Beginning my first project..

[ItWasKnight]

I bought a Jackson Kelly body, and it's going to be here tomorrow. I'm ready to sand it down to repaint it because it's red and I'm going for black. I've read just about every tutorial I could find and I've learned quite a bit, but I still have alot of questions..

First, Can I use car paint to paint my guitar? I'm not sure what kind of paint is used on cars.. If I can use that, then I can just spray the base coat and clear coat, same as if I was painting a car?

The reason I ask is because I have a friendly neighbor who is always painting cars in his paint booth at his house.. If I can do it that way, it shouldn't be too difficult.

Also, the body I'm getting is "new", so can I sand the clear off and use the old paint as a base or do I need to take it all the way down and fill in the grain and all that too?

[Rogviler]

Yes, you can use car paint on a guitar, in fact that's what most people use unless of course the guitar is being stained.

You can do either as far as repainting it. I've done both stripping then repainting and just painting on top of a well-sanded original paint job and frankly it's too much work to strip it and I have yet to find any benefit. Just make sure you sand it REALLY well so the paint will stick. Something like 400 grit and then run a Scotchbrite pad over it.

Good luck.

[Rogviler]

P.S. The most important thing is to never let anyone tell you you can't do something.

[Brian]

What he said ^ and if your going to paint over the original finish just buff the shine off it with ultra fine wet/dry so the paint grabs good.

[ItWasKnight]

Thanks for the help, guys! That really clears things up, and I can't wait to get started.

I have a feeling this project is going to turn out quite well.

[Rogviler]

Cheers, and don't be afraid to post pics!