitarnut]

If it were me, I'd start with the red and not use the white as a base. Anything you gain by building up with white may cause you trouble by having to cover it with additional red coats.

If the 3 cans are of different suppliers, I would make sure you have 3 compatible products on some scrap or cardboard before you start on the body. This would also give you a chance to see how well the red covers the white if you still want to that way.

Lacquer burns in on every coat so it re-wets the previous coats and flows them out a bit. Unless you're having issues with the color laying down smoothly, wet sanding between coats is not needed. It just takes away finish build up that you'll need when you do wet sand. A cool trick is to get a can of blush remover, which is mostly thinner and retarder, and spray the body after color coats. This will flow out the top coats reducing the need for wet sanding. And, of course, address any blushing issues you may have. Let it dry for 48 to 72 hours, wet sand and then start your clear coats.

Peace,

Mark

[Fliski Guitars]

I agree with Mark. Sanding colour coats isn't needed unless you get any debris or bugs etc in there. Everything melts in so orange peel should be removed after the clear coats have cured.

[kpcrash]

The only reason I could see using the white is if the red is not opaque enough. Always easy to test on a piece of scrap or something.

[houghster]

Thanks for the suggestions! I tried spraying the red on a similar piece of scrap wood, and it looked slightly orange compared to the plastic spray guard which was blood red. Figured a white base coat would help get the desired red instead of a paler orange look.